Grant of Sacramento wanted to be in the spotlight and now that it's happened, how will the Pacers fare against state's winningest all-time program and a team ranked No. 2 in the nation.

By Mark Tennis & Ronnie Flores

From the North: Grant (Sacramento) 13-0

Head Coach: Mike Alberghini
Last Game: Defeated Burbank of Sacramento, 55-6, in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II title game.
Surprise Factor: Picking Grant instead of De La Salle is the most surprising pick in the three years since the CIF State Championship Bowl Games were implemented. The Pacers are a fine team and could give the Jackrabbits fits in certain areas, but they clearly did not play as tough a schedule as De La Salle despite defeating two small state championship teams.
School Tradition: Alberghini is at the crux of the Pacers' tradition since the first half of his 40-year coaching career at the school was spent more as a baseball coach. He's been the football coach for 18 years and has won six section titles. Among his best players have been Donte Stallworth, Onterrio Smith, Aaron Garcia and current college standouts Worrell Williams, Syd-Quan Thompson and Christian Tupou.
Key Players: QB Kipeli Koniseti is a beast at 6-3, 215 pounds and is tough to bring down when he runs the ball. He's also passed for nearly 1,400 yards and 17 TDs. Junior Devontrae Butler has rushed for 1,856 yards and 36 TDs and has emerged as one of the best juniors in the state. Darvin McCauley is the top receiver with 44 catches for 814 yards and 10 TDs. There's also a ton of playmaking ability among the back seven on defense. Any one of the LBs or DBs can pick it and run it back.
Early Matchup Analysis vs. Long Beach Poly: In the long history of Grant football, there have been only a handful of occasions when the Pacers have played an opponent even close to them in speed in athleticism. Against Long Beach Poly, they get an opponent that may be faster and more athletic. "Those are things we're just going to have to figure out and do that quickly," Alberghini said of facing Poly's speed. "I don't think their speed is going to be truly greater than ours. Both runners they have are very good. There's just going to be speed all over the field."

From the South: Poly (Long Beach) 14-0

Head Coach: Raul Lara (4 Div. I/Pac-Five titles in 8 years)
Last Game: Defeated Tesoro of Las Flores, 20-17, in the CIF Southern Section Pac-Five Division title game.
Surprise Factor: None. The Jackrabbits have been the state's No. 1 team since the third week of the season following De La Salle's two-point loss to Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey. Poly defeated quality non-league opponents and won the toughest playoff division in the state of California.
School Tradition: With its win over Tesoro in its section title game, Poly became the state's all-time winningest program with a reported 684 wins, one more than previous record-holder, Bakersfield High. Poly has been playing football since 1904 and has had a strong program since they've opened the doors. The school is known worldwide for its athletic excellence and is currently is the middle of its greatest era of football, as they have reached the semifinals in the Southern Section's toughest division every year but once (2005) since the 1995 season. That is quite an accomplishment when you consider the school has won 18 section titles and has produced more NFL players than any other program in America. They first won a state title in 1919 with a 21-14 victory over Berkeley and are attempting to become the first school in state history to win one in both the modern era and the period between 1915 and 1927 when the CIF first conducted state playoff games.
Key Players: RB Melvin Richardson (8 TDs in the postseason), QB Morgan Fannell, TE Julian Camper, DE Iuta Tepa, LB Gorge Daily-Lyles, DB/WR Stan McKay, DB Lazari Middleton.
Early Matchup Analysis vs. Grant: Poly has to feel confident going into this matchup, but head coach Raul Lara admits he doesn't know as much about Grant as he does the opponent everyone thought his club would face, De La Salle. "I've never seen Grant, but I've heard about them. This year, we've been keeping an eye on them and from what I hear they would be similar to a good Dominguez team." Ever since Poly beat Orange Lutheran in last year's Pac-Five semifinals, 2-0, the Jackrabbits found a way to defeat teams, outscoring their playoff opponents, 65-27, in the second half. Poly keeps it simple, relying on conservative play calls on offense, the occasional positive broken play by Fannell and the state's best overall defense. Tepa is the state's best defensive end and wreaks havoc against even the big and talented lines like the one Tesoro took to Anaheim Stadium. Grant has to find a way to slow him down. Daily-Lyles is also a play-maker and has been on a mission since missing last year's section title game. Despite graduating four defensive backs who received scholarships last season, McKay and Middleton will be headed to big-time schools. They are fast, aggressive and the defense seems to be making less mental lapses than equally talented units of recent seasons.
If Fannell avoids turnovers and Richardson runs like he's capable, Poly has a good chance to win because the defense is not likely to allow more than the 17 points they did against Tesoro. Poly will also be prepared for and able to handle Grant's team speed better than any opponent they've faced in the Mike Alberghini era. "Don Norford told me 'they are fast' and when a guy like him makes a statement like that, you know they are really fast."

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