Bee’s Best prep football: No. 5 Granite Bay looks to compete for SFL crown
The Sacramento Bee will unveil our Top 25 football rankings from No. 25 to No. 1, at least a team every weekday, right up to the Aug. 19 kickoff.
No. 5 Granite Bay
City: Granite Bay
School opened: 1996
League: Sierra Foothill League
Division: l
Enrollment: 2,060
2021 record: 8-3
Coach: Joe Cattolico
Outlook: Year 2 as the Granite Bay High School football coach for Joe Cattolico should be different.
For starters, Cattolico got to spend a full offseason with his new players. He was hired only months before the fall 2021 season. Having a full offseason allowed Cattolico to connect with his players more by teaching them plays and concepts.
“The (full) offseason is good,” Cattolico said. “Last year (not having a full offseason) didn’t hurt us as much in normal circumstances because the spring season meant nobody had a full offseason. It was beneficial for us to have a full offseason. The kids have a full year of the system and the schemes under their belts.”
Granite Bay returns a handful of starters from a team that went 8-3 last season. The Grizzlies bring back three starters on the offensive line in Zaire Collier, Jack Ferguson and Talae Tuimaunei. Granite Bay will also start Jack Blackburn and Kameron Kaminski on the offensive line.
Five senior starters on the offensive line is rare in high school football. So rare that’s never happened in Cattolico’s decorated 25-year coaching career.
“It’s fair to say that quarterback is probably the most important single position,” Cattolico said “But collectively as a unit at our level, the line is the most important part of a team. We have an experienced group. We anticipate that we will start five senior offensive lineman.”
Other key returners for Granite Bay include linebackers Frank Cusano Bryan Bogne and running back C.J. Herring. Starting at quarterback this season for Granite Bay is McCade Long. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior got some reps as the backup last season.
It’s now his team.
“We think (he) is a really good player,” Cattolico said. “He did well for us in the snaps he got last year. He’s kinda the leader for us offensively and somebody we think is going to have a really good season for us.”
The Grizzlies open up the season on the road against Elk Grove on Friday. Other non-league games include Davis, Vista del Lago, Spanish Springs of Nevada and Vacaville. Granite Bay opens up Sierra Foothill League play against Del Oro on Sept. 30.
“They have a real good program,” Cattolico said on opening the season against Elk Grove. “We are excited about playing that ball game. We think we have a pretty tough schedule from start to finish. We have our work cut out for us.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.