On Friday, September 27th, the Jesuit football team traveled to the Grant Bowl to face off against Grant at 3:45 pm. Jesuit dominated the Generals 42-6, concluding non-league play. The Crusaders relied heavily on the run game, and showed why they are one of the toughest teams heading into the Metro League.
Grant’s Braden Baker opened up the scoring for the game, as he threw an 18-yard pass to Marcus Rouse Jr to give the Generals an early 6-0 lead. The Generals early spark gave Grant some hope, but that hope went out as Jesuit’s offense took charge and their defense locked in.
Jesuit responded quickly as Harper Sage and the offense facilitated a powerful drive down the field. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard rushing touchdown from running back Dominic Locati. Locati’s touchdown set the tone for the rest of the game as the offense continued their successful drives.
Shortly after, Jesuit’s Joe Stimpson finessed the Grant defense, going untouched in a 27-yard touchdown run. The next drive would continue with the theme of rushing touchdowns, as Sage snuck into the endzone with a 3-yard run. A Stimpson rushing touchdown, a Sage sneak, and a Parker Heydet field goal would give the Crusaders a comfortable 28-6 lead going into halftime.
Going into the 2nd half, Jesuit absolutely took over the game. The offense clicked in the third quarter for the Crusaders, leaving Grant with no answer to Locati and Stimpson’s runs. Once again, Locati finished off a strong offensive drive with a 4-yard touchdown, extending the lead. With nothing going well offensively for the Generals, the Jesuit defense forced them to punt. On the returning side of the punt was Stimpson, and he returned the punt 77-yards for a touchdown, one of the biggest highlights of the game.
Jesuit’s third quarter run was finished with a Dominic Locati 1-yard touchdown, making it his third of the afternoon. As the fourth quarter pulled up, Jesuit had full control of the game, taking their foot off the brakes and running out the clock. Neither team scored in the final quarter.
The Crusaders finished the game with 328 rushing yards and 58 passing yards, showcasing their smash-mouth style offense. Leading the Jesuit’s dominant run game with 164 rushing yards and three touchdowns was running back Dominic Locati. Joe Stimpson finished with 221 all purpose yards, 100 of which came from punt returns. He also added two touchdowns and one interception to his stellar performance. The offensive line created many scoring opportunities for Jesuit by opening up holes for Locati and Stimpson all afternoon. Meanwhile, the defense held the Generals to an impressive 6 points. Kicker Parker Heydet had a perfect game, going 6/6 on PATs and adding a field goal to finish the scoring.
Jesuit’s win at Grant marks the end of non-league play, and the team will now turn its focus towards the Metro. The team will open up league-play against the Westview Wildcats under Cronin’s lights at 7:00 pm. Jesuit is riding high on momentum coming off of Coach Potter’s record breaking win and their blow out against Grant. With Treynor Cleeland looking to return this week, the Crusaders are looking even more dangerous.
Jesuit’s convincing 42-6 win against Grant sends a roaring message to the rest of the state: the Crusaders are ready to dominate and run the ball through the Metro League.
