In a battle of the #3 single-school boys HS team and the #2 HS club team, Jesuit of Sacramento defeated the Granite Bay Grizzlies 31-22.

The game was as expected, hugely physical and tight throughout. Jesuit was only able to pull away in the final team minutes. Down 22-21, the Marauders got a try, converted, and a penalty to seal the deal.

Centers Hunter Donaldson and Davin Kerry were physical and aggressive in a game where they needed to be.

(David Barpal photos.)

Defense, said Jesuit head coach John Shorey, was the difference in the final moments, but phase play was also critical.

“We were able to hold onto the ball longer with a mix of forward pick-and-goes before running the ball through the backs and using misdirected runners.”

This set up the final try, with came at the end of a sequence of 15 phases before some snappy ball handling from the Jesuit backs set up an attack around the edge.

With the win, Jesuit moves to 2-0 in Rugby NorCal’s Premier 1 Varsity A, while Granite Bay drops to 2-1-1. 

Next up for Jesuit is Lamorinda, which is 2-1, and SFGG, which entered the weekend 0-1-1 but had tied Granite Bay.