Good things happen for teams who wait.
St. Ignatius and Central of Fresno, which meets Saturday for the CIF Northern California Regional Division 1-A championship, both had a week off after winning section championships the week before.
The Wildcats won the Central Coast Section Open title Nov. 22 with 10-7 win over St. Francis. St. Ignatius is led by senior running back Jarious Hogan (1,061 yards rushing, 21 touchdowns) and QB Soren Hummel on offense, but its the defense which carries the Wildcats thanks to senior LBs Sui Gallegos-Hunkin and Daniel Leupold.
GAME PREVIEW: St. Ignatius (10-2) at Central, Fresno (11-2)
Central was a surprise D1 champion out of the Central Section behind a throng of underclass athletