Prep Blog

Marvin Lamb and Howard Warren wagered a friendly bet among buddies this week.

The MVP of the 53rd Optimist All-Star Game would collect a tidy sum of $20. So confident were the two graduated Grant High School playmakers, they never even considered the prospect of someone else actually garnering MVP honors. It was going to be one of them.
Warren won the 20 spot, earning MVP honors Friday in the charity contest, but he was honorable enough to split it with Lamb.

It could easily be argued that Lamb was the MVP of the first half and Warren the second as both keyed the North's 21-7 cq victory over the South cq at steamy hot American River College in front of 4,332 fans who caught the official end of what has been a spectacular 2008 prep season cq.

And one thing about Grant players. They're all about versatility, thirsting for the big plays and relishing the big-stage moment. Lamb caught the winning touchdown to beat nationally ranked No. 2 Long Beach Poly in the Open Division State Championship Bowl game that capped a dream 14-0 season for the Pacers in December, and against the South, he returned a first-quarter interception 46 yards for a touchdown. In the second half, it was Warren who personally pulled the North out of an offensive funk.

Known for his defensive back abilities, Warren scored on a shifty 11-yard touchdown xqin the third quarter then iced it with a spectacular 34-yard touchdown burst cq, breaking three tackles, with 4:09 to play cq.

And another thing about Grant players such as Lamb and Warren. They're as giddy and goofy as they are polite and proud.

"I can't take all of his money," a grinning Warren said, ribbing Lamb, who was next to him. "We both earned the $20. The whole team did."

Per the norm for a lot of these all-star gatherings, the offenses looked a bit out of flow, with only a week to prepare. The North defense, headed by a superb defensive line, allowed only a handful of big plays, including a 5-yard touchdown from Burbank's Miles Freeman cq to Sacramento's Denzel Pruitt cq. Other than that, the South had to punt nine times and it surrendered four sacks, two by Josh Fields of Rio Linda, whose two stops amounted to 30 yards in losses.

Lamb is off to the University of Maryland for summer school next week where he plans to make more big plays for the football program. Warren is off to Utah to play the slot, much like his brother, Paris, did earlier this decade after his storied Grant career. Paris Warren is now employed by the New Orleans Saints cq and watched kid brother shine Friday.

All told, it was a fine finish for Grant. North coach Mike Alberghini had 10 Pacers on the roster. He coached a number of Grant players in the Holiday Classic All-Star game in December to victory, and Friday made his 2008 season in which he was named National Coach of the Year feel like a 16-0 season mark. He also moved to 3-1 cq lifetime in the Optimist game as a head coach and 5-1 overall, having served as defensive coordinator in two other contests.

Alberghini's co-coach for the game was Casey Taylor, whose staff ran the offense. Taylor said a fresh Warren made the difference in the second half, saying, "he was the spark we needed."

Other highlights included: Fullback David Kilson of Florin and the South plowing over two opponents on a kickoff return, showing that he has recovered just fine from a knee injury that sidelined him at midseason; linebacker Jeremiah Toma of Grant nearly cut a guy in half with clean, hard breakup of a screen pass; linebacker Daniel Cox of Christian Brothers and the South recovering a fumble and making an interception; Travis Snider of Jesuit and the South and Aaron Matthews of Franklin and the South making interceptions in the end zone. For the North, Manasa Kikau of Rio Americano and Ben Holland of Rocklin had interceptions.