McAllister’s memorable night: Delta Saints QB has 5 TDs to honor fallen brother, Justin

Gavin McAllister has been through a lot these past few weeks, a roller coaster of emotions, heavy on hurt.

His older brother, Justin, a Sacramento City College lineman, died on Sept. 11th after a conditioning drill. With the help and encouragement from his Delta High School football teammates, McAllister has been able to make it to practice and make it to games, and to lead his team.

On Friday night in Clarksburg along the banks of the Sacramento River, McAllister delivered his finest outing of his junior season, passing for 217 yards and firing four touchdown passes, running for one and coming up with an interception on defense in a 50-26 nonleague win over Mira Loma to push the Saints record to 6-1.

“It’s been rough,” McAllister said. “I’ve just got to keep my head up, keep going to school and do what I need to do to get through this.”

McAllister isn’t alone in his grief. The river community also feels his pain as Justin McAllister was known for his 6-foot-7 frame and enduring smile. He was a multi-sport player at Delta. And games at Delta are a social event. The school has just 203 students, but they sure draw a crowd. Under old wooden pole lights with a dirt track and grass field, the Saints remain a throwback program to their championship days of the 1970s.

Justin McAllister’s sudden passing sat heavily on the hearts of those in attendance. Friday night’s crowd was packed with overflow seating on the track as fans brought lawn chairs to watch.

“I wear his shirt underneath my uniform,” McAllister said. “It’s his Sac City shirt with our name on the back. I also wear his number 68 jersey every pregame. It allows me to connect with him and be thinking of him as I’m playing.”

Delta coach Tim Rapp has fond memories of Justin. He taught him, coached him, and he attended a moving candlelight vigil at Hughes Stadium the night Justin died.

“I was his sixth-grade teacher,” Rapp said. “I’ve known him forever. I coached him in football and in baseball. I’ve always had a really great relationship with Justin and it’s just been so hard seeing his family go through this.”

Rapp, a Delta alum himself, said he visited the hospital that terrible Monday night along with former Saints co-coach Ed Call at the request of Justin and Gavin’s mother, Mary. He said he was extremely humbled by the call and said he wants to do what he can to support them.

“Gavin’s been amazing through this,” Rapp said. “He keeps coming to practice and just keeps fighting through. It’s what he wants to do in honor of Justin. What he’s battling through is just unimaginable and it was awesome for him to have that performance tonight.”

The team changed its pregame chant from “1-2-3 brotherhood” to “1-2-3 Justin.” Senior receiver Kaden Clive included a mention of his “brother” Justin in his Senior Night speech and then caught two TD passes.

Delta is preparing to hold a celebration of life ceremony for Justin on Sunday at Dichiara Field. McAllister described the support his teammates have provided. Many on the roster played with Justin, including the four seniors who were recognized on Senior Night.

“We’ve been doing midnight runs to Dutch Bros,” McAllister said. “It’s just been a cool way to relax with my teammates and be able to process this whole thing. A lot of them played with Justin and they’re going through it, too, so it’s cool to just make it through this together.”

McAllister’s big night came on an evening when Rapp expected a close game. His first TD strike was a 40-yarder to sophomore receiver Max Danila. He followed that with a 5-yard TD run, a 38-yard scoring pass to Clive, a 43-yarder to Clive and finally an 11-yarder to Danila late in the second half. McAllister got a second-half interception on defense and kicked two PATs.

Rapp said many of McAllister’s big throws were improvised. The Saints other two touchdowns came from rushes by Michael Reichow and Izaya Rubio.

This small-town school has a country feel. All the coaches wore cowboy hats. Rapp said they did it against Foresthill the previous week and tried it again Friday because coaches embrace superstition. The assistants wore white while Rapp had a black hat. They’re undefeated with the hats.

Rapp and just about everyone in attendance commended McAllister for playing through tough times and playing in remembrance of his brother.

“It really is inspiring to see a kid like that go out on the football field and play lights out to honor the life of his brother,” Rapp said. “It really is amazing.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2023 at 12:34 AM.