Prep football: Jesuit’s ground game and defensive push leads rally past Sheldon
Jesuit Marauder football players know there is a certain level of expectation placed upon them.
They know it before they even arrive on the Carmichael campus that there is a standard of excellence for the red and gold.
“You come in here knowing that you’re gonna have to work for whatever you are and whatever you want to do,” said Jesuit senior running back Anthony Seibles. “It’s just being a Jesuit Marauder. Once you come here, you learn how to scrap.”
Even in one of the roughest leagues in Northern California, Jesuit expects greatness. Delta League play began Saturday for the Marauders against upstart Sheldon, which entered at 3-1. Despite a second-half deficit, Jesuit rallied behind its run game and its pass rush to remain unbeaten at 4-0 and take its first step toward its goal of claiming a Delta League crown.
“I thought today was a big step,” said Jesuit coach Marlon Blanton after the Marauders’ 35-21 win. “These guys are battling to get better. We can always be in a better position, in terms of the way we execute and the way we play, but in terms of where we are right now, these guys are doing a good job.”
Blanton has a dual-quarterback system that some might call a luxury. Senior Trenton Dewar, who helped the Marauders to a 10-2 mark and a Delta League title last season, is the team’s starter. But there’s also junior C.J. Lee, who played most of Saturday under center, going 3-for-5 with a touchdown pass and carrying the ball nine times for 54 yards and a rushing score.
“Both those guys are really good quarterbacks,” Blanton said. “They put me in a position where I had to play both of them. That worked out for us having two quarterbacks today.”
It also works out that despite being down several starting offensive linemen, Jesuit has that next-man-up mentality. Josef Mokofisi, Ike Ikegbu, Josiah Ayin, Micah Nagel, Caleb Hall and Finley McDonald all contributed to a winning run game on Saturday.
The Huskies struck first as junior workhorse Devin Green went 48 yards down the home sideline at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Jesuit answered at the start of the second with an 18-yard keeper from Lee to knot the score at seven.
At the 8:02 mark of the second quarter, Seibles ran 42 yards untouched up the middle for a 14-7 Jesuit lead. The Huskies responded with a 21-yard reverse draw that Green took to the house on fourth-and-short. Jesuit remained in the lead 14-13, however, after the two-point conversion failed.
Green left the game late in the first half after an ankle injury during a kick return. He did not play in the second half but was walking under his own power on the sideline.
Sheldon’s Scott Nixon gave the Huskies a strong start to the second half, catching a 6-yard TD pass from Jesiah Machado to give Sheldon a 21-14 lead.
But Jagger Shaddix’s 15-yard run tied the score at 21 at the 5:10 mark of the third before Seibles broke free for another 40-yard score. Seibles finished with 10 carries for 105 yards on the ground for Jesuit.
The Marauders capped their scoring when Lee hit Johnnie Brannon IV for a 28-yard TD with eight minutes to play, leading to the 35-21 final.
Jesuit’s Kaden Collons and Garrett Risley led a defensive front that had six sacks.
Jesuit (4-0, 1-0 Delta) travels to Pleasant Grove (0-4) Friday while Sheldon (3-2, 0-1 Delta) heads to Franklin (1-4, 1-0 Delta).
“We’ve got to play every team like we’re playing the top dog,” Lee said. “We’re scrappy, we’ll come hit you. We know what to do and we’ll give it to you every play.”