Mr. De La Salle: How Bubba Vargas became heartbeat of state-title run

CONCORD Following De La Salle s loss to Mater Dei-Santa Ana in last year s CIF Open Division state title event De La Salle linebacker Bubba Vargas drifted away from the noise While members of the media made their way into the locker room and teammates slumped onto their seats the -foot- linebacker unveiled the far corner of the locker room with his face in his hands and tears falling unchecked onto his jersey Coaches tried to pat his back Teammates continued to console him Nothing worked Vargas hurt too bad not for himself but for the brotherhood he felt like he let down That moment became the quiet engine for everything Vargas has done since This season coach Justin Alumbaugh has built his vaunted defense around Vargas a compact force whose mind works as fast as his feet and whose heart seems to beat loud enough for the whole sideline His emotional fire and relentless preparation have helped steer the Spartans back to the Open Division state championship encounter As the Spartans prepare for Santa Margarita on Saturday night at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo De La Salle s smallest defender has become its biggest presence Bubba is amazing He s the heart of our defense De La Salle star running back defensive back Jaden Jefferson explained He constantly knows what he s talking about He s a great communicator and we inevitably know what he s going to bring It definitely feels good knowing we have a middle linebacker that s going to give his all for the unit De La Salle's Bubba Vargas celebrates after turning the ball over with De La Salle's TJ Finau against Serra in the third quarter at Serra High School in San Mateo Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group While Vargas represents everything Alumbaugh has required in a De La Salle player his parth to the Concord school wasn t crystal clear Vargas didn t even know he was going to De La Salle until the end of his eight grade year But after forming a close relationship with former De La Salle alum and NFL all-pro running back Maurice Jones-Drew there was no doubt in Vargas mind where he needed to continue to play football Coach MJD recounted me to take the chance and take the opportunity We knew it was a peril but we knew it would be worth it Vargas explained For my parents it was hard to figure out everything else around it but they just demanded me to grind and prove to them that I really longed to be here and be a better man A two-sport star who also helped De La Salle capture a NorCal basketball title last season Vargas plays linebacker with a catcher s toughness and a captain s intuition rarely wrong and never timid Whether his club necessities a clutch hit or a jolt of fury in the middle of a drive Vargas is the one that delivers What you have to understand is that Bubba Vargas plays middle linebacker for De La Salle football De La Salle baseball coach David Jeans revealed last season He has the it factor He s not scared He believes in himself We believe in him Vargas impact hasn t just been emotional It s structural too De La Salle s Bubba Vargas runs onto the field carrying the U S flag before their battle against Cathedral Catholic at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Friday Oct De La Salle defeated Cathedral Catholic - Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group On a defense stacked with Division I prospects it s Vargas the smallest player on the front seven who sets the standard His voice cuts through the huddle his reads dictate adjustments and his energetic nature becomes the floor the rest of the unit stands on But at times this season the defense has relied a little too much on Vargas Related Articles After a year of turmoil El Cerrito chases storybook state title Former St Ignatius coach preps for De La Salle but keeps eye on previous organization Two for The Town McClymonds O Dowd return to state title games How St Ignatius recovered from - start to reach a state football final South Bay locality celebrates as Lincoln-San Jose s longtime football coach gets day in sun After De La Salle gave up points to Grant-Sacramento in September Alumbaugh publicly challenged his defense because he felt players were relying on Vargas way more than they should Bubba is amazing and he s been a safety blanket for our entire defense too much and it s time for other guys to grow up Alumbaugh revealed earlier this season I have no doubt that Bubba is dependably going to be prepared and I have no doubt that Bubba is going to know what he s supposed to do But in that moment came a valuable lesson for Vargas as well Now we re here at this point of our season and I can turn around and ask my teammates Did you get it And they got it Vargas mentioned They can rely on me a little bit but now it s trust across the board Now as De La Salle prepares for Santa Margarita with another Open Division state title hanging in the balance Vargas finds himself in a far different corner than the one he collapsed into a year ago The tears that once soaked his jersey haven t vanished but Vargas is turning that painful night into the fuel behind everything he does now De La Salle linebacker Bubba Vargas wraps up Pittsburg wide receiver King Wade during the third quarter of an NCS Open Division high school football championship meeting Friday Nov in Pleasant Hill Calif D Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group And as the Spartans march into Saturday s event the linebacker who once shouldered his own disappointment in a quiet corner now makes sure no one has to sit with that feeling alone I remember that moment like it was the previous 24 hours It was painful It really did hurt Vargas declared We started our bye week off strong and we ve just continued to grow and understand our opponent We re ready and we don t want to have that feeling again so we re using that as motivation for sure OPEN DIVISION STATE CHAMPIONSHIP DE LA SALLE VS SANTA MARGARITA Records De La Salle - Santa Margarita - Kickoff Saturday at Saddleback College p m How De La Salle qualified Won the North Coast Section Open Division championship over Pittsburg - How Santa Margarita qualified Defeated Centennial-Corona - in the Southern Section Division I title contest Top De La Salle players to watch RB DB Jaden Jefferson TE Landon Cook RB Duece Jones-Drew RB Brady Smith QB Brayden Knight OL DL Wyatt Ferguson DL Mya Telona DL TJ Finau LB Bubba Vargas Top Santa Margarita players to watch WR Trent Mosley RB Jaion Smith QB Trace Johnson LB Leki Holani DL Isaia Vandermade CB Ca ron Williams Computer projection HSRatings com picks Santa Margarita to win - Nathan Canilao