Sacramento-area prep notes: Coach Al in state Hall, another folded team, surprise unbeatens
The California High School Football Hall of Fame, of which I am a voting media member, will induct another crop on Nov. 29, and it includes a familiar name: Mike Alberghini.
Best known as “Coach Al” by players, rivals, friends and foes, Alberghini coached for more than 50 years at Grant, including 30 as head coach of the Pacers of Del Paso Heights. His first team in 1991 after a decade as defensive coordinator went 10-0 in the regular season. He won a regional-record 282 games, the last in 2021, coaching some of the greatest teams with some of the greatest players who performed in the region’s greatest games.
Alberghini won seven CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championships, the first in 1992 and the last in 2014. He was the leader of the 2008 Pacers team that became the section’s first to win a state championship, doing so in the highest classification of the Open Division. The CIF state finals started in 2006. He was father figure, a mentor and a guiding light to scores of students, a man so beloved that Grant’s football field bears his name. Alberghini was The Bee’s Coach of the Decade for the 1990s and 2000s.
Now 78, Alberghini has been recovering from a stroke he suffered two years ago. He spoke about his past and his plight and his pride of Grant players he once coached now leading the Pacers charge.
Here are more high school football news and notes from the Sacramento region.
Western Sierra drops football
Small school Western Sierra Collegiate Academy of Rocklin folded its varsity football program due to low roster numbers, the same plight that ended the varsity seasons for Florin and Valley of the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Western Sierra had just 13 players when the school decided to pull the plug before attempting to play a game. The aim is to field football next season. The team went 0-10 in 2023 with 29 players, 1-9 in 2022 with 24 and 0-8 in 2021 with 23, though injuries thinned those numbers considerably.
The school first fielded football in 2015.
Unbeaten surge teams
A year after suffering through long seasons, the following are off to fast starts:
▪ Bear River (3-0): After seasons of three, three and five victories, the Tanner Mathias-coached Bruins of Lake of the Pines/Grass Valley are rolling, including back-to-back last-minute victories. The Bruins will be contenders in the Pioneer Valley League.
▪ Cordova (3-0): The Lancers are off to their best start in years, a testament to the drive of coach JP Dolliver and a team proud of its legacy. Cordova is the region’s original Big Red and will be a factor in the revamped Metro League.
▪ Del Campo (4-0): The Cougars expected a bounce-back season under fiery and fun coach Matt Costa, who brought in former Granite Bay championship coach Ernie Cooper to run the offense, led by dynamic quarterback Angel Reyna, who also makes plays on defense. DC will be a factor in the Foothill Valley League.
▪ Franklin (4-0): The Wildcats of Elk Grove have equaled their victory total the previous three years combined, a credit to classy coach Joseph McCray. Franklin has been a top-tier program before and can again with big enrollment, athletes galore and campus support, be it students, faculty or administration.
▪ Highlands (3-0): The tradition-rich Scots of north Sacramento County are coached by an alum in the tireless Matt Cokley. His team will be a factor in the small-school Sierra Delta League with QB star Walter Lewis.
▪ Lincoln (4-0): The Zebras of Placer County went 1-9 last season after after producing two playoff teams, and coach Allen Berg has credited the returning seniors for the bounce-back. The opening of Twelve Bridges hurt Lincoln, but this is a proud school, which opened in 1907.
▪ Ponderosa (4-0): The program’s last winner in Shingle Springs was in 2018, and longtime coach Davy Johnson has already equaled last season’s victory total and can make some noise in the new-look Capital Valley Conference that includes Bee-ranked Inderkum, Woodcreek and Christian Brothers.
▪ Wheatland (3-0): Two years after an 0-10 campaign and one after a 3-7 showing, coach Andy Fatten has the Pirates of Yuba County playing inspired defense. Wheatland will be a factor in the Pioneer Valley League, starting with Friday’s encounter against Bear River.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 12:53 PM.