Battle 5
Grant's Union Uprising
vs. 
Grant Union (Sacramento) vs. Long Beach Polytechnic
25 20
The last of three games I watched last night, this was a night where all those close contests Poly had came back to haunt them, and it finally caught up to them. In this case, four out of five for the South isn't bad, it's terrible, even though they won the civil war, the Poly Jackrabbits are going to be ripped apart, and deservedly so.
If you don't have a strong offense to go with a strong defense, you're not gonna win. And such was the case with Raul Lara's team.
From the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Sacramento Bee.
Outcome: Decisive Southern California victory (4 games to 1)
Grant topples Poly, wins state title
Published: Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008 | Page 1CCARSON – If there was anyone out there who wondered if the Grant High School football team could play on the big stage, who questioned the Pacers' selection to the game or doubted their ability to compete with the state's top ranked team, the answer was revealed Saturday night.
Heavy underdogs entering the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division State Football Championship Bowl Game, the Pacers upset Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and second nationally by ESPN Rise, 25-20 at the Home Depot Center.
Darvin McCauley scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard reception from Grant quarterback Kipeli Koniseti with 1:11 to play.
McCauley and Koniseti's effort not only followed a 55-yard scoring run by the Jackrabbits' Melvin Richardson with 9:39 to play, but also capped a hard-fought game that was full of emotion, crushing hits and a back-and-forth final period.
The Pacers, ranked fifth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and 37th nationally by ESPN Rise, made history, becoming the first team from Sacramento to win a state championship in football before a statewide television audience and an estimated 10,000 fans.
"We told everybody from the get-go that we were going to get a state championship," Pacers senior linebacker Jeremiah Toma said. "We did it because we believed."
They will also remember "the Drive," an eight-play, 65-yard journey that began with 4:19 left and took Grant off Obscure Street and onto Championship Lane. McCauley, who had eight catches for an eye-popping 135 yards and two touchdowns, helped lead the way.
"I had their defensive backs beat all game," he said. "I told coach, just throw me the ball and I'm going to get it for him, and I did."
Grant largely controlled the Sac-Joaquin Section over the last 20 years with a section-leading 18 consecutive playoff berths, 15 league titles and six section titles.
It continued its dominance early thanks to a stingy defense that slowed the Jackrabbits' heralded running attack and the performance of Koniseti, the Pacers' stellar quarterback who plays with a linebacker's mentality.
Koniseti, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 236 yards, constantly showed his emotion throughout the game, especially on big plays in which he was involved.
Before an enthusiastic Grant crowd, which was on its feet shouting a choir-like "Pacers … Pacers … Pacers … " chant on seemingly every play, Koniseti threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to McCauley in the first quarter and scored from a yard out on in the second, giving the Pacers (14-0) a surprising 13-0 lead.
It further proved the Pacers had no intention of wilting under the pressure of the Poly mystique and the watchful eye of Poly alumnus and rap superstar Snoop Dogg, who attended the game wearing the Jackrabbits green and gold.
Poly, which has also produced the likes of actress Cameron Diaz, legendary tennis player Billie Jean King, baseball player Tony Gwynn, and NFL football players Willie McGinest and Gene Washington, entered the game with more tradition and a more decorated résumé. It has 18 Southern Section championships and the claim of having sent more players to the NFL (59) than any other program in the country.
The Pacers, however, didn't care. If pressure and Poly's prominence resembled a Mike Tyson uppercut, the Pacers endured the blow, and landed a few punches of their own.
Resembling the blue-collar mentality of Del Paso Heights, Grant displayed the prolific offense that helped it cruise to its sixth Sac-Joaquin Section championship and a three-game stretch during the regular season in which it outscored its opponents 205-0.
The Pacers racked up 369 yards of offense to Poly's 243. They had 15 first downs and the Jackrabbits' eight. More importantly, the Pacers limited the Jackrabbits' running game to 79 yards.
Poly (14-1) trailed only 13-7 at halftime, though, and Iuta Tepa and the passing tandem of Morgan Fennell and Jordan Johnson were key reasons. Pacers running back Devontae Booker fumbled at the Poly 30, and Tepa recovered and returned it to his own 40. Two plays later, Fennell hooked up with Johnson on a 65-yard score, cutting the Pacers lead to 13-7 with 4:52 left in the second quarter.
Later, the Jackrabbits' Juwuan Brown blocked a Grant punt, and Tyller Robinson picked it up, returned it nine yards for the score and gave the Poly its first lead at 14-13 with 3:16 to play in the third quarter.
The Pacers bounced back.
"We stood up to a very good football team," said Grant coach Mike Alberghini, who strives on the "We versus the world" slogan.
"This was a total team effort, and tonight was our night."
INCHES SHORT
Grant scores in final 90 seconds to upset Poly for the state titleArticle Launched: 12/21/2008 12:08:18 AM PSTCARSON - To some, Sacramento Grant High received an early Christmas present when it was picked to play Poly in the CIF Open Division state championship game late Saturday night at Home Depot Center.
