High School Showcase: De La Salle HC Justin Alumbaugh

De La Salle head football coach Justin Alumbaugh joins The Drive Guys for this week’s Sactown Sports High School Showcase.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sep 16, 2026, 6:13 PM

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Watch: Sactown Sports High School Showcase: De La Salle HC Justin Alumbaugh | 9 mins

High school football season is in full swing, bringing Friday night games back to schools all throughout the Sacramento region. With plenty of potential future NFL and collegiate talent, there’s plenty to watch locally.

Sactown Sports is expanding its coverage of the local high school football scene with the ‘Sactown Sports High School Showcase’, a weekly feature highlighting some of the top teams, players, and matchups from around the area. Each week, The Drive Guys with Whitey Gleason and Allen Stiles will be joined by a reporter, coach, or another voice connected to the local football scene to get the latest insight.

For the latest edition, De La Salle head football coach Justin Alumbaugh joined the show. He discussed the Spartans’ 3-0 start, their upcoming matchup with St. Mary’s of Stockton, and how one of Northern California’s most established programs continues to evolve.

Stylistically, De La Salle wants to establish the run, as usual, but Alumbaugh believes this year’s offense gives the Spartans more flexibility.

“We have a little bit more of a dynamic passing attack this year with our quarterback and receivers,” Alumbaugh said with a laugh. “They might be surprised that we actually can complete a forward pass this year, which is a nice change of pace.”

Alumbaugh called their run-first style part of the program’s culture, but acknowledged that consistently facing elite competition has made developing the passing game increasingly important.

“If you’re going to compete at an elite level, you have to make people respect the pass,” Alumbaugh said. “Get a couple guys out of the box, and that’s something that we’ve been really focusing on for the past couple of years.”

That growth has also included giving players a voice in what they’re seeing on the field. Alumbaugh said two of De La Salle’s touchdown passes in the season-opening win over Serra came on plays his players suggested.

“We always try to encourage our young men to be problem solvers, both on and off the field,” he said.

Now in his 29th year coaching, Alumbaugh said the players and staff around him continue to bring new ideas into a program built on decades of tradition. The Spartans already find themselves back near the top of the Northern California conversation after a hot start, but Alumbaugh isn’t putting much stock in September rankings.

He pointed to Folsom and Pittsburg as other top teams with plenty of football still ahead of them, while De La Salle has its own difficult stretch coming.

“I can’t worry about rankings,” Alumbaugh said. “I’ve got to worry about making sure our team is preparing every day.”

Next up is St. Mary’s on Friday before another test against Centennial the following week.

Listen to and watch Sactown Sports’ The Drive Guys with Kevin “Whitey” Gleason and Allen Stiles, airing weekdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT on Sactown Sports.