The three word phrase driving Grant High football to state title game

MINUTES. AND SPEAKING OF SPORTS ON THE ROAD RIGHT NOW, THE GRANT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM HEADED TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO PLAY IN THEIR THIRD STRAIGHT STATE TITLE FOOTBALL GAME. THEY ARE PRETTY GOOD. KCRA 3’S MIKE TESELLE TALK TO THE PLAYERS AND COACHES AS THEY’RE NOW COUNTING DOWN TO KICKOFF. IT IS DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN HERE ON THE CAMPUS OF GRANT HIGH SCHOOL. THE BUSSES HERE BEFORE SUNRISE GETTING READY TO TAKE THE TEAM BACK TO THE STATE TITLE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS TEAM, THE GRANT HIGH SCHOOL PACERS, THEY’RE GETTING USED TO THIS AS THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME IN THREE SEASONS THEY ARE PLAYING FOR THE STATE TITLE CHAMPIONSHIPS. TWO YEARS AGO HERE AT GRANT THEY WON THE STATE TITLE LAST YEAR DOWN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THEY LOST THE DIVISION TWO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. THEY HAVE THEIR CHANCE AT REDEMPTION AS THEY WILL BE PLAYING FRIDAY AFTERNOON. AND AS BOTH THE PLAYERS AND COACHES SAY THEY ARE GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON THREE WORDS FINISH THE JOB. IT’S 100% FINISH THE JOB. WE HAD A GOAL WE SET IN THE SUMMER, ACTUALLY BACK IN JANUARY, WORKOUTS BEGAN. IT WAS TO FINISH THE JOB. I’M FEELING AMAZING. I’M READY FOR ANOTHER GAME THOUGH. IT MEANS A LOT, BUT I JUST DON’T WANT TO GO TO THE GAME AND LOSE. I WANT TO WIN IT. THAT’S MY MAIN GOAL. I DON’T WANT TO JUST SHOW UP BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW YOU FOR JUST SHOWING UP. THEY KNOW YOU FOR WINNING. SO THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO GO AND THEY’RE OFF THE BUS ON ITS WAY NOW TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR THAT STATE TITLE GAME FRIDAY AT 4 P.M. ON THE CAMPUS OF GRANT HIGH SCHOOL. MIKE TESELLE KCRA THREE NEWS. AND WHILE GRANT IS THE ONLY LOCAL TEAM PLAYING TOMORROW, FOUR AREA SCHOOLS ARE PLAYING IN STATE TITLE GAMES SATURDAY. THAT INCLUDES ONE OF THE AREA’S NEWEST SCHOOLS, 12 BRIDGES OF LINCOLN, PLUS VAN ARDEN OF FAIRFIELD AND TWO SCHOOLS

On a dark, rainy parking lot outside the Grant High School football stadium Thursday morning, the clanking of a large cowbell set the scene as the Pacers football boarded the bus on the way to Saddleback College to face off against Pacifica in Friday's Division 2-AA state championship game."I feel amazing. I'm ready," Malachi Simonton, a Grant High senior, said as the team geared up inside the team's locker room moments before heading to the bus.For the second year in a row, Grant is headed south to play in the big game.However, last season, the team came up short in the Division 2-AA title game against La Serna.So, for this year's team, the ultimate destination isn't just to arrive in Southern California later on Thursday."I just don't want to go to the game and lose. I want to win it all. You don't get remembered for losing. I want to win," said Koby "Cheese" Shabazz, a Grant High senior. "That's my main goal. I don't want to just show up, 'cause they don't know you for just showing up. They know for winning. So, that's why we'll go." Two seasons ago, the Pacers did win it all, defeating San Jacinto 36-34 in the 2022 Division 3-AA championship game.So, when I got a chance to interview the head coach before the team departed shortly after 7 a.m., I asked what is the message to the team as they hit the road to the state title game.He responded with one three-word phrase."Finish the job. It's 100% finish the job," said Carl Reed, Grant High's football coach. "It's a goal we set in summer, actually in January when workouts began. It was finish the job."That's the mantra that remains the driving force for a bus load of student-athletes focused on doing more than simply playing in the big game."Oh yeah, we're going to finish the job," Simonton said. Other Northern California teams playing in the state football championships include the Twelve Bridges Raging Rhinos, Vanden Vikings in Fairfield, Sonora Wildcats and Summerville Bears in Tuolumne County. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

"I feel amazing. I'm ready," Malachi Simonton, a Grant High senior, said as the team geared up inside the team's locker room moments before heading to the bus.

For the second year in a row, Grant is headed south to play in the big game.

However, last season, the team came up short in the Division 2-AA title game against La Serna.

So, for this year's team, the ultimate destination isn't just to arrive in Southern California later on Thursday.

"I just don't want to go to the game and lose. I want to win it all. You don't get remembered for losing. I want to win," said Koby "Cheese" Shabazz, a Grant High senior. "That's my main goal. I don't want to just show up, 'cause they don't know you for just showing up. They know for winning. So, that's why we'll go."

Two seasons ago, the Pacers did win it all, defeating San Jacinto 36-34 in the 2022 Division 3-AA championship game.

So, when I got a chance to interview the head coach before the team departed shortly after 7 a.m., I asked what is the message to the team as they hit the road to the state title game.

He responded with one three-word phrase.

"Finish the job. It's 100% finish the job," said Carl Reed, Grant High's football coach. "It's a goal we set in summer, actually in January when workouts began. It was finish the job."

That's the mantra that remains the driving force for a bus load of student-athletes focused on doing more than simply playing in the big game.

"Oh yeah, we're going to finish the job," Simonton said.

Other Northern California teams playing in the state football championships include the Twelve Bridges Raging Rhinos, Vanden Vikings in Fairfield, Sonora Wildcats and Summerville Bears in Tuolumne County.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

The three word phrase driving Grant High football to state title game

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