1. Grant (Sacramento) vs. De La Salle (Concord), 2006
Grant was nearly unstoppable in 2006. The only thing that slowed the Pacers was the Bowl Selection Committee's choice of De La Salle.
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
Perhaps no choice by the state playoff committee was more scrutinized than the selection of De La Salle over Grant in 2006. Grant went 13-0 in winning the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship, beating Union Mine (El Dorado) 50-0 in the championship game and racking up six shutouts during the season. De La Salle, meanwhile, was De La Salle, winning its 15th-straight North Coast Section championship and going undefeated at 13-0 in the process. However the Spartans weren't necessarily overpowering during the regular season and the defense gave up more than 200 points by season's end. Nevertheless, De La Salle won a Division I section title and Grant won at a lower level in the Sac-Joaquin Section. De La Salle's strength of schedule won out and it went on to
lose to Canyon (Canyon Country) 27-13 in the first Division I Bowl Game. Grant and De La Salle made efforts to play each other in the following seasons, but no game ever came to fruition. In 2008, the Pacers did gain the respect they felt was lacking in 2006 by playing in the Open Division Bowl Game and defeating Long Beach Poly 25-20.
