Pacers pounce: Grant rolls over Woodcreek to win ninth section championship since 1992
For all of the wondrous things the Grant Pacers have accomplished in the last 30-plus seasons, they accomplished a unique first on Friday night.
They repeated.
In racing past Woodcreek 40-14 at Hughes Stadium to defend their CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship, the storied Pacers added another milestone to their glossy gridiron resume.
The latest effort stamped Grant as section champions for the ninth time, the first seven coming in D-I or D-II under famed coach Mike Alberghini, whom the Pacers’ home field is named after. The last two titles are under the leadership of two men Coach Al mentored.
Co-coaches Carl Reed and Syd Thompson, The Bee’s Coaches of the Year in 2022, won championships as Pacers players and have continued the trend, one that features scores of former players coming full circle to give back to a school that gave them so much.
Grant’s star running backs Devin Green and Wayshawn Parker are not Pacers from yesteryear as offseason transfers from the Elk Grove Unified School District, but they champion the program’s decades-long battle cry of “Pacer4Life” — a slogan coaches and alums wear on shirts. Green and Parker have known each other for a long time. They were youth teammates as 7-year olds some 10 years ago when they first played a game at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College, and here they were again, looking more like men than boys.
The UNLV-committed Green opened the scoring with a 54-yard touchdown romp on the second play of the game and finished with 70 yards on eight carries. His second score was a 1-yard plunge for a 34-7 lead. He is the power element to the Pacers charge.
In between, the dynamic Washington State-bound Parker took off on TD sprints of 60 and 63 yards. He rushed for 145 yards on just six carries. Luke Alexander provided the balance at quarterback, passing for 232 yards on 12-of-15 passing with two touchdowns to Oregon-bound wideout/safety Kingston Lopa.
Parker has 1,755 yards rushing and 21 TDs this season. Green has powered for 510 yards and nine rushing scores in six games. Alexander has passed for 2,863 yards and 41 TDs, 14 of those to the 6-foot-5 Lopa. The new faces blended in with the returning ones.
All section champions advance to Northern California or Southern California regional title games next weekend. The CIF will release those brackets by 2 p.m. Sunday.
“This is a crew that had a mission to continue the culture,” Reed said of his giddy group celebrating nearby. “It’s that culture. They built it in the classroom and kept it going on the field, and the result is this. They knew they wanted to be the first back-to-back.”
Reed beamed at seeing the joy of his players, who enjoy representing their school, families and the passionate Del Paso Heights community.
“This is what it’s all about,” Reed said. “It’s about them taking care of business. It’s all about them. Really proud of them.”
Grant was a nightmare to defend because of its speed, the playmakers and the rolling momentum. It proved to be too tall of a task for Woodcreek, the Roseville school that enjoyed the finest season in its 30-year history, a credit to coach Brad Hunkins.
Hakeem Anderson rushed for 104 yards for Woodcreek. Austin Katapodis hit Tyler Smith for a 17-yard touchdown to conclude the scoring. Katapodis had a 1-yard run in the first quarter to tie it 7-7 before Grant’s big plays broke it open.
“When we’re on, it’s hard to defend us,” Reed said. “You have to figure out what you’re going to do against us. I mean, Devin and Wayshawn, and then you have to be careful with the passing game on the outside with Kingston Lopa.”
Reed also raved about his coaching staff, including long-timers such as line coach Devan Cunningham, who once played for the program.
“The coaching staff, they’re the reasons why we’re here,” Reed said. “We wouldn’t be here without them and I’m appreciative of them. We have something special going and we have an amazing bond. We buy in. It’s a culture of Pacer for life. We’re going to be here for the kids just like we want them to be here for us.”
One of the assistant coaches for Woodcreek is a man who has seen Grant football since the 1960s. That’s Frank Negri, who turns 89 on Monday and hasn’t lost an ounce of his zest for working with kids and coaches. He is a 200-game winner as a head coach from his time at Foothill and Natomas and has been an assistant at area programs over the last 10 seasons.
“Oh, I’ve seen all the great Grant teams and played against some of them,” Negri said. “They’re great again. Those running backs and that quarterback and receiver? Wow.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2023 at 8:09 PM.