Many thought Concord De La Salle, which lost to Corona Centennial in the Division I game Friday, should have been tabbed to play the Jackrabbits.
But the Pacers unwrapped that gift in grand style when Darvin McCauley caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kipeli Koniseti with 1:11 to play in the game to lift Grant to a 25-20 victory over the Jackrabbits before 14,122.
The Jackrabbits had taken a 20-19 lead with 9:39 to play on a 55-yard touchdown run by Melvin Richardson. But it did not stand up against a Pacers team that never seemed like it was intimidated by a Poly team that was supposed to win.
After the Pacers (14-0) took the lead for good, Poly started at its 31. Morgan Fennell threw a 19-yard completion to Stanjarivus McKay - a defensive back who had come in to play receiver - for a first down at midfield.
But Fennell then threw three incompletions - one of which was dropped - before connecting with Kaelin Clay on fourth down. Clay's catch ended up less than a foot short of the first down and the Pacers took over with 36.5 seconds to play.
After the Pacers ran out the clock, the players and coaches from their sideline stormed the field. Some of the Grant players had taken a knee, as if overcome by emotion.
Poly players walked ejectedly onto the field for the traditional shaking of hands.
The Jackrabbits (14-1) trailed, 13-0, early in the second quarter.
They had come back from three 10-point deficits in the Southern Section playoffs, but this time it was not to be.
"I gotta give it up to Northern California," said Poly linebacker George Daily-Lyles, who scored a touchdown off a blocked punt that gave the Jackrabbits a 14-13 lead late in the third quarter. "We thought we had them physically and mentally, but they came to play."
Whereas it has been Poly opponents who haven't been able to keep up at the end of games, Jackrabbits coach Raul Lara suggested it was his team that lost steam.
"I think the defense got worn out," Lara said. "We really didn't move the ball and give them time to rest. We were three and out too much."
Poly took its first lead of the game with 3:16 left in the third quarter. Jaymee Matheny was back to punt for the Pacers from his 17.
The Jackrabbits rushed several players with Juwuan Brown blocking the punt. Daily-Lyles picked up the ball about the 8 and ran it in.
Undaunted, Grant regained the lead when it marched downfield and scored on a 6-yard run by Devontae Butler with 10:36 left in the game.
But on first-and-10 from its 45 on its next possession, Poly saw Richardson break a couple of tackles on his way to what seemed at the time would be the winning touchdown. The 55-yard touchdown run gave the Jackrabbits a 20-19 lead.
The Pacers got on the board first when Koniseti found Darvin McCauley open down the right side for a 53-yard yard touchdown pass at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter.
The 1-play drive came after an 18-yard punt by sophomore Alan Roniss. He was playing for senior David Skara, who suffered a broken ankle in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division semifinals against Lakewood.
Meanwhile, Poly couldn't do a thing in the first quarter, gaining just 19 yards on 12 plays.
Then things got worse for the Jackrabbits early in the second quarter. On fourth-and-16 from the Jackrabbits' 40, Koniseti dropped back to pass. Howard Warren was open down the left side behind Middleton and Koniseti hit him for a 39-yard gain to the Poly 1-yard line.
Koniseti ran the ball in on the next play for a 13-0 lead 10:44 before halftime.
Koniseti also is the placekicker for Grant - although the Pacers did not have a field goal all season - and after an illegal procedure call moved the ball 5 yards back, Koniseti missed the extra point wide left.
Again, Grant did not have to go far. It started that drive on the Poly 34. Only a sack of Koniseti by Iuta Tepa put the Pacers back on the 40.
Grant appeared on its way to increasing its lead a few minutes later. On a first down at the Jackrabbits' 44, he took off on a keeper. Eighteen yards later, Tepa ripped the ball out of his arms.
Tepa began his return and then he fumbled the ball, but teammate Juwuan Brown recovered and Poly had avoided what could have been an even bigger deficit.
That changed the momentum big-time because after Fennel threw two incompletions, he connected with Kaelin Clay in stride for a 65-yard touchdown to pull the Jackrabbits within 13-7 with 4:52 left before halftime.
The Jackrabbits looked like they might be able to take a lead into the locker room after Koniseti fumbled again after a hit by Matauaina Iosia; the ball flew into the air and Corey Waller recovered for Poly.
On third-and-20, Jordan Johnson made a leaping grab of a Fennel pass for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the Grant 21. But the Jackrabbits went in reverse from there, thanks in part to an offensive pass interference call on Clay in the end zone.
Poly missed a chance to get on the board on its first possession when, on third-and-7 from its 35, Fennel threw just a bit wide to Cory Westbrook at about the 50. Westbrook got a finger on it, but that's about it. Had he caught it, he had clear sailing to the end zone.
The Jackrabbits had just 101 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to 209 for the Pacers. Only six of Poly's yards came on the ground. Richardson carried the ball six times for 12 yards, five of the carries coming in the first quarter.
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