You rarely see a coach crack a smile when their team commits a penalty.

That’s exactly what happened Friday night, and for good season. Christian Brothers junior Mason Vicari picked up a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown. When he reached the end zone, he did a Rob Gronkowski spike with the football. It warranted a 15-yard penalty.

Vicari had his season cut short last season after suffering a serious injury in his school’s homecoming game against Vista del Lago in which he was carted off the field. It was smiles all around for Vicari and friends when the final horn sounded and his 13th-ranked team secured a 49-7 win over Sacramento Charter.

“He deserve that touchdown,” Christian Brothers coach Larry Morla said. “He’s worked so hard in the weight room and he’s bounced back from last year. Big man touchdowns are great. I was OK with him getting a penalty.”

Fireworks ensued. It was parallel to the explosiveness of the offense. Star sophomore wide receiver Phillip Bell scored four times. He had two receiving touchdowns, ran for a 4-yard score and filled in at quarterback and tossed a 29-yard touchdown to Isiah Jordan.

“He’s super dynamic,” Morla said. “Phillip is getting double-teamed. We are trying to find different ways to get him the ball because when he’s out wide, they double-team him. It opens up touchdowns for everybody else. He’s getting noticed. He has to deal with it and that’s what comes with (being a national recruit).”

Christian Brothers has a dynamic running game Morla called “one of the best we have had in a long time.” Leading the charge is 6-foot, 180-pound senior Erik Jensen, who finished with over 150 yards rushing.

Jensen had 90 yards on six carries before scoring a 22-yard touchdown on the Falcons’ opening drive. He grew up playing rugby and made the switch back to running back for his final prep season.

“I was setting the tone early,” Jensen said. “It felt great. I started as a running back my freshman year and converted to tight end last season.I missed (playing running back) a lot. Just have to get the ball in my hands … making the team better is fun.”

Morla added on his running back, “He’s been our workhorse,” Morla said. “The first few games he was getting 20 or 30 carries a game. Now he’s a little dinged up. So we are trying to get Ezekiel (Castex) our sophomore the ball more. He’s explosive. They’re like a thunder and lighting.”

Christian Brothers freshman quarterback Deakon Holden tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Howell and backup quarterback William Littlejohn threw a 15-yard score to Bell in the first half.

The offensive line of Yonathan Cervantes, Lucas Krenn-Brown, Liam Gough, Cameron Nero and Vicari protected both quarterbacks and Falcons’ kicker Jack Faust made all seven of his PATs.

Sacramento (1-5, 0-2) scored its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Naaman Branyan to Kendahl Hearne. The Dragons have lost five straight after starting the season with a win over Stagg of Stockton.

Christian Brothers (4-2, 2-0) has its sights set on winning the Capital Athletic League, a goal that was set for a season dedicated to Spencer Webb, who died in July. Webb graduated from Christian Brothers and played tight end at the University of Oregon.

The Falcons will host Capital Christian next Friday. Sacramento plays in Fair Oaks against Del Campo on Thursday.

“That’s the main goal,” Morla said on beating Capital Christian. “They’re defending league champs. We have to take that title away. We haven’t won a league title since Spencer. And this season is dedicated to Spencer, so that’s our goal right now.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2022 at 7:33 AM.