De La Salle football gets rematch with Don Bosco, meeting with

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 26, 2009 | by Chace Bryson

De La Salle High finally put an end to the guessing on Monday by releasing its 2009 football schedule. The end result should be enough to keep blogs and online message boards on both the West and East coasts buzzing for the next eight months.

The Spartans will be traveling to New Jersey for a rematch with now three-time defending state champion Don Bosco-Ramsey. But the Ironmen, who beat the Spartans 23-21 at Owen Owens Field last September, won't be the only national power on the schedule. The new team on the schedule is Lakeland (Fla.), mythical national champion in 2005 and 2006 and the 2008 5A state runner-up.

The game against Lakeland, scheduled for Sept. 26 at a Bay Area site to be determined, will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

"We've always had a great relationship with ESPNU and Paragon marketing," De La Salle athletic director Leo Lopoz said. "They approached us with a potential open game and we happened to be available. We were fortunate that (Lakeland) wanted to come out west, and it just worked out."

Lakeland is located approximately 31 miles east of Tampa and has been one of the state's most dominant football programs for several years. Since 2004, the Dreadnaughts are 69-3 overall. Lakeland finished 2008 with a record of 14-1 with their only loss coming to St. Thomas Aquinas-Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) in the state championship. St. Thomas Aquinas finished No. 1 in the season-ending USA Today Super 25 rankings.

Two weeks before hosting Lakeland, De La Salle will play its rematch with Don Bosco Prep. The Sept. 12 meeting is a rematch that both schools wanted to make work, even before the Ironmen won the 2008 game and went on to finish their season 11-1.

De La Salle's season opener will be Sept. 4 when it plays host to Serra-San Mateo. The Spartans' remaining seven games are against East Bay Athletic League opponents.

Contact Chace Bryson at cbryson@bayareanewsgroup.com