De La Salle defeated Carlsbad in dramatic fashion Saturday to win the All-California championship, coming back to win it on the final play of the game.

In a very well-played match in which the Carlsbad players showed themselves to be a formidable force, De La Salle had all they could handle.

For Carlsbad, lock Andrew Mauga had a breakout performance and was a handful in tight, while Solomon Williams at scrumhalf and center Ed Nelson led the attack.

And that was good enough for a 19-14 lead with no time remaining. 

“Coming into the game our plan was to play conservatively and beat them with our fitness and structure,” said DLS Head Coach Derek Holmberg. “The game couldn't have started better for us.”

De La Salle won the ball after the kickoff, worked about ten phases, and scored.

Carlsbad, led by Mauga, was solid in the lineouts and was able to launch off that, but a try-saving tackle from wing Pete Mazolewski kept DLS in the lead.

With about seven minutes left in the first half Carlsbad punished a defensive breakdown and Mauga took an inside pace and was through.

“We looked tired,” said Holmberg.

Both teams resolved to get to the breakdown faster and working the rucks and counter-rucking almost every breakdown has been a hallmark of Carlsbad’s run to the SoCal Varsity White title. They did that and dominated possession through the third quarter of the match.

With that much ball Carlsbad scored twice more to lead 19-7 and De La Salle was in trouble.

“We played defense for most of the game,” said flyhalf Mario Storti. “It was one of the most physical games I’ve been a part of.”

“We had to make a lot of tackles against a lot of big forward,” added Mazolewski. “It was rough.”

But the DLS forwards resolved to get the ball back, and they did. Unable to win lineout ball, they were unable to launch much, and so needed something extra. No. 8 Terrell Hopson ripped the ball away from a Carlsbad forward and made his way through some traffic before offloading to Mazolewski. The wing eluded three would-be tacklers and was in under the posts.

Suddenly it was a one-score game. Carlsbad was then dinged with a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, and De La Salle had another shot.

Twice DLS seemed set to score only to lose the ball at the tryline. With time seemingly up, Carlsbad kicked to touch, but the referee pointed to his own watch and said there was still time to play.

Carlsbad got the ball back on the lineout, but DLS center JJ Tofaeono ripped the ball away and popped to Storti. The DLS fans and coaches thought Storti had scored, but the referee was unsighted, and went back to an earlier penalty for De La Salle. One more shot, and Storti tapped and fed Tofaeono who crashed through. Storti slammed over the conversion and De La Salle had won.

“We have a ton of respect for coaches Josh Williams and Jacob Campbell and their Carlsbad boys,” said Holmberg. “They were class acts through-and-through. “On display was some of the best of what high school rugby has to offer and we are hopeful that more athletic directors will begin to recognize the culture this sport can bring to their departments.”

Also on Saturday, Jesuit of Sacramento beat Servite 45-7. It was a tough game for Servite as several of their backline had committed to play in the LA Invitational before this game was settled, and two others were unable to play (red card suspension and injury). Jesuit, stung by a loss to De La Salle last week, played a patient and well-organized game and defeated the young Servite squad.

But for Servite, getting to that game and fronting up despite some setbacks said much about their character.