Romero’s redemption: Kicker lifts Grant Pacers to a NorCal three-peat a week after struggles
A week ago, the Grant Pacers couldn’t make a kick to save their football lives.
On Friday night in Santa Clara County, Jose Romero made a kick to save the season and to push this magical run to the final week.
The sophomore kicked a 24-yard field goal with 5.6 seconds left on 4th and 8 to lift Grant past a stunned Saint Francis High School team in Mountain View, 32-30, in the CIF State Northern California Division 2-AA championship in a battle of storied programs.
Grant three-peated as a NorCal champion, including the past two seasons at this classification, and the Pacers next week return to Orange County in search of the program’s second state crown in three seasons and third overall.
Grant (11-3) was unable to make any point-after kicks or runs in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 finals against Rocklin at Hughes Stadium last week, but Luke Alexander engineered a 98-yard drive in the closing minutes, including hitting Zo Edwards for the 30-28 game winner.
“Hey, redemption!” Grant coach Carl Reed told The Sacramento Bee from Mountain View by phone. “Last week, he struggled. Tonight, he was there. We had to have it. The talk this week was, ‘you’re going to have your moment. We’re not going to stop kicking.’ He knew no one on the team had given up on him.”
A poised senior, Alexander completed 28 of 36 passes for 272 yards and calmly directed the Pacers downfield again in an excellent 2-minute drive to set up his kicker, and Grant’s defense was strong again as the Pacers delivered in their third consecutive dramatic contest. In a section semifinal in the driving rain in Stockton, Grant won 28-21. The Pacers have won eight consecutive games, this one coming against a 17-time Central Coast Section champion that was similarly battle tested in the playoffs.
Alexander had scoring strikes of 7 and 3 yards to Koby Shabazz for a 16-7 first half lead, and Brandon Lambert tied it 22-22 for Grant with a breakaway 33-yard touchdown run with 9:37 left to play. Lambert rushed 14 times for 123 yards. Shabazz had 13 catches for 118 yards.
Ezekiel Castex returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown to put Grant up 29-22 with 3:51 left, and the thrills kept on coming.
Aaron Knapp hit Grant Righellis with a 17-yard TD with 1:23 left for Saint Francis, and Motu Keanaaina ran in the 2-point conversion for a 30-29 lead.
That left plenty of time left for Alexander, his young but superb offensive line and his fleet of receivers.
“It was a hard-fought game and it came to us making another late drive,” Reed said. “They went for 2 on us tonight late, a game of who makes the bigger call. Luke was ice-cold cool.”
Grant coaches have raved about how his young team continues to grow by the week, that the Pacers are geared for comebacks. Grant’s losses were to out-of-section teams, including to De La Salle of Concord, which plays in the CIF State Open finals next weekend, Clovis East of Fresno and Lincoln of San Diego.
Grant on Friday night at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo will play the Pacifica Tritons of Oxnard, a 37-20 winner over Narbonne of Harbor City in the Southern California regional final.
Kickoff is 4 p.m.
This story was originally published December 7, 2024 at 12:55 AM.