Halloween night in Lafayette, the Acalanes Dons took the field cloaked head-to-toe in black, a perfect match for the “Blackout” theme for the  Halloween Bowl. Their black uniforms shimmered under the lights like armor, but their message stayed true to the season’s spirit and the team’s creed: Fear the Blue.  By the final whistle echoed through the October air, there was plenty to fear. The Dons haunted Clayton Valley all night long, unleashing a chilling blend of power and punch to stay undefeated with a 31–14 victory, locking up another Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division title.

Clayton Valley struck first, eager to play the villains of the night, but Acalanes quickly flipped the script. In the second quarter, Deonte Littlejohn bulldozed into the end zone, and quarterback Tyler Winkles followed with a keeper to give the Dons a 13–7 halftime lead. From there, it was all trick and no treat for the Eagles. Littlejohn punched in another score in the third, then Winkles found Grant Ricker in the red zone before launching a 50-yard moonshot to Finley Rivera in the fourth, a dagger that sent the  Lafayette stands howling under the Halloween sky.  Big shout out to the O-line for keeping the Eagle defense away from the Dons so they can do their thing.  It matters.  Indeed it does!

The Dons’ defense was a monster of its own. Facing Fresno State commit Jhadis Luckey, one of Northern California’s most dangerous rushers,  Acalanes became a wall of iron and intent. Bryce Birdsong’s forced fumble set the tone early, while Grant Condy, Chris Copeland, Carson Wellington, Adam Ceicedo, River Lockwood, Danny Dunne, and Tommy Terhar anchored a defense that swarmed like shadows. And then there was Littlejohn, the two-way force whose energy detonated on both sides of the ball, pounding through holes on offense and blowing up plays on defense.

Offensively, the Dons were poetry in motion. Winkles was calm and clinical, completing 17 of 24 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. Senior workhorse Josh Elerts rumbled for 140 yards on 34 carries, grinding down the Eagles with relentless power. Littlejohn added 40 yards and two touchdowns, while Rivera dazzled with eight catches for 130 yards, a touchdown, and a clutch fumble recovery.  Acalanes controlled every heartbeat of the game, 81 plays to Clayton Valley’s 34, nearly three-quarters of the possession, and three scoring drives built on patience, precision, and punishing physicality.  

And for one last spark of Halloween magic, soccer star–turned–special teamer Omri “Formi-da-Bull” Noiman made his football debut one for the highlight reels. Two weeks into the sport, the senior launched a booming kickoff that sent the crowd into a frenzy. An Eagle returner fielded it clean and streaked through the Dons’ coverage, the kind of breakaway that usually ends in six. But not this time. Not with Noiman. Not on his watch.  Channeling every ounce of his soccer grit, the “Formi-da-Bull” lowered his shoulder and leveled the would-be scorer in a thunderclap tackle; the Eagle was stopped.  

 The Dons closed their final home game of the regular season in style, undefeated, unbothered, and unbreakable.  Next Friday, the Dons head 4.4 miles to Walnut Creek, ready to knock out the Las Lomas Knights before storming into the NCS playoffs.