On Friday, November 1st, Cronin Field hosted an exciting evening as the Jesuit Football team was celebrating senior night. Although it was a cold and rainy night, family, friends, and classmates of the seniors came together to watch Jesuit end Metro League play with a solid 41-6 win over Sunset.
The game began with a commanding stop by the defense, as Jesuit forced Sunset to punt on 4th and 20. Shortly after, Jesuit’s Joe Stimpson received a pitch and scored a 32-yard touchdown run to open up scoring for the Crusaders, setting the tone for the rest of Jesuit’s run game. Roman Mallard followed the next offensive drive with a 2-yard pitch to get inside the endzone, blasting through two Sunset defenders. The Crusaders ended the 1st quarter with a 14-0 lead against the Apollos.
In the second quarter, Jesuit was looking to build their momentum against their Metro opponent. In their first offensive drive, the Crusaders found themselves in trouble, as it was 1st and 30 after back-to-back penalties. Despite the setback, Jesuit drove the field and topped off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Treynor Cleeland to Grant Valley. Attempting to rally up a solid offensive drive of their own, the Apollos looked at an important offensive drive. The drive was successful, as Sunset quarterback Marcus Hahm threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Max Waldrip. After Sunset missed the extra point, Jesuit made sure Sunset would not score again.
Opening up the second half was an electric 63-yard run from Stimpson to score for the Crusaders once again. While going for the extra point, Tommy Scalzo, the long snapper, snapped it too high, resulting in a failed 2-point attempt from Jesuit. The mistake would not matter, however, as Jesuit rallied up two solid offensive drives leading to touchdowns. The first drive saw Valley receiving a 6-yard touchdown pass from Cleeland, their second connection of the night. The following ended with a 4-yard catch in the endzone to Grady Keljo. The Crusaders finished the 3rd quarter with a dominant 41-6 lead.
With the victory well in hand to start the fourth quarter, Jesuit decided to take their foot off the gas, as the scoreboard remained untouched for the remainder of the game. As Sunset was trying to get some more points up on the board, Jesuit’s tenacious defense stopped them each drive, until the game ended.
Highlighting the defense that night was Grant Valley and Jack Tuenge, as they both got an interception. The defensive line also played a huge role in the game, as they destroyed Sunset’s run game.
Stimpson finished the game with an impressive two touchdowns and 147 yards on only 11 carries. Mallard also received 11 carries, finishing with a touchdown. In the air, Cleeland completed six passes, two of them leading to touchdowns for Valley and another leading to a touchdown for Keljo. Parker Heydet was perfect in this game, as he went 5/5 on extra points.
Honoring their seniors in a 41-6 victory, Jesuit looks to carry their momentum and finish the season with a few more wins.
