Four Spartans Take Their Teams to High School State Championships

During the 2022 high school football season, four De La Salle alumni head coaches guided their teams to a state championship game. Three represented the best of football in California and the fourth was the 5A champion in Arizona. One thing that holds true for all four of these men is that they all played for Bob Ladouceur.

Justin Alumbaugh ‘98 took over as De La Salle’s head football coach in 2013 and continues to shape the football program around the learnings that Ladouceur ingrained in him as a player in the late 90s. “We talk to the players all the time and tell them we are a product of our habits,” said Alumbaugh. “I’ve never seen someone who has really good habits fail. That doesn’t mean they don’t have failures and they don’t confront failure, but I’ve never coached a young man, who overcomes obstacles, treats people well, works hard, and challenges himself to be the best that he can, really struggle in life.”

This season, Justin guided the Spartans to their 30th straight North Coast Section championship, a Northern California State title, and a trip to the CIF Division 1-A State Championship game, marking the eighth time in nine seasons that he’s led De La Salle to the state championship game.

Class of 1993 graduate Patrick Walsh guided the Serra High School squad to the California Open Division Championship game, where they lost to St. John Bosco. During Walsh’s 23 seasons as Serra’s head coach, he’s collected 184 victories, led the Padres to a state championship (2017), and participated in the state championship game five of the past six seasons.

For his part, Vic Galli ‘83 led Pittsburg High School to the CIF Division I-AA State Championship game, where the Pirates fell to Liberty High School of Bakersfield. After a short time on staff at De La Salle in the 90s, both as a junior varsity and freshman head coach, Vic moved over to Pittsburg where he has been the head coach for the past 21 seasons – only retiring after the 2022 campaign.

In Arizona, Eddy Zubey ‘95 finished off his 2022 season with a victory, guiding Higley High School to the Arizona Division 5A State Championship. Zubey has been the head coach at Higley High School for 17 seasons, and the 2022 state championship was his first as a coach and the first ever for the school. But what Eddy is most proud of is the fact that he was able to coach and share this title with his two boys; Andrew a safety and Daniel a tight end.

“For personal reasons, winning a state championship was very special because I had both of my own boys on the team and playing,” said Zubey. “To have this experience for the first time WITH both my boys on the team was a feeling I cannot describe. I was lucky enough to win a few championships at De La Salle (never lost a game at any level), but winning the state championship this year as a head coach was amazing.”

It was during Walsh’s final season as a player in 1992, that De La Salle embarked on one of the most remarkable records in sports when the Spartans’ football team won 151 straight games. It was a winning streak that both Zubey and Alumbaugh were also part of; with both Spartans never losing a game during their entire time at De La Salle. Coincidentally three of the men also returned to coach at De La Salle. Galli, who played for Ladouceur in the early years, returned to the school to coach and learn under Coach Lad’s guidance, where he helped coach Zubey and Walsh during their freshman and junior varsity years. Walsh first coached at De La Salle before moving to Serra, and Alumbaugh learned under Lad as an assistant coach before taking over the program.

“There is a blueprint of success if you build a community that’s dedicated, and Lad gave us that blueprint,” said Alumbaugh. “If you build a community that’s driven and motivated and has a common goal, the outcome is going to be good. We’ve been successful because we focus on the program by building community through accountability, toughness, and respect. So, I’m not surprised to see any of the success that those programs have had.”

The more recent success of these four men can also be linked back to their time at De La Salle as students. “Being a Spartan is a way of life,” said Zubey. “It embodies a lot of attributes that lead to success. Hard work, never quitting, striving for perfection, learning to trust and love others, and being willing to seek out help when needed. These are some of the things that I learned and took away from my time at De La Salle.”

Of course, their stories are not alone. There are a number of alums who are motivating student-athletes at the high school level today. Spartan standout Damon Jenkins ‘03 just completed his first season as the head coach at Kerman High School where he led the Lions to a 7-5 record in 2022. It will be interesting to follow his career in the years to come.