Jesuit quarterback CJ Lee provides ‘cheat code’ in Holy Bowl win over Christian Brothers
Jesuit quarterback CJ Lee saw a streaking Caleb Dixon running a deep post route through the middle of Christian Brothers’ defense and let it fly.
“Caleb Dixon is Megatron,” Lee said late Saturday night. “Fifty-fifty balls turn into 100% balls for him. It’s just great to have that type of dude knowing I can throw it up to him and he’s going to come down with it.”
Dixon caught Lee’s pass in stride and ran past Falcons defenders for a 66-yard touchdown, putting an early stamp on a 41-8 blowout win for Jesuit in Sacramento’s biggest regular-season high school football game, the Holy Bowl, played annually at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College.
Dixon added a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the second half, pushing the Marauders’ lead to 34-0, and they never looked back.
“We went into halftime down, and it just shot us right back to where we were in the first half,” Lee said of Dixon’s touchdown to open the third quarter.
Indeed, a blemish on Jesuit’s otherwise sterling night came before halftime when Lee and the offense turned the ball over in the red zone.
Otherwise, it was another dynamic performance from Lee and his unit. Lee had an electric 44-yard touchdown run through the right side of Christian Brothers’ defense and Drew Vassar, a senior who stars on both sides of the ball, scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, including a 32-yard run in the second quarter that made it 27-0.
The Marauders’ defense held it’s own again, limiting Christian Brothers’ two-quarterback system, and benefiting from the Falcons missing arguably their biggest playmaker, running back Ezekiel Castex, who was out with an injury.
Jesuit posted a convincing victory over its crosstown rival for the fourth year in a row in the Holy Bowl series. The Marauders have outscored the Falcons 106-15, not counting the 34-28 final in the unofficial game played during the 2020 COVID season. Saturday’s game was packed with thousands of fans in attendance and both student sections engaging in friendly trash talk from across the field.
“Any time you beat a team like that, that is that good, and they got some players, and our team comes out and matches their intensity, and we play with class, I really like to see that,” Jesuit coach Marlon Blanton said.
Jesuit was coming off a tough 28-27 loss to San Francisco power St. Ignatius Prep in a game where the offense got off to a slow start. The Marauders rebounded by putting their foot on the gas early against Christian Brothers, led by Lee’s dynamic playmaking behind center.
Lee took over as the full-time starting quarterback midway through last season and says he has improved his passing game dramatically. Blanton has taken notice.
“He’s grown a lot in terms of leadership. He’s grown in that department,” Blanton said. “I’m excited for his growth, man. He’s a baller.”
Lee finished the night with a medal around his neck and the MVP trophy for the game. His coaches implored reporters afterwards to start calling him “Cheat Code” for his game-breaking ability to beat defenses with his arm and his legs.
“It’s like a big relief,” Lee said of the lopsided score. “Because of all the work — practices are ramped up. You know the whole city’s coming out. But the relief of knowing it’s over, you won, it’s great. It’s really good.”
Jesuit improved to 2-1 on the season and will play Sheldon (1-3) next week on the road. Christian Brothers fell to 2-2 and will look to bounce back at 2-2 Del Campo.
