De La Salle headed to Dome for first time after 28-14 semifinal win over STM

Replay: De La Salle defeats St. Thomas More

NEW ORLEANS – This was a night that was a long time in the making.

For the De La Salle players, it was a chance at redemption after falling one game short of the LHSAA Prep Classic 364 days ago.

For Cavaliers coach Ryan Manale, who made it to the finals as an assistant coach at Archbishop Rummel, it was a chance to get back to the Dome in his sixth year as head coach.

And for the long-standing fans of Cav Nation, it was a chance to break a 56-year finals drought.

On this Friday night at Yulman Stadium, chance became reality as the top-seeded Cavaliers defeated St. Thomas More 28-14.

Julien Gums rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while the De La Salle defense had a pair of first-half interceptions and four sacks.

“He’s everything,” Manale said of Gums. “He’s one of the most humble kids I’ve ever been around. I told him midway through the third quarter, ‘You’re going to tell me when you can’t run it anymore.'”

The combination of Gums and Kendall Collins on offense and an opportunistic defense staked the Cavaliers to a 21-7 halftime lead.

Collins’ 24-yard touchdown run capped the Cavaliers’ opening possession to give De La Salle a 7-0 lead with 6:22 left in the first quarter, but STM answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game as Caleb Holstein covered the final yard on a quarterback sneak.

De La Salle’s next possession was the game’s defining drive – a 16-play, 66-yard march that was all on the ground. Collins carried 10 times for 42 yards, but it was Gums who went the last 8 yards for a 14-7 lead.

The Cavalier defense picked off Holstein on the next two possessions, with the second of those, by Joseph Husband, setting up an 11-yard Gums run with 50 seconds left in the half.

STM dominated the third quarter, holding De La Salle to zero total yards, forcing a turnover and pulling within one score on Holstein’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Grant Arceneaux.

On the Cougars’ next possession, De La Salle forced a field goal attempt from 48 yards that was wide left, and allowed only one first down the rest of the way.

“Our defense bent but didn’t break,” Manale said.

After the defense forced a short punt with 3:41 left that put the Cavaliers in business at the STM 35, Gums did the rest, keeping off the right side and heading down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown.

The last time the Cavaliers lost a football game was the Friday after Thanksgiving a year ago, when Parkview Baptist ended De La Salle’s season a game short of the Dome.

The difference this year? “These seniors,” Manale said. “Last year at this time, we would have crumbled. We just stepped up our game.”

When Manale took over at De La Salle prior to the 2012 season, he bought into a belief system from the school’s former president, Dr. Michael Guillot, who died in the spring of 2015.

“Six years ago, we didn’t have a junior high program, much less a (full) team,” Manale said. “We had to change a lot of things we wanted to change.

“We had a president who’s looking down at us, no doubt about it. We were on a path to greatness. He told me that. I didn’t think it would be done in six years, but that’s a credit to these kids.”

De La Salle will face University Lab, a 34-13 winner over St. Charles Catholic, in the Division II championship game Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Manale won’t even mention the opponent to his team until after they take this weekend off. For now, the Cavaliers will enjoy the moment.

“I want these kids to have a good time,” Manale said. “On Monday, we’ll be ready to go.”