Saturday, Sept. 14 marks the 55th annual Holy Bowl at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.

After commanding victories against Rio Americano and Bellarmine College Preparatory, Jesuit High School Sacramento football is looking to secure a third victory against Christian Brothers. The pressure is on for the Marauders this year, as they have not lost a Holy Bowl since CB won 30-27 in 2019.

The Marauders’ most recent victory over BCP was nearly as dominant as the first game against Rio, with Jesuit winning 46-7 and holding the Bells scoreless for the second half. All 6 Jesuit touchdowns were scored by different players while the defense saw four defensive players recorded 6 or more tackles each and held the BCP quarterbacks to a mere 67 yards on a total of 23 passing attempts combined. The game showcased the team’s excellent depth on both sides of the ball.

A strength of the team are the defensive linemen, who have exceptional size and skill this year. They recorded 4 sacks and a fumble recovery against Rio Americano High School, and 5 quarterback hurries against BCP to go along with a blocked punt.

 This year’s varsity team is less experienced than last year’s team. With only a few returning seniors at skill positions, one might be concerned that the lack of experience would create a weakness; however, varsity running back Chris Effiong ’25 is confident that this year’s juniors are ready. 

“A lot of our junior starters were pulled up to varsity last year so they have a little bit of experience [...], we [had] a scrimmage and that built their experience, so I believe over the season they will be a lot more comfortable on the varsity level,” Chris said.

Although the juniors seem to be very comfortable with the level of competition, the Holy Bowl crowds can have a powerful effect on players. 

“Sometimes you may not get calls you know, you may not hear the play call,” Chris said. “Maybe fans are yelling something and you hear it and it throws you off your game, but as long as you’re locked in, you can really just tune it out. [The Holy Bowl crowd] definitely has an impact.”

Despite the overwhelming nature of the game, the team is incredibly confident going into the Holy Bowl. Seniors, like running back Alan Cordano ’25, are looking forward to their last Holy Bowl and are ready to face the big stage.

“Yeah this is my last Holy Bowl; I’m pretty excited for that,” Alan said. “All the fans and stuff gets your nerves jumping but at the end of the day we’ve prepared ourselves for that point. We’re super confident going in.”

Holy Bowl is the epitome of Jesuit High School spirit. The players, confident in their ability to perform, are ready to roll into Hughes Stadium, backed by the Jesuit community.