If you could coach anywhere for 1 game

That 2001 game might also have set a standard for NFL talent. Nine players made it from that game to the top level of professional football, and seven are still in the league -- four from Poly and three from De La Salle.

Poly's team included four players -- running back Hershel Dennis, linemen Winston Justice and Manuel Wright and defensive back Darnell Bing -- who signed with USC and became the backbone of future recruiting classes that propelled the Trojans to the upper echelons of college football's national rankings. Tight end Marcedes Lewis signed with UCLA and became an All-American.

De La Salle unveiled an unsung 5-foot-7 junior running back, Maurice Drew, who went on to star at UCLA -- and with the Jacksonville Jaguars as Maurice Jones-Drew.

Jones-Drew's Jacksonville teammates this season include Lewis and lineman Derek Landri, a former De La Salle star who played in college for Notre Dame.

De La Salle's quarterback in 2001 was Matt Gutierrez, now a backup with the New England Patriots.

"It was one of the most memorable games we've played," De La Salle defensive coordinator Terry Eidson recalled. "You use the expression, 'Leave it on the field,' and we did."

Behind the scenes, Wallace said there was an emphasis on sportsmanship after the Sept. 11 attacks. Firefighters used boots to collect donations in the end zone.

"There was no trash talking before or after the game," Wallace said.

And Wallace's wasn't the only book the game helped inspire. There was also Neil Hayes' "When the Game Stands Tall: The Story of the De La Salle Spartans and Football's Longest Winning Streak."

Two books chronicling one high school game? That in itself speaks volumes about the impact of De La Salle playing Poly in 2001.