Answering the bell: Jesuit football bounces back from Folsom loss to upend Granite Bay
Four days after getting taken to task by a team that regularly takes teams to task, the Jesuit Marauders stood at an immediate crossroads Friday night. They could buckle down against another formidable foe in Granite Bay or buckle under the avalanche of a brutal early season schedule and veer hard into the ditch, with the 50th Holy Bowl looming.
Jesuit buckled down and announced it will indeed be a factor this high school football season. Granite Bay struck first but the seventh-ranked Marauders settled in and seized control, delivering a 28-14 victory Friday night in Placer County.
The No. 5 Grizzlies struck gold on their first play from scrimmage, ripping off a 45-yard touchdown run by Jayce Laton, then they struck out. Jesuit’s Preston Vuckovich passed for 152 yards, including a key pass to Jackson Hagopian for a 10-yard touchdown on fourth down and Kai Wallin for a 14-yard strike for a 21-7 lead. Kai Santos had a 4-yard touchdown run and Garrett McGriff sealed it with a 66-yard scoring sprint with 4:25 left, coming one play after Jesuit stopped Granite Bay on downs.
Just like that, Jesuit was in booming good spirits afterward, a stark contrast from Monday night when top-ranked Folsom dropped a 56-7 haymaker on the Marauders. Jesuit had two full practices between games and a lot of discussion on how to bounce back. Now they bound into Saturday’s Holy Bowl against Christian Brothers looking like a renewed group — and with the potential for a Delta League championship run.
“We gave up that quick touchdown, settled down and played well,” Jesuit coach Marlon Blanton said. “We showed a lot of resolve. This team can be really good, but I don’t know when. That was not who we are against Folsom. I enjoy playing great teams to see how good we are, or how bad. You learn.”
Said Vukovich, “We knew we could play better. We have a great group of guys.”
McGriff and Santos, standing next to their quarterback, agreed with grins and nods. Both are terrific two-way players, runners who can break tacklers and defensive backs who can also play on returns.
Jesuit applied a pass rush and came up with an interception by Noah Sanchez. Jack Hemmert had a sack to help stall a third-quarter drive. Wanlin is an interesting X-factor for Jesuit (1-1). He’s lanky at 6-foot-5, quick, athletic and relentless in pursuit as a defensive end. He had two sacks to go with his touchdown grab.
“We knew we were a better team than we were Monday,” Wanlin said. “We can be really good.”
Granite Bay (2-1) came in looking strong, having beaten Vista del Lago 38-22 and rolling Davis 56-13, both on the road. First-year coach Joe Cattolico wasn’t able to secure his first home victory in front of a full and festive crowd, but Granite Bay plays three of its next four games at home, including against No. 3 Vacaville on Friday before opening Sierra Foothill League play against rival Del Oro on Sept. 17.
Noah Mitcheom found James Stabbert for a 24-yard touchdown pass for Granite Bay to pull to within 21-14 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 5:38 AM.