The Christian Brothers varsity football team had a nice bounce back win last Saturday, defeating Vanden 34-28. The Falcons were coming off a tough loss the previous week, so it was a good win to get them back on track before Holy Bowl. Quarterback Jacob Stewart ‘21 went 19-25 passing for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also contributing a rushing touchdown. Luke Jones ‘20 also scored two touchdowns, one receiving and one rushing. John Michael Berger ‘21 caught his first touchdown of the season, and finished the game as the top receiver with 89 yards. Defensively, Justin Douglas ‘21 led the way with 10 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss. Reed Mercer ‘20 and Sawyer Hays ‘21 also had sacks. The defense was able to get consistent pressure throughout the game, finishing with 13 tackles for loss as a team.

The game started off well for the Falcons, scoring the first touchdown on a Luke Jones 7 yard rush. Vanden then answered back, intercepting Stewart and returning it for a touchdown. Vanden got another touchdown off another CB turnover, making it 14-7. Running back Justin Douglas punched one in at the end of the first quarter, making it 14-13 as the PAT was missed. The score remained 14-13 for the remainder of the first half. 

Christian Brothers came out strong to start the second half, scoring on their first two possessions. John Michael Berger caught a 65 yard touchdown pass and then Luke Jones followed with a 25 yard TD catch. CB added another touchdown to make it 34-14 at the end of the third. Vanden fought back late, scoring a pair of touchdowns to make it 34-28, but the Falcon defense was able to get a stop late on Luke Jones’ first interception of the season, ending the Vikings’ comeback attempt.

The Falcons (2-1) will look to keep their momentum going when they take on rival Jesuit in the Holy Bowl next week. Jesuit comes into the game 0-2, having lost to powerhouse Folsom and Granite Bay. The game will be at 7:00 pm on Saturday, September 14th at Sacramento City College.