“They all battled.” Central Catholic falls to St. Mary’s in Holy Bowl
They were cramping and battered but one thing the outnumbered Central Catholic football team didn’t do against St. Mary’s on Thursday was quit.
With 22 players, every Central Catholic player played on both offense and defense and when one would cramp up or come out with a nagging injury, they would return a few plays later and fight.
However, the Raiders came up just short in another edition of the Holy Bowl between the two Sac-Joaquin Section private school powers as the Rams recovered an onside kick with under 40 seconds to secure a 42-34 victory.
Central Catholic will play at Escalon next Friday.
“They go to battle with guys that play hard,” Raiders coach Roger Canepa said. “We have to work on the little things. It was a hell of a game.”
Normally, the Central Catholic (2-1) team hovers around 30 to 35 players but with opt-outs and some focusing on other sports, the Raiders had just over 20 entering the season.
One of the team’s top players is senior running back Jack Grisel, who entered the evening with nearly 300 rushing yards in two games.
After an interception by senior Phoenix Jackson on St. Mary’s opening drive, Grisel scored on a 1-yard touchdown run but came down awkward on his right ankle and didn’t return to the game.
Junior running back Julian Lopez became the lead man and shined, rushing for 148 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown and dragged multiple defenders for extra yardage on several occasions.
“I just want to imitate people when I run,” Lopez said.
Raiders struggle to stop St. Mary’s tandem
Where the Raiders struggled all night was stopping or even slowing down St. Mary’s (3-1) senior running back Tyrei Washington and sophomore wide receiver Jason Calvin.
Washington had 16 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns and Calvin had five receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns and added four carries for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Anytime, the Raiders had either in the backfield, both athletes would find holes for big gains.
Washington had two rushing touchdowns in the first half and Calvin had a 46-yard touchdown reception as St. Mary’s led 21-14 at halftime. Lopez had an interception in the second quarter before scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run.
The Rams led the entire second half and if not for the fourth down connections between Raiders’ junior quarterback Dominic Perino and senior wide receiver Phoenix Jackson, St. Mary’s would have won by a bigger margin.
The duo connected for a 10-yard touchdown in the third and a 5-yard score in the fourth as Jackson had eight receptions for 74 yards and two touchdowns, all of which came in the second half.
“I was just telling the coaches to get me open,” Jackson said of the halftime adjustments.
Despite the loss, the mood was positive in the postgame huddle.
“Our motto is we as a team,” Jackson said. “We gave our best effort.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 11:27 PM.
