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In its historic win over De La Salle, St. Francis played well in all facets. There is no other way to have a chance at beating De La Salle, as so many other teams have discovered.
One aspect of the total team effort that stood out was the running game … and all the big chunks of yardage ripped off by Viliami Teu.
It’s well known how hard the De La Salle ground game is to stop. It has been almost equally difficult over the years to have any success running on the De La Salle defense.
“Viliami has great vision,” St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno said. “He sees everything and how it fits together. The first play he goes up the middle 27 yards. He gives us a lot of dimensions.”
Teu rushed for over 200 yards and was a big factor in the win. But none of that happens without superlative play from the St. Francis offensive line.
So take a look at the St. Francis O-line, the unsung heroes of the team’s monumental upset:
The starters against DLS were LT Uluakinofo Taliauli (6-5, 270), LG Denaris DeRosa (6-3, 270), C Alex Bobadilla (6-0, 250), RG Asui Taliauli (6-1, 295), RT Oliver Bari (6-4, 265) and TE Dillon Golden (6-4, 245).
Michael Taliauli (6-2, 270) split time at right guard with his brother. Dillon Scott (6-2, 290) was rotated in at different spots as the need arose.
“That’s a special group up front,” Calcagno said. “Pretty darn good. We’re pretty physical and that’s not something everybody faces. We’re a downhill running team and not many teams see it. That gives us a little bit of an edge.”
It helps having the three Taliauli brothers on hand.
“We ought to give Mrs. Taliauli an award,” Calcagno said.
DeRosa is a San Jose State commit. Uluakinofo Taliauli has offers from the likes of Oregon, Colorado and San Jose State. Golden has also received multiple offers.
Establishing the run also eased the way for the passing game, like on the final drive after De La Salle took the lead and the Lancers were forced to pass. That drive concluded when Matt Dougherty Jr. connected with Nico Andrighetto on the game-winning 16-yard touchdown pass with 15.7 seconds left
So the question begs itself: Just how did the offensive line open those big holes for the running game after so many others had failed during De La Salle’s 318-game unbeaten streak against Northern California competition?
“We were more physical than they were,” Bobadilla said. “(Teu) makes the timing perfect. He has great vision. It’s fun to watch him run.”
St. Francis has a bye this week before opening West Catholic Athletic League play at home Sept. 21 against St. Ignatius. Some observers are circling the matchup with Serra, Nov. 6, as the game of the year.
“This was a Week Two game,” Calcagno said of the win over De La Salle. “There are a lot of games left before we play Serra, plus we’ll have a bigger target on our backs.”
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