Stanislaus District perennial power to host Sacramento-area state champ in 2026
Downey High’s football team has beefed up its schedule once again, adding a perennial state title contender and former CIF state champion to its 2026 non-league schedule.
The Knights will welcome the Grant Pacers at Chuck Hughes Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18.
The Knights and Pacers will play a home-and-home, with Grant coming to Modesto in 2026 and Downey traveling to Del Paso Heights in Sacramento in 2027.
“We loaded up,” Downey head coach Jeremy Plaa said.
Grant coaches posted in a local coaching group and on social media in early December that it needed three games and Downey had an opening in its non-league schedule .
Both Downey and Grant are coming off seven-win campaigns and league titles in 2025. The Knights went 7-4 overall and 5-0 in CCAL play. They fell to Del Oro, Merced and Edison in non-league play then lost to eventual state champion Folsom in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals.
The Pacers finished 7-5 overall and 4-0 in the Metro League. They played a gauntlet prior to league play with games against Folsom, Cardinal Newman, Open Division state runner-up De La Salle and Lincoln of San Diego. They fell in the D-I section semifinals to Oak Ridge.
Preseason will be critical for Downey
Grant poses a more high-profile challenge for the Knights in an even harder slate of nonleague games. One of the best teams in the section and the state of California, the Pacers feature a roster littered with Division I recruits, most notably four-star tight end/receiver Rahzario Edwards, and an established coaching staff with the respect and resume of some of the best in the state.
Downey will also travel to Del Oro for their season opener, host Monterey Trail in their home opener, travel to Merced and host Grant and Lincoln of Stockton to finish off nonleague play.
“It’s really going to focus and lock-in our offseason so that we’re ready for these big schools that’ll be coming to play us,” Plaa said.
The Pacers won 12 games each in 2022, 2023 and 2024, going 36-8 during that stretch. They won section titles in Divisions III (2022, 2023) and II (2024) and qualified for three straight state games, winning it all in Division 3-AA in 2022 and 2-AA in 2024.
During that same time, Downey had its best three-year stretch in over 20 years, winning 10 games each season and finishing 30-5 with a CCAL title and a pair of runner-up finishes.
“Through 7-on-7 in the summertime we’ve played them more than once and I think we have a pretty good mutual respect,” Plaa said.
Grant, Downey will both return key players
Both teams are anticipated to have key returners next season.
The game will feature a number of 2025 Modesto Bee All-District and Sacramento Bee All-Metro team members who could return to their schools next season. Stanislaus District Offensive Player of the Year Elias Haynes will be back for the Knights along with All-District receiver Owen Sacuskie, offensive lineman Gus Munoz, defensive lineman Nathan Mockey and all-purpose selection Mark Sanchez.
Grant’s 2026 roster will have All-Metro First Team receiver Koby Shabazz, all-purpose Giovanni Hodge and linebacker Julian Bruno. Edwards made the SacBee All-Metro Second Team at receiver along with defensive lineman Isaiah Stephen.
Another step up in competition in their nonleague schedule is a result of the section’s new playoff format that was passed in the middle of last season with an eight-team postseason bracket that cut the amount of first-round home games in half. With the old format that had 12-team brackets, the top four seeds got a bye and seeds five through eight hosted games on the opening day of the playoffs. Now, just the top four teams host a first-round game.
Because the CCAL is regarded as a lesser league by MaxPreps and the section, Downey needed to improve the quality of its nonleague opponents in order to make the playoffs and host a postseason game.
“We can play this great preseason then play in our league and see our ranking go down,” Plaa said. “In order to be ranked in the top four and get a home game, we have to beat Monterey Trail, we have to beat Grant. If we do that great, but if we lose, hopefully it’ll still help our ranking.”
