After 26 games of perfection – all victories and two CIF State Bowl Championship Open Division titles –
Bart Houston hit a wall.
Or a mental block.
Or an emotional crossroads.
The
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) quarterback was just, well, awful. He overthrew receivers. Made wrong reads. Center snaps were even a challenge.
After rocky start, Bart Houston is
back on track to lead De La Salle
to its third straight Open Division
Bowl title.
Photo by Dennis Lee
This from a rock solid – physically and mentally – 6-foot-4, 214-pound national Top 100 recruit, who had a few months earlier committed to the University of Wisconsin.
"For a while, we worried he had Mackey Sasser or Steve Sax syndrome," quipped De La Salle Athletic Director Terry Eidson.
Following two rocky outings to start the season, Houston hit rock bottom for all the world to see, during a nationally televised 30-6 defeat at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Houston lost two critical fumbles and threw an interceptions which led to 17 points. He was an unsightly 6-of-16 for 79 yards – he's a 62 percent career passer - and he had nothing to do with De La Salle's lone touchdown.
That came on a trick play, a 58-yard halfback pass to
ANTHONY WILLIAMS.
It was a very long 3,000-mile flight home.
"It was pretty devastating," Houston said. "I could barely live with myself."
But that's where De La Salle's much talked-about "brotherhood," took hold. Teammates lightened him up. Coaches reminded him that he makes up nine percent of the offense.
But mostly Houston said "I just stuck my nose to the grind stone. That's what we all do. We just keep grinding and grinding and grinding and we don't stop."
The results have been more typical Houston and the Spartans. De La Salle (12-1) has won 10 straight since Florida and outscored opponents 458-57. Houston has been nearly flawless, with 77 completions in 130 attempts for 1,574 yards, 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
He's also rushed for 14 of his career-high 17 touchdowns.
Most important to Houston, he's led the Spartans back to the State Bowl Championship Open Division game.
They play Westlake-Westlake Village (14-0) 8 p.m. tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
"I think heading into the season he was carrying that burden of never losing a game," Eidson said. "He was definitely trying to do too much. Once we lost, he got that monkey off his back and he's been better than ever."
Said Houston: "I was definitely trying too hard. The first San Ramon Valley game (a 40-3 victory on Oct. 28 I finally felt like a Spartan again. I just started making plays again and having fun."
Cal-bound linebacker
Michael Barton loved seeing the old Houston.
"Just loved seeing him smile again," Barton said. "All our early problems weren't on Bart. There were a lot of problems. But Bart took it all on himself. Once he got over that, he was all good. We were all good."
It would be the ultimate if he could finish with a win over Westlake, ranked seventh nationally by MaxPreps.com. Westlake is a big and strong up front, athletic at the skill spots and extremely well coached.
That was the discription of last year's Open Division opponent, Servite-Anaheim, which De La Salle defeated 48-8. A victory would be De La Salle's third straight and fourth bowl championship, both records.
It's hard to imagine any quarterback leading his team to three straight Bowl championships. He heads into Saturday's game with impressive career records - 265 completions in 425 attempts, for 4,497 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
He's also rushed for 629 yards and 29 scores.
The most important numbers however are this: 38 wins and one loss.
"Records don't mean much to any of us," Houston said. "We're just out to repeat."
