Jesuit outlasts Christian Brothers 7-0 as only both defenses pitch shutouts in Holy Bowl
A year after Jesuit put up 48 points on their cross-town rival Christian Brothers in the Holy Bowl, they only needed seven to escape with a victory Saturday night at Hughes Stadium.
And none of them came from the offense.
Junior defensive back Alex Dewar returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter to score the game’s only points in the Marauders’ 7-0 win in front of a crowd over more than 5,000 at Sacramento City College.
It gave them five wins in a row and 12 of their last 13 match ups against the Falcons in Sacramento’s biggest regular season high school football game. It was the 53rd Holy Bowl, with the first coming in 1969, and Jesuit improved its record to 36-16-1 in the series.
Jesuit head coach Marlon Blanton had a frank assessment of his team that improved to 3-0 after going to the Div. II semifinals during last year’s playoffs and falling to Del Oro in triple overtime.
“We gotta get better. That’s what I’ve learned,” Blanton said.
Jesuit was considered the favorite heading in while Christian Brothers was missing one of its top players: Isaiah Jordan, who was suspended for the game after a pair of excessive celebration penalties a week prior. Jordan was the team’s top receiver and led the Falcons (1-3) with four touchdowns in the season’s first three weeks.
Christian Brothers head coach Larry Morla said his team only suited up 31 players. His defense pitched a shutout for the second straight game and hasn’t allowed points since Week 2 (Aug. 30).
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Morla said. “We didn’t have (Jordan) on both sides of the ball and we did well. We’ll see if we can get him back this week, and I’m excited for this team. We only had 31 players suit up tonight, they had 50-something, and we went toe to toe with them.”
The Falcons had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter when they got as far as the Marauders’ 2-yard line, but a fourth-down slant route came up short of the goal line, thwarting the Falcons’ best opportunity for points.
Neither offense found much rhythm through the air during the breezing night. Jesuit tried a package featuring backup quarterback Jack Patock in the fourth quarter to maximize the running game. Patock was the ball carrier on the game’s final play when the Marauders ran out the clock.
“Any time a defense gives up a goose egg and you hold a team to zero points, you have to chance to win if you score one point,” Blanton said. “So in that regard, we did what we needed to to win the game. But again, we gotta get better.”
The Marauders got a standout performance from running back and defensive back Alan Cordano who, with fellow running back Victor Cubero, had long runs late in the game that helped put it away.
“Christian Brothers came to play today, man,” Blanton said. “This is what the Holy Bowl is all about. No matter what your records are, no matter what team looks good or doesn’t look good, you can get anything in this match up. So kudos to them.”
Jesuit next week has a tough home game against Sierra Foothill League standout Granite Bay (3-0), while Christian Brothers also has a difficult match up on its home field against Inderkum.
