Grant Pacers, with old-school pride and campus upgrades, roll Jesuit. ‘It’s great to see’
The backdrop at Rutherford Stadium in Del Paso Heights is a glistening display of fresh, fancy and new.
A sports complex that includes a pool, tennis courts, practice fields and a softball diamond are the result of school-bond measure funds, and suddenly, the old-school Grant Pacers have a polished look on their 93-year-old campus.
But on Mike Alberghini Field, below a rustic press/coaches box that shows its age and bears the name of the region’s winningest football coach, the hard work is still on full display. Grant is many things — flashy, fast and fun — but the Pacers are rooted in grit and sweat.
All of these elements blended beautifully as No. 3-seeded Grant rolled Jesuit 49-7 on Friday night in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinal.
It was a meeting of two of the Sacramento region’s prominent programs, and a flashback to when the teams met in the playoffs before.
Jesuit stamped its arrival as a football power with a 1993 home triumph of the top-ranked Pacers on its way to a 12-1 season, and Grant taking the 1999 meeting at Hughes Stadium on its way to the program’s third of nine section championships.
The last two section banners for Grant are fresh, from 2022 and 2023 at Division III. The Pacers are back in D-II like they were in the 2010s, and they now draw another private-school heavy in the No. 2-seeded St. Mary’s Rams of Stockton in a semifinal.
Grant’s football program has for years stood as the crown jewel in the Twin Rivers Unified School District. The upgrades on campus make it a crown jewel, period.
“A lot of things are happening here,” a beaming Grant coach Carl Reed said before the kickoff.
He was beaming even more after an emphatic victory as Grant’s line play and lineup of stars delivered to move the Pacers to 8-3 on the season.
Brandon Lambert rushed for 101 yards on 17 carries and three first-half touchdowns, all on 1-yard runs up the middle. Luke Alexander passed for 317 yards with touchdown strikes of 10 yards to Koby Shabazz and 13 to Zo Edwards.
Shabazz, a sophomore second-year starter, also made plays on defense, breaking up a pass to prevent a 70-yard touchdown play, and he had an end zone interception to stall another drive for the Marauders. Edwards is a 6-foot-6 sophomore with good hands and fast feet.
Jojo Fotofili returned an interception 68 yards for a score to make it 42-7 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter.
‘Football is the tip of the iceberg’
Reed is a Grant product to the core, a one-time football player who father, Lynn Reed, is one the beloved teacher-coaches in school history. Reed’s co-coach is Syd Thompson, another Grant alum, and they are flanked by a crew of former Pacers who returned to coach because of what the school and the sport gave them.
Reed isn’t just a football coach. He promotes all things extracurricular on campus as a teacher and co-athletic director with Anthony Malisauskas. The more playing facilities, the better for all student-athletes.
“It’s great to see. It brings our students a sense of pride, and Grant football is still the centerpiece of this community.”
Malisauskas helped create a new lacrosse team at Grant, a roster heavy on Pacers football players.
“Football is the tip of the iceberg at Grant, and our drumline,” Malisauskas said. “We win in football and boys and girls basketball but we’re growing in other sports. These facilities are great. The kids are excited, and they go, ‘Whoa!’”
Malisauskas added, “In my government class, I have fifth-generation Pacers students. They may not all play sports but they all have school spirit. This is our community school.”
Lambert impact
Grant embraces its own, and they welcome newcomers. That includes Lambert, the hard-charging runner with speed who transferred in from Cosumnes Oaks High of the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Lambert has 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he wears jersey No. 1, which has historically gone to great Grant players over the decades, including Onterrio Smith in the late 1990s, Paris Warren in 1999 and2000, Shaq Thompson in the early 2010s and Wayshawn Parker last season.
Lambert isn’t just a fine runner — he’s a nice young man outside of pads, quick to hand a young fan his playing gloves or a word of encouragement. Grant is a mixture of seniors, juniors and sophomores with some key freshmen contributing, too.
“Lambert is a high-character guy,” Malisauskas said. “I loved watching him hand the kid his gloves. He understand what it takes to be a Grant football player.”
Jesuit finished 7-5 under longtime coach Marlon Blanton.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 9:48 PM.