OFFENSE

Last week Poly’s defense had their hands full, and they certainly won’t be able to take the night off against the Grant Pacers.  But while Tesoro’s O was remarkable for its completeness and the variety of sets they ran, the Pacers are much more simple: they run out of a Power I, and they run, run, run the ball.  “They’re just like us,” says Poly head coach Raul Lara.  “They run the ball tremendously, and they have some amazing athletes.”

Here’s who to watch for in the final game of the season.

QB Kapeli Koniseti (#3)

Koniseti does not have the most impressive stat line of this Pacers offense (see: Devontae Booker); yet, he may be the X-Factor Poly most needs to lock down.  Koniseti only throws the ball about ten times a game—when he does, he’s as effective as Poly’s Fennell, with 17 TDs and a QB rating of 104.  But Koniseti’s ability to run (the Pacers will run some option on Saturday) is the real threat.  The QB, who Lara and Poly MLB George Daily-Lyles both compared to Jordan’s John Timu for sheer playmaking ability, is 6’3″ 215 pounds.  Timu is a quarterback/defensive back—Koniseti is a quarterback/linebacker, and he may be able to physically hold up better to the physicality of the Poly Wall better than most.  On the ground he’s averaging nearly ten yards per-rush, and has 777 yards and 9 TDs on the season.

O-Linemen Alesana Laban (#72) and Ramon Williams (#77)

The Pacers’ O-Line isn’t as big as Tesoro’s, but Laban and Wiliams could play just about anywhere—they’re an average of 6’3″ 265 pounds, and have a very aggressive style that should make for some great matchups along the Poly D-Line, and perhaps into the second level.  As always in these games, pay attention to the lines—in a run-heavy contest like this one will be, whoever wins the trenches wins the trophy.

RB Devontae Booker (#23)

Booker is the motor of the Pacers offense.  He went from not starting at the beginning of the year to finish with nearly 2,000 yards, over ten yards per-carry, and 36 TDs.  He is tall and lean, and very explosive—Lara says, “We haven’t really seen a running back like him this year.”  James McConico of Compton may be the closest analogue—Booker’s explosiveness (“Like Melvin but not as strong,” says Lara) and shifty playmaking ability may give Poly’s defense fits at first, but it remains to be seen whether or not his 180-pound frame can withstand Poly’s punishing style.  It’s also worth noting that while Booker will probably see twenty-plus carries in this game, he’s not a pass-catching back, as he has only two grabs on the year.

WR Darvin McCauley (#5)

With a similar build to Booker, and the fact that he starts both ways, McCauley may end up needing to drink a lot of Gatorade before this game is over.  But in the secondary, he’s definitely going to be the guy to key on—he has over 40 yards receiving in all but four of Grant’s 14 games, and he’s only been held catchless once this season.  Like Poly, when Grant goes to their receivers, they go big—McCauley’s average catch this season goes for 19 yards.

DEFENSE

They’re also opportunistic, with 45 takeaways on the season.  With the talent on Grant’s teams, we’d guess the biggest question mark here will be stamina—the Pacers play a lot of guys both ways, and when that fatigue sets in, for whatever reason it seems to set in on the defensive side of the ball.

LB Jeremiah Toma (#33)

The Pacers’ defense runs through Toma—he is the team leader in tackles (165 on the season, 12.6 per game) as well as sacks (he has ten).  At 6′ 215 pounds he’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he’s a playmaker who won’t blow assignments, and won’t drop a ball if he gets his hands on it—he has two picks and four fumble recoveries on the year as well.  Basically, it Poly can scheme for Toma as well as they did for Trevor Erno in the CIF semis, they’ll be removing the Pacers’ biggest threat.  One-on-one matchups between Toma and Melvin Richardson should be interesting, if they happen—the linebacker is slightly taller, but they weigh the same, and after the hit Richardson laid on a Tesoro LB last week on his 61-yard game-winning TD, it might be a tossup as to who rings the bell harder.

DTs Viliami Moala (#50)/Alesana Laban (#72)

Run defense is not Grant’s strength—but it’s not a weakness either, thanks to Moala and Laban, two very big men in the center of the line.  Laban plays both ways, starting on the offensive line as well, so you’ll want to check #72 periodically to see how he’s breathing.  If Poly can wear down those two-way starters the way they’re accustomed to doing, they’ll be a leg up.  Moala and Laban will be crucial if Grant wants to slow down Richardson and Barner—if they aren’t getting penetration, the Poly backs will get to pick and choose their gaps, something the Pacers don’t want to see.

DB Darvin McCauley (#5)

McCauley, who’s also Grant’s best receiver, holds down a very talented secondary that has given opponents fits all year—since Grant has won big in most of their games, they’ve seen a lot of action flying their way as teams get desperate to claw back in.  With the team’s ten picks and an incredible amount of speed back there (especially McCauley), nobody’s been successful so far this year.  It’s going to be fun to watch the battle between Poly’s speedy receivers and this athletic secondary—perhaps the most even position matchup between the two teams.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Once again the punt game is the most important phase.  Last week, Preston King of Tesoro kept the Titans in the control early with two amazing punt returns.  Poly will have to fix their coverage and try to slow down Grant’s Howard Warren and Darvin McCauley.  The two speedsters are averaging 19 yards per punt return and 36.5 yards per kick return, so the special teams battle will once again determine field possession in what could be a close game.