Excitement all-around in the Northern California single-school league as we had four games this past weekend.
Jesuit vs St. Ignatius
Jesuit held off St. Ignatius 29-26 in a dramatic one. Coming off a nice win on Week 1, St. Ignatius got three tries from No. 8 Flynn O'Connell and gave the Marauders trouble.
However, the likes of Jack Patock, Duncan Broughton, Joshua Baleiwelagi, Tristan McLoughlin, and Brody Leonard got over the tryline to edge the Wildcats.
“It was a game of momentum,” said Jesuit Head Coach Andrew Acosta. “Both teams struggled with the referee but an exciting game.”
De La Salle vs St. Francis
In a hugely physical match De La Salle came away 33-19 winners.
“St. Francis is fast, athletic, and punishing to tackle,” said DLS Head Coach Derek Holmberg. “Our boys stayed in the fight, but none of us were happy with our performance.”
St. Francis started the scoring with some nice footwork and acceleration from outside center Motu Keanaaina, who broke through for a 50-meter run and score.
DLS took possession at the restart and, with a penalty advantage, No. 8 Jimmy Rainsford put a chip kick over and recovered it near the tryline. In swarmed the forwards and big lock Adam Devlin picked up and was over. Sione Manoa converted and it was 7-7.
DLS scored again after a hard run by center Kapelieli Pasa that led to some forward play and a Harrison Kapust try. St. Francis answered just before the halftime break with a good series of offloads to get within two at 14-12.
The second half was back-and-forth for a while. Off a turnover Sione Manoa laid down a well-weighted grubber that hooker Xavier Ordoniez chased down for the try.
Once again Manoa converted and it was 21-12. St. Francis then unleashed skipper Kingston Keanaaina, who broke a tackle, stepped back inside, and was gone from long range.
“Our boys never panicked and knew we had to regroup and fix our mistakes,” said Holmberg.
After that, DLS pulled away. They took a lineout and mauled it close before lock Jasper Buttles billed over. Then outside center Peter McKenna iced it by setting up wing Gianluca Deneroff. Manoa converted to finish it off.
“Great match and they are someone we know we have to be ready for every year,” said Holmberg. “Hats off to Keala and his staff who have turned St. Francis into a legit program in just 3 seasons. Both programs have a lot of respect for each other and it showed in the post-match meal with all the boys getting together.”
