New Football Coach Rebuilds Pacelli From Ground Zero

St. Anne-Pacelli in Columbus is coming off a dismal 2010 football season that saw the Vikings go 0-10. The Catholic school hired a new football coach, Randy Grace, with hopes that a change in leadership will spark a change in direction for the Class A football program that competes in Region 4.

Grace is no stranger to Pacelli. He was the defensive coordinator for the Vikings for three seasons under former head coach Kevin Pettis (2002, 2003, 2004). The Vikings won back-to-back region titles in 2003 and 2004, and finished both regular seasons a perfect 10-0. Grace said he is excited about returning to the school where he has a lot of good memories.

“I get a chance to come back to the school that I loved more than any place I’ve been throughout my career,” said the 36-year-old coach. “I love Pacelli and I missed it ever since I left. It has a great family atmosphere. There is a lot of tradition at the school. It’s a place where kids come to be successful. It’s a good fit for me and I was very excited to get the opportunity to come back.”

Grace knows his job of restoring football at Pacelli to a higher level will take time and require a lot of hard work. But he’s not backing down from the challenge. The coach said his players are lifting weights or conditioning five days a week on Monday-Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday mornings from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

New Pacelli football coach Randy Grace and senior captain
Drew Spikes hope to turn around the program in 2011.

“Right now we have to build it from the ground up,” said Grace. “We’re having to start at ground zero. The first thing we did is get the weight room back going and get weight clubs started.”

At spring practice in May, 43 kids showed up to play football, 23 of them freshman. “The way I look at it that’s 23 seniors four years from now. We’ve been beating the bushes, trying to build it young,” said Grace.

The Vikings coach hung a sign in the Pacelli weight room that reads: Tradition Never Graduates. “Each team every year has the responsibility to uphold the tradition of our school. We are trying to bring that back,” Grace said. “We want to have fun and play at full speed all of the time and honor the tradition of our school.”

Grace pointed to the legacy of great football coaches at Pacelli like Nathan Rustin and Kevin Pettis, and the tradition of great football players like Calvin Baker, Matt Dunham, Russell Harris, Mark LeGree, Jaquez Terry, and Taylor Moss.

The coach is also emphasizing “to finish” in everything the team does. “Finish our play. Finish our drill. Finish the game,” said Grace. “We got to learn to finish and finish strong. That is one of our main goals. It is most important.”

Another important goal said Grace is to beat cross-town rival Brookstone. The Cougars have won six in a row in the series and 12 of the last 15 games. When Grace was an assistant coach at Pacelli for three years, the Vikings never lost to the Cougars. “When I was here we beat Brookstone three in a row—48-0, 50-0, 38-0,” said Grace. “They have a great system and one of the best programs in the city. Pacelli hasn’t been very competitive with Brookstone the last few years.”

As far as Pacelli football players, Grace said everything starts with his senior captain Drew Spikes (5’8/165). Last year, Spikes played an entire game with a broken back. “In 16 years of coaching he probably has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen,” said Grace. “He has a heart as big as a tractor-trailer. I’m looking for big things out of Drew from a leadership standpoint. He is a great leader.”

Another player Grace expects to emerge as a team leader is senior linebacker and fullback Anthony Huff (5’11/235). “He has not had a chance to come into his own yet. He was injured a lot last year,” said Grace. “But he is really looking good and I am expecting big things from him.”

Other players to watch, per Grace:

Seniors: Jake Braley, DB/RB, (6’1/175); Justin Gaus, OL/DL, (5’9/180).

Juniors: Jay Dawahare, QB/K, (6’1/175); Daniel King, QB, (5’10/165), Brice Morpeth, C, (6’1/245); Mitchell Torbert, OL, (6’2/250); Daniel Solomon, OL, (6’2/255); Alex Fernandez, OL-LB, (5’10/155).

Sophomores: Noah Forhand, RB, (5’5/165); Darrell Smith, WR, (5-10/175); K.T. Walls, DB/RB, (5’7/140)

Freshman: Eric Hughes, QB, (5’10/140); T.J. Brascomb, DE, (6’2/257); Chris Rehak, TE/DE, (6’2/240); Keandre Ashley, RB/LB, (5’9/165); Charlie Oliver, RB/LB, (5’9/140); Thomas Russell, RB/LB, (5’9/160); Kevin Jacobs, K, (5’8/135).

St. Anne Pacelli Vikings

GHSA, Class A, Region 4

Head Coach: Randy Grace

Colors: Red & White

2010 Results

Record: 0-10, Region: 0-10

Points for: 201

Points allowed: 463


By JOHN CARROLL
IN THE GAME HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE
http://columbusvalley.inthegamemagazine.com/