Granite Bay tops Jesuit, 30-17, in latter’s welcome to daunting Sierra Foothill League
The 2024 iteration of the Granite Bay Grizzlies won’t be known for its size, particularly against its blue-blood counterparts of the Sierra Foothill League.
But Friday’s win over Jesuit, making its debut in the capital region’s top football league, proved coach Joe Cattolico’s group can get by with mettle. And star power.
“The funny thing is, we’re not even that small. It’s just everybody else in this league looks like a junior college (team),” Cattolico said.
Do-everything standout Isaiah Ene scored touchdowns through the air and on the ground, while Darnell Turner Jr. had a receiving score and pick-six for the Grizzlies as they greeted their new league rivals with a 30-17 victory in Carmichael under Jesuit’s newly installed lights.
Granite Bay led wire-to-wire and, despite its lack of bulk on the defensive line, kept the Marauders out of the end zone in the fourth quarter with a key goal line stand when the home team had a chance to tie the game. But the Grizzlies defense, led by Ene playing safety, stood tall while Jesuit’s offense struggled to properly execute a quarterback sneak and inside hand-off on third and fourth down, respectively.
“Just perseverance,” Cattolico said of his defense’s sequence. “Just being willing to bow our necks.”
Grizzlies running back Adam Shehadeh burst through the right side of Jesuit’s defense on the next snap using a stiff arm to get to midfield. Granite Bay’s drive stalled, leading to a punt, but it was mishandled and the road team recovered. Moments later, Ene was breaking tackles on his way to the end zone for his second touchdown, which put the game out of reach.
It was one of a few highlight-reel plays for the junior who put his name on the map when he made his debut in 2022, becoming the first freshman to start at the storied program in some 20 years, according to school officials.
Ene also scored on a 61-yard catch and run on a wheel route out of the backfield, breaking two tackles along the way. And he made a one-handed catch on a deep post route and held on despite taking a hit from a Marauders defender.
“Isaiah is obviously athletically special,” Cattolico said. “And then you put that together with when your best player’s a really hard worker, that gives you an opportunity to do some good things. The other kids see that and they respond to that. Obviously he does some things that kind of make you shake your head. But to be honest, he does them frequently enough for us that we’re kind of used to seeing it.”
Ene still has another year of high school and hasn’t determined where he’ll play in college. But he’s received numerous offers from Division I programs on the West Coast, including Washington, Colorado, Utah, UNLV, San Diego State, Colorado and Arizona, according to his Instagram page.
For the Marauders, running back Chris Effiong Jr. scored on a 39-yard run up the middle in the second quarter, and Jack Patock added another rushing touchdown in the third.
Granite Bay improved to 4-0 on the season despite not having top receiver Joseph Cattolico, the coach’s son, who was out with an injury. But the Grizzlies had the benefit of playing off a bye week while Jesuit had a physical, defensive struggle last week in the Holy Bowl vs. Christian Brothers, which they won, 7-0. Friday’s loss dropped the Marauders to 3-1.
The gauntlet of the SFL will continue next week for Jesuit when they travel to play Rocklin, who entered Friday as The Sacramento Bee’s No. 2-ranked team before a 51-14 loss to top-ranked Folsom. Granite Bay will host Oak Ridge, which took care of Del Oro on Friday, 28-7.
