CONCORD — De La Salle running back Duece Jones-Drew knew his team needed everything he could give.
The shorthanded Spartans leaned on their junior star heavily during Friday’s season-opening game, and Jones-Drew did not disappoint.
The Spartans triumphed over Florida powerhouse Lakeland at home, beating the Dreadnaughts 10-6 behind 99 yards of total offense from Jones-Drew.
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The three-star running back played every snap, going both ways as a ball-carrier and safety. He scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to lift De La Salle after a sluggish three and a half quarters. Jones-Drew rushed for 78 yards and caught two passes for 21 yards.
De La Salle’s Duece Jones-Drew (21) is tackled by Lakeland’s Deonte Fielder (22) in the second quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
“I know going into the game that it was going to be hard because a lot of people were injured. I did get a heads up that I was gonna play a lot,” Jones-Drew, son of former NFL All-Pro running back Maurice Jones-Drew, said. “I hydrated weeks in advance and I actually had an IV this morning so I wouldn’t cramp.
“Coming in here, you have to give the Spartan effort every time. I’m not going to take a play off. I’m going to come in here and give it my hardest no matter who it is. It’s a mentality I feel like we all adapted to tonight.”
The speedy De La Salle offense struggled matching up with an uber-athletic opponent hailing from a town east of Tampa Bay. But while the Spartans totaled just 202 yards, the defense stepped up in a big way by not allowing Lakeland’s offense to score.
De La Salle’s Landon Miller (45) tackles Lakeland’s Ja’darious Dobie (3) in the third quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. De La Salle defeated Lakeland 10-7. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
“It was gratifying to see our guys continue to play and continue to play with guts,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “They could have turned in a couple times. And, you know, we were able to walk out the field with a win.”
De La Salle’s offense struggled to find any rhythm, and the momentum looked to be shifting in Lakeland’s favor after linebacker Ziggy Riley picked up a bobbled De La Salle pitch and returned it 70 yards to give the Florida school a 6-3 advantage with just over five minutes in the third quarter.
Lakeland had a chance to drive the nail in the coffin when the Dreadnaughts marched 72 yards in 17 plays to get into the red zone. But the Spartans forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
De La Salle needed just five plays to get into the end zone and take the lead. A 39-yard pass from quarterback Brayden Knight to tight end Landon Cook marked the longest play of the night for De La Salle and set up Jones-Drew to punch in the go-ahead score from four yards out.
De La Salle quarterback Brayden Knight (14) throws a pass against Lakeland in the first quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
On the next possession, De La Salle stopped Lakeland in four plays, capped off by a thumping tackle from sophomore linebacker Landon Miller on Lakeland running back Kelin Hendrix to seal the win for De La Salle.
Jones-Drew said the team harkened back to lessons they learned in the summer to prepare for this moment.
“Our summers are brutal here,” Jones-Drew said. “There’s a time and a place for moments from those practices to kick in and we needed it for moments like this. … We knew we could out-physical them and out-condition them. We just had to put those two things together.”
Alumbaugh added, “Those guys clutched up when we needed it. I’d rather not have to clutch up in the fourth quarter, but I’m happy that we did in the time that we did.”
De La Salle’s Duece Jones-Drew (21) leaps and is tackled by Lakeland’s Ziggy Riley (4) in the fourth quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. De La Salle defeated Lakeland 10-7. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The first half had little excitement with both teams struggling to get anything going on offense.
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De La Salle scored the only three points of the half when it completed a 25-play, 92-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal from Justin Uribarri.
Lakeland was mostly undisciplined in the first half, racking up 35 yards of offside penalties alone.
The first half had just 176 yards of combined offense between the two teams.
De La Salle will travel to Serra next Saturday for its next game. The Spartans are 11-2 against the San Mateo school since 2004.
“There’s definitely a lot of things we can improve on going into next week vs. Serra,” Jones-Drew said. “We know Serra is a really good team and a prideful program.”
De La Salle kicker Justin Uribarri (86) kicks a 25-yard field goal against Lakeland in the second quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. De La Salle went 92-yards and 25 plays to kick a 25-yard field goal. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s Landon Cook (11) gets the ball knocked out of his hands by a Lakeland defender in the second quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s Dylan Scott (12) runs with the ball against Lakeland in the second quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s Turner Madge (16) runs with the ball while being tackled by Lakeland in the first quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle kicker Justin Uribarri (86) misses the extra point against Lakeland in the fourth quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. De La Salle defeated Lakeland 10-7. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s Landon Miller (45) tackles Lakeland’s Ja’darious Dobie (3) in the third quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. De La Salle defeated Lakeland 10-7. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh walks the sideline against Lakeland in the first quarter of their game at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)