While Jesuit High School Sacramento and Christian Brothers High School decided not to call this year’s matchup the annual “Holy Bowl,” last Friday’s game will still go down as one of the better battles between the two longtime rivals. 

In an overtime thriller, the Marauders edged out a 34-28 win over the Falcons. A one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Preston Vukovich ’22 was the deciding score that ended the game. 

Preston’s game-winning touchdown was part of a remarkable performance he turned in for Jesuit. The first-year varsity quarterback completed 7 of his 12 passes for 179 yards.

Aside from his touchdown that won Jesuit the game, Preston connected with Kai Wallin ’22 for a 35-yard touchdown, Keleki Latu ’21 for a 48-yard score, and ran one into the endzone himself in the second quarter.

Preston’s clutch effort got him nominated for the Sac Bee’s prep football player of the week. Fans can vote until Friday, April 2, at noon.

A notable performance also came from the losing team. Christian Brothers junior running back D.J. Crowther Jr. rushed for more than 200 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 10, 15, and 14 yards. 

Despite getting the win, running back Ace Saca ’21 acknowledged the game’s close score was partly due to the team relaxing a bit. 

“We won the game but it shouldn’t have been that close,” Ace said. “We got too comfortable when we were up 21-7 and that’s why the game ended up being so close.”

The same sentiment was echoed by defensive back Roman Canaan ’21, who also gave a shout out to lineman Evan Mayers ’22 for pushing Vukovich into the endzone for the game’s final touchdown. 

 “We came out against CB pressing on the gas, and then we got comfortable and they made a run, but we came together as a team and finished them off into overtime thanks to our lineman and especially Evan Mayers’ for the push to win the game,” Roman said. 

After getting the win and improving their record to 1-1, the Marauders will travel to De La Salle High School to play the Spartans this week.    

Ranked No. 8 in California by MaxPreps as of March 28, De La Salle holds a 3-0 record. 

Going up against a tough opponent, Jesuit kicker, receiver, and defensive back Alejandro Rojas ’22 wants his teammates to make it a priority to fulfill their individual responsibilities.

“I would want the team to focus on getting better on our assignments on the field,” Rojas said. “We also need to focus on our individual parts so eventually everyone is doing their job and we can be successful that way.”

Coming off a big win against their rival, the Marauders will look to prove themselves once more when they face De La Salle on Thursday, April 1 at 6:45 p.m.