On Sept. 9, 2023, Jesuit High School Sacramento’s football team defeated Christian Brothers High School 41-8 at Hughes Stadium in the 52nd annual Holy Bowl.
This victory marks Jesuit’s fourth Holy Bowl victory in a row, and their 17th win in the last 20 Holy Bowl games. Jesuit dominated, offensively and defensively, for most of the game.
“Our offense worked really well, but our defense [was key], being able to get all those stops and let our offense get on the field,” said running-back Drew Vassar ’24. “Our offense is so good that we could score on every drive if we really tried to, but the defense needs to make stops for our offense to get on the field.”
Jesuit started the game strong, and their defense gained additional possessions for the offense.. After quarterback CJ Lee ’24 connected with wide-receiver Caleb Dixon ’24 on a 65 yard touchdown pass, wide-receiver Zach Lowery ’24 blocked CB’s punt. On the very next play, CJ ran 44 yards to the endzone. Jesuit was eager to bounce back from a close loss against Saint Ignatius College Preparatory on Sept. 1. Caleb sees the win as a team effort.
“Playing as a team, our preparation throughout the week was the main thing,” Caleb said, “We’re definitely more locked in than we were last week.”
Jesuit held CB scoreless for most of the game. Drew had two rushing touchdowns in the first half. Then, on the very first play of the second half, Caleb scored his second touchdown on a 99-yard kick return.
“I saw the ball coming down, and I was like ‘my teams got me and I got my team’,” Caleb said. “I slow rolled it; I went for that first hole to hit, and I was gone. They weren’t going to catch me.”
Jesuit would score their last touchdown on a 32 yard run by running-back Johnnie Brannon IV ’24 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. CB scored their only points in the game on a 26 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and a successful 2-point conversion.
With the Holy Bowl victory under their belt, Jesuit now looks forward to league play.
“We just look to improve on the little things,” Drew said. “Obviously, we wanted the goose egg [today] but we gave up eight. So working on the little things and just working on those games to win the Delta and get a good seed in playoffs and go far.”
Jesuit’s football team didn’t just deliver on one of their biggest games of the season, they delivered on one of the biggest events of the school year, being crowned the victor of the 52nd annual Holy Bowl in decisive fashion.