He's the rock at Grant of Sacramento with 40 years at the school under his belt, including the last 18 as head football coach. The 2008 season culminated with historic win over Long Beach Poly.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor

Days before his Grant High football team of Sacramento took the field to play favored Long Beach Poly in the first CIF Open Division state championship game, Pacers' head coach Mike Alberghini talked about how the stars seemed to align just right for his squad to gain selection into the contest opposite the undefeated Jackrabbits.

But it was more than astrology than pushed the Pacers into that game. It was Alberghini, who then fired up his team for a 25-20 triumph, a final 14-0 record and a final No. 10 national ranking in the ESPN RISE FAB 50.

As a result of that victory, plus all that he's done in both football and baseball during an admirable career at the Del Paso Heights neighborhood school, Alberghini has been selected today as the CalHiSports.com State Coach of the Year.

	Scott Kurtz
	Mike Alberghini

The last State Coach of the Year in football from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section was Wayne Schneider of Tracy in 1982. The last from the Sacramento area was Ron Lancaster from Cordova of Rancho Cordova in 1979.

With all of the recent hoopla surrounding Alberghini's football program, people forget just how good he was as a baseball coach at Grant before he switched head coaching positions in 1991.

During the 1980s, in fact, Albergini's Grant teams won more baseball games than any other school in the state other than nearby Cordova with a record of 247-107-3.

Alberghini's 1989 team won the Sac-Joaquin Section title and finished 37-7-1, which is still the state record for most baseball wins in one season. His 1984 team also finished among the top five in the state with a 35-4 record, including a 27-0 start.

In that season, the Pacers were dueling with fellow California school Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (which also started 27-0) for the No. 1 national ranking before they stumbled at the end. They still set a state record for most hits in a season with 424 that still stands.

Since the 1991 season, when Alberghini took over the Pacer football program, Grant has normally been at the top or near the top of the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Two years ago, he had his most talented team, based on the number of players who signed letters of intent, but the lack of a strong schedule plus the fact that De La Salle of Concord had another unbeaten team led to the Spartans and not Grant being selected to appear as the North representative in the first CIF Division I state bowl game.

Following that season, Alberghini needed young players to step up in 2007. Despite winning seven games, they weren't quite ready and ended up only 7-4, including a first-round playoff loss to Ponderosa of Shingle Springs.

That poor showing was one reason why the Pacers didn't start out this year's preseason state rankings that high. Twelve starters were returning, though, and Alberghini knew he had something special brewing so he tried to line up a stronger schedule. That move paid off more than he could have imagined since two teams that Grant beat Highland of Pocatello, Idaho, and Alta of Sandy, Utah wound up winning championships in their states.

After the Long Beach Poly win, Alberghini raised his own football head coaching record to 192-32-1, which is a winning percentage of 85.33 percent. The only coaches in state history with at least 100 wins and a higher winning percentage are Bob Ladouceur of De La Salle and Mike Glines from Central Catholic of Modesto.

The 61-year-old coach is a graduate of Mira Loma High in Sacramento and played himself in the late 1960s for legendary Matadors' coach Don Brown. Amazingly, two other recent state football coaches of the year also are from Mira Loma Kevin Rooney from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (2002) and Randy Blankenship from Clovis West of Fresno (1998).

Alberghini's list of football coaching accomplishments at Grant also includes six Sac-Joaquin Section titles, 15 league championships and 18 straight playoff berths.

Among his former players are wide receiver Donte Stallworth and running back Onterrio Smith. Stallworth is still in the NFL and played in the Super Bowl last January. Smith, who led the state with 53 touchdowns in 1998, once starred for the Minnesota Vikings. Alberghini also was the high school coach of former Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners baseball player Ricky Jordan.

Current college football players and Grant alums Worrell Williams (senior linebacker at Cal), Syd-Quan Thompson (junior cornerback at Cal) and Christian Tupou (freshman defensive tackle at USC) all look like they will have legitimate NFL opportunities down the road as well.

They can all thank Coach A for starting them on their way, but the entire Sacramento prep football community is now thanking him as well.

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