Poly 's M.O. the whole playoffs was to get behind and come firing back and win it in the end.
It worked for the first four games, but the Jackrabbits' luck finally ran dry.
However, it seem that it was going to go down the exact same way after Melvin Richardson scooted 55 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter to give Poly a 20-19 lead.
And with 4:20 to go, Grant got the ball at its 32 with one last chance against Poly's biggest strenght - it's defense. But the 'Rabbits couldn't hold this one last time and the Pacers scored with a little more than a minute to go.
"I think our defense got worn out," Poly coach Raul Lara said. "We really didn't move the ball and give them time to rest. We had too many three-and-outs."
It was really Poly's inability to run the ball that cost them the title and a chance at a No. 1 ranking. The Jackrabbits finished with 79 yards on 25 attempts, including the 55-yarder by Richardson.
"That's our thing," Lara said of his team's usually strong running game. "They stopped us from running the ball."
QB Morgan Fennell went 11 of 25 with a TD and interception for 164 yards. But while there was some success there, Poly isn't really a passing team and it showed down the stretch before it turned the ball over on downs in the waning seconds.
For everybody who thought Grant was going to get rolled, like me, they were dead wrong. For everybody who thought Poly should have played De La Salle, they were dead wrong. The Pacers were the real deal.
"You gotta give it up to Northern California," Poly LB George Daily-Lyles said. "We thought we had them physically and mentally. But they came to play."
And they dominated the stat sheet.
Grant led in first downs (15-8), rushing (39 for 133-25 for 79), passing (236-164 yards), offense (369-243 yards) and most importantly, points (25-20).
The Pacers should get some SERIOUS consideration for No. 1, altough Corona Centennial will probably get the nod.
"I don't know," Lara said when asked about who's No. 1. "We were No. 1 and they beat us. They are a good team."
Thanks for the kudos on Grant High School. I live in the poverty stricken community where Grant High School is located-Del Paso Heights. Gang violence is huge and many people, many Black and Hispanic, struggle to make it every day. So these Grant Pacers did more than play the No. 2 team in the nation, Long Beach Poly. What they really accomplished is the proof that can achieve any goal that they truly believe.
Thanks again for the article.
Rick in Sacramento.
We (Grant) were honored to play such a nationally respected program as Long Beach Poly who year after year is the program that all others are measured by. Your team conducted themselves with true class and humility. It was a night that a bunch of kids from a poor inner city neighborhood will not forget and it couldn't have been against a better team.
Grant HS has some ballers. I'm surprised they don't get as much publicty as De La Salle does. Wouldn't it be something to see California adopt a state playoff system like Texas and Florida has? I think the state of California would hit the motherlode. Congrats to to Grant. LBP we're down but never out.