Cal The Leader For Moala & His Teammates

Villiami "Tiny" Moala

Faigame "Puka" Lopa

Moala, who goes by Vei, is part of one of the strongest prep defensive lines in recent memory, along with fellow linemen Darryl Paulo and Faigame Lopa. Last season Grant Union's defense allowed only 68 points and shut out six teams. The Pacers set a state record with 77 sacks.

Moala, now a senior and 6-foot-2 and 330 pounds, was called a bulldozer by one observer. He had 105 tackles and 15 sacks last season, earning the Sacramento Bee newspaper's All-Metro team defensive MVP honors.

Nicknamed "Tiny," Moala can bench a staggering 495 pounds. His coach, Mike Alberghini, likens his hands to shovels.

Alberghini likes to tell the story about how he often spotted Moala watching from the stands during the 2006 season. Eventually he had to ask the 300-pound kid why he wasn't playing football: Moala replied he was only 13.

Darryl Paulo

Four years ago, Moala never thought he’d even play football, let alone be in a starting lineup. While he liked watching Grant games on the weekends, he was first and foremost a rugby player. Moala’s family hails from Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific that counts rugby as its national sport.

"It’s pretty big among the Polynesians here," Moala says.

But many athletes of Tongan descent — such as Haloti Ngata, a defensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens who grew up in Inglewood — have also found success in football. It took some trickery to get Moala to join that group.

One day when Viliami was in the eighth grade, Sione [Moala's older brother] told him to grab his cleats for a rugby game. Sione then drove him to the park, dropped him off and kept driving. Turns out the rugby game was actually a practice for a youth football team. Sione had pulled a fast one on him.

But rather than try to find a way home, Moala decided to give football a shot. It’s a choice he’s glad he made. For starters, he met his best friend, Faigame "Puka" Lopa, who’s now a star senior defensive end/offensive tackle for Grant. And he realized he should’ve been playing football all along.

Full Article

# 1 Grant vs. # 2 Folsom on ESPN2 Tonight!

Defensive linemen Vei Moala (left) & Puka Lopa (right) helped Grant set a state record with 78 sacks last season.

This Friday, the Grant Union Pacers will invade Folsom high school to take on the Bulldogs to kick-off the 2010 season in a nationally televised sold-out game that will air on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. ESPN's broadcast will be a first for Sacramento area high school sports and this matchup promises to give viewers everywhere a reason to tune in.

The Grant Union Pacers will enter the 2010 football season as the No. 1 ranked team in the Sac-Joaquin Section, according the News10-HighSchoolSports.net Massey Ratings and fourth in the nation in some polls, due in large part to their potent defense.

Headlining the sizable defensive unit for Grant are Vei Moala, Puka Lopa, and Darryl Paulo, who combine for 825 lbs. and are looking to disrupt Folsom's high power offense captained by QB Dano Graves.

"We've got to shut him down," Moala said. "We're going to mess up his snap a little bit and hopefully get up in his face and disrupt his pass. It's a great matchup to finally face a great offense like Folsom's."

Graves headlines the offensive firepower of the Folsom Bulldogs, who rank fourth in the Massey ratings.

Graves, who last season threw for 66 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards as a junior while anchoring one of California's most prolific offenses, said facing Grant will prepare them for better things to come.

"We're really excited," Graves said. "Grant's a great team and it will be a great opportunity for us and it'll prepare us for the league and the playoffs"

Folsom's head coach Kris Richardson knows the sizable challenge his team faces in Grant's defense, but feels his talented offense is ready to shine.

"I don't know if anyone is ever going to be ready for Grant," Richardson admitted. "But, we've been one of the offenses in the section every year and Dano Graves is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation."
Richardson was well aware of the hype heading into this game when he signed his team up for it back in April and knew the hype and attention surrounding this game would be unlike anything the Sacramento area has ever seen.

"I knew it would be a tremendous challenge for these guys," Richardson said. "(Grant) is one of the best defenses in the country and the hype around (the game) with ESPN, it's going to be fun."

For Grant, hype also brings forth distractions, like national television and hungry opponents, like Folsom.

"We told our guys we have a bullseye on our back," coach Alberghini admitted. "Folsom is a very talented team and well coached team that has a lot of experience returning and they've had a long time to prepare for this game."

Although they respect the talents and the challenge of the Folsom Bulldogs, there is a swagger that comes along with being a former state champion and being No. 1-rated in the section. Friday, Alberghini said it is the expectation of the Grant Pacers to beat Folsom.

"We're ready," defensive coordinator and Athletic Director Reggie Harris said. "We're going to give our community what they want to see, and that's a win."

Full Article