Eyeing a return trip to section finals, No. 4 Granite Bay bucks No. 8 Elk Grove in opener
The Granite Bay Grizzlies came into this season with a bear-sized chip on their shoulders.
Three points. That’s all that separated Granite Bay from what would have been a spirited comeback win in last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section championship game against Manteca. The Grizzlies rallied from down 29-7 to start the second half, but a 51-48 loss to the Buffaloes denied Granite Bay from raising a blue banner.
That hasn’t sat so well with the returning Grizzlies.
“Losing in the section championship, we have a lot of guys who were there and witnessed it, a couple guys that are returning starters,” said senior linebacker Frank Cusano. “It was really obvious in our weight room, on the field all offseason, that memory was just stuck in our mind.”
In other words, the Grizzlies feel they have unfinished business.
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Behind a second-half defensive shutout, a dynamic running back duo and solid play from its backup quarterback, Bee No. 4 Granite Bay got off to a strong start to 2023 with a 27-13 win over a stout Elk Grove squad on a pleasant Friday night in Placer County.
Temperatures dipped below triple digits for the season-opener in Granite Bay, but the backfield tandem of Carter Jackson and Isaiah Ene came out plenty hot against the Thundering Herd.
Ene took a 39-yard carry inside the Elk Grove 10-yard line and set up a 1-yard score from Jackson to put Granite Bay up 7-0 on its opening drive. Despite just a one-score deficit at the half, the Grizzlies never relinquished their lead.
Jackson, a junior Cal commit, and Ene, a sophomore with offers from multiple Pac-12 schools, are two of the top running backs in the section. The Grizzlies’ tandem ran for over 2,300 yards and 31 touchdowns last season and seem to be picking up where they left off. Jackson ran 23 times for 104 yards and two scores while Ene racked up 16 carries for 83 yards Friday.
“I think what makes them special is they’re both really talented kids who are also really hard-working kids,” Granite Bay coach Joe Cattolico said. “Those don’t always exist in the same package. We’re fortunate. Between those two and Frank Cusano, who’s going to play linebacker, tight end and fullback for us, we have three really high-level guys who are all good players and hard-working kids who will lead us as we go forward.”
Cusano, a Washington State commit, led the Grizzlies defense, which kept Elk Grove off the board in the second half. Senior Jace Martinez blocked an extra-point attempt, sophomore Darnell Turner hauled in an interception and junior Jack Marek ran back a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Grizzlies.
Cusano credited the Granite Bay offensive line — Elijah Paul, David Minor, Sefita Moala, Reef Lowell and Keith Tapuosi — for creating space for the Grizzlies’ ground game. The big boys also allowed time for quarterback Lucas Gruia to throw.
With starting QB Nick Harris out with an ankle injury suffered during a recent scrimmage, Gruia filled in with an 8-for-11 performance for 94 yards. His lone touchdown pass went to Carson Perry-Smith from 38 yards with 3:06 left in the third, all but icing the win for the Grizzlies.
Granite Bay now eagerly looks to a section finals rematch at Manteca on Friday.
Said Cusano, “The goal for this year is to win the section championship.”
The word on the Herd
Quarterback David Hale and running back Ethan Scott each scored for the defending Delta League champion Thundering Herd in the first half. Scott ran 16 times for 64 yards while Thomas Koi added 81 yards on the ground in Elk Grove’s traditional triple option.
Elk Grove head coach John Heffernan said the key to making another Delta League run and beyond depends on the team’s health and overall improvement each week. The Herd, The Bee’s preseason No. 8-ranked team, blends in several first-time varsity starters after dynamic two-way player Wayshawn Parker transferred to Grant over the summer.
“This season will be a total team effort,” Heffernan said. “There isn’t one or two guys head and shoulders above everyone else. It’s gonna take everyone pulling their weight and doing their job.”
Also weighing heavily on the minds of the Elk Grove team and coaching staff is the health of a longtime coach and mentor to many, James Pale, who has been hospitalized since April 9 for a blood clot that resulted in a loss of kidney function. Pale and Heffernan were teammates at College of San Mateo in the early 1990s and have coached together at Elk Grove and Burbank High School for more than two decades.
“This is the first game we haven’t been on the sidelines together in over 25 years,” Heffernan said of Pale before Friday’s game. “He’s doing better. He’s getting stronger. He’s still in the hospital. He still has other steps he needs to take to get cleared before he can go home. We’re hoping he’s able to go home sometime next week.”
Elk Grove travels to Antelope next week before challenging NorCal heavies Menlo-Atherton and San Ramon Valley in consecutive weeks.
