Sacuskie replaces Genasci as football coach at Johansen High

Grant Genasci has stepped down as football coach at Johansen High School, where his teams won one game in three seasons.

Former offensive coordinator Scott Sacuskie takes the reins, becoming the fifth coach in program history. Sacuskie is faced with the same challenge that ultimately exhausted Genasci: building a competitive program with so few parts.

“The kids I have outwork anyone in conference. I’m very proud of my kids,” said Sacuskie, a Downey High graduate and former assistant strength and conditioning coach at Stanford. “Our numbers are down, but we put forth the best effort and put out of the best product we have. Every year, we get a little more competitive. Hopefully, this year we’ll get a few more wins under our belt.”

Johansen can’t do much worse. The Vikings are 2-38 in the last four years with winless campaigns in 2013 and 2014, Genasci’s first at the top of the program.

Johansen hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2008, when coach Jason McCoy (now at Gregori) and All-District Player of the Year Deven Cannon, a 2,000-yard running back, guided the Vikings to the Modesto Metro Conference title and an appearance in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.

That year, Johansen was historically good. Since then, they’ve been historically bad.

Genasci lost his first 28 games before experiencing his first victory last fall – a 49-0 triumph over independent Riverbank, whose own prolonged struggles forced it out of the Trans-Valley League.

Though Johansen hasn’t won a conference game since Nov. 1, 2012, Genasci and the Vikings were competitive in his final season against some of the MMC’s best. Johansen lost shootouts with Downey (48-30), Enochs (45-24) and Beyer (49-22).

Genasci resigned in the spring with a career mark of 1-29. He wasn’t available for comment.

Sacuskie said Genasci’s short tenure will be marked by the strides the program made in the locker room and classroom – “The things you don’t see. That sense of family. That sense of having a high standard in life.” – not by its shortcomings on Friday nights.

Ultimately, those challenges overwhelmed Genasci, a Davis High grad. The roster, like the school’s enrollment, shrunk since his first season, leaving the coaching staff with little depth or margin for injury.

“Grant is a good friend of mine. He did a fantastic job,” Sacuskie said. “Being at Johansen, it’s a tough coaching gig. I’ve been coaching awhile and been blessed with some really good positions. Johansen is a tough gig. You don’t have the numbers. It’s always a chess match. ‘How can we get this guy fresh? When do I rest him?’ That’s the reality of a coach here. When you’re thin on numbers, one or two key injuries can put a damper on a season.

“The kids we got coming out, they work their tails off. They don’t have a big knowledge base of football. For some of them, this is their first year of football. It has to be an accelerated learning curve. I’m relying on them to start, but they’ve never played.”

Sacuskie becomes the fourth football coach in the MMC to also serve as its school’s athletic director. He joins Modesto’s Donnie Wallace, Beyer’s Doug Severe and Davis’ Tim Garcia.

A dual role wasn’t Sacuskie’s intention, though. He said he posted the position on the Sac-Joaquin Section website but ultimately felt his voice would best serve his players this fall.

“The varsity staff and I sat down and had some discussions. What’s best for the program at this point?” Sacuskie said. “With me being the offensive coordinator for the past three years, we felt like that was the best fit. I put some feelers out there through MaxPreps and the section page to see if there were some potential candidates.”

Sacuskie understands it will take more than a change in leadership to lift Johansen from the MMC cellar.

“We’ll see how this year goes,” he said. “I’m not an egotistical man. I’m a humble man. If it’s not a good fit for the kids, I don’t want to jeopardize anything.”

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Sacuskie replaces Genasci as football coach at Johansen High."