‘Pied Piper’ can play: Granite Bay 2-way star Ene leads charge against Jesuit
This is Isaiah Ene in brief: a brutish runner with some shift and shake to his game; an instinctive defender, and he’s the thick-thighed guy with the shock of long curly black hair jetting out of the back of his helmet. You can’t miss him.
The “Zay” theme has played out marvelously in this corner of Placer County for four varsity seasons now with the stretch drive of his final campaign in full motion before he heads to Sacramento State to play on scholarship. Ene is a senior at long last, opponents will say, and he is on the shortest list of all-time great players in the history of the storied Granite Bay Grizzlies program, which dates back to 1996.
Ene led the Grizzlies onto the field for warmups Friday night against the Jesuit Marauders, and he led the charge from there with effort and attitude. He rushed for 116 yards, bouncing off defenders as he scored on runs of 1, 19 and 10 yards, and he soaked in a 31-20 victory for The Sacramento Bee-ranked No. 5 Grizzlies against No. 11 Marauders in a Sierra Foothill League opener.
Ene isn’t a one-man gang, but it all starts with him. His spirit defines the program.
Darnell Turner, a three-year varsity starter for Granite Bay and one of the region’s most versatile talents, had an 18-yard touchdown run, recovered a fumble inside the Jesuit 2 yard line and had an interception — all in the first half.
“Darnell is a playmaker in all three phases — offense defense, special teams,” Granite Bay coach Joe Cattolico said. “He’s a dynamic guy for us.”
Ene can be dynamic and dominant, and he fits the mold of what Cattolico wants in a run-heavy offense: rough and reliable. Ene is also a draw on campus as a good guy.
“He’s a great kid, a great student, a great leader, a great football player,” Cattolico said.
Jake Messina coaches running backs at Granite Bay after working as the head coach at Oakmont of Roseville. What a treat, the coach said, to have a leader like Ene to work with and to appreciate on campus.
“A big character guy,” Messina said. “Kids gravitate to him at school. He’s beloved. He’s like the Pied Piper.”
To be called a pied piper means to be someone who attracts and leads. But few pied pipers compete like Ene, who downplays his impact. He insists that he is just a face in the crowd.
“It’s not just me,” he insisted afterward, a young man of good manners. “Football is 11 on 11, and it takes all of us. It’s a team effort. It’s high school, and we’ll never get to do this again, so I don’t take any of this for granted.”
A 3.4 GPA student, Ene said his considerable hair also helps define him. It is his look. Grizzlies assistant coach Butch Cattolico, father of the Granite Bay head coach, said Ene is as genuine as they come. He has been coaching this sport since the 1970s, including winning 264 games as the head coach at Los Gatos High in Santa Clara County.
“He’s special, a super person,” Butch Cattolico said.
Granite Bay QB has been a key
Ene and Turner provide the experience for an otherwise young Grizzlies team, a group growing by the week. Granite Bay’s quarterback is Dominic Cattolico, son of the head coach. He is a third-year varsity player, just a junior, and provides balance to the running game with Turner and other targets.
“It’s not an easy position to play, and it’s not easy to play for your dad at that position,” Coach Cattolico said. “He’s doing a good job. He enjoys it. He’s got a good personality and mindset for it. And he got thrown to the fire as a freshman.”
Did he ever. Two years ago, at just 14 and with the team’s top two quarterbacks out with broken legs, young Cattolico faced regional powerhouses Oak Ridge, Rocklin and Folsom in his first three starts. How did the quarterback’s mother and the coach’s wife, Natasha, take all of this two seasons ago? Nervously.
“She asked me, ‘Are you going to prevent the same thing (broken legs) from happening to him?’ I had to be honest. I said ‘I don’t know.’ That’s a tough conversation to have.”
The quarterback has suffered no injuries, and he may well be the team leader next season. Dominic showed championship grit on Aug. 29 in a game at Bay Area powerhouse Pittsburg, passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-36 Grizzlies loss.
That was also a reunion night of sorts for Butch Cattolico, a star quarterback for Pittsburg in the 1960s. The Cattolico family has deep family ties to the Contra Costa town.
Brody Quinn, Stevie Hughes and Noah Briceno scored touchdowns on Friday for Jesuit, a program that is coming off its 400th victory in program history, dating back to 1963.
Jesuit (3-2) plays at No. 2 Rocklin on Sept. 26. Granite Bay plays No. 3 Oak Ridge the same night, as the SFL meat grinder schedules continue.