Two of the top single-school teams in Northern California clashed Wednesday night in a midweek encounter as Jesuit took on Dixon.

Both were unbeaten in early play, so this was a big statement game for both.

It was a tough game, with Dixon causing Jesuit some trouble and forcing them into mistakes, but Jesuit was able to score twice to lead 14-5 at halftime.

“We had 15 penalties and 12 knock-ons in the game, so we were on the back foot a lot,” said Jesuit Head Coach John Shorey. “At halftime we made some adjustments and the guys were really very good defensively.”

Shorey told the team to be more like England, kicking for territory and defending, making the field long for the opposition. With scrumhalf Willie Nelson and flyhalf Andres Ramirez both kicking superbly - both have spent time in New Zealand working in their game and that skills work came very much in handy Wednesday - Jesuit was able to control field position, and scored two more tries to win 24-5.

Dixon still battled, and got into Jesuit territory, but were held out on several goal-line stands. Jesuit hooker Grayson Jones was “a handful,” said Shorey.

“Last year we lost a lot of our seniors and this year’s kind of a rebuilding year and we’re trying to get back into that momentum that we had last year,” said Jesuit HS All American Christian Dyer, who was with the HSAA team in Las Vegas this past weekend. “And we’re hungry for that national championship that we lost to Gonzaga.”

The victory put Jesuit at 2-0, while Dixon dropped to 2-1. There’s little rest for the Jesuit squad, as they take on an imposing Sierra Foothills on Friday. Jesuit beat Riordan 52-14 this past weekend. Shorey was very complimentary of the young Riordan team, calling them a well-coached program on the rise. 

“They brought three full teams and are going to beat a lot of teams this year and will be a handful in the near future,” Shorey said.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Northern California Varsity Single School league is Clayton Valley, 3-0 after defeating De La Salle 27-19 over the weekend.

The senior-heavy Clayton Valley squad may well have the meat of its season ahead of it - Jesuit and Dixon need to be played, twice, but they’ve beaten everyone else in the conference.

Here are the unofficial standings following tonight's Jesuit v Dixon game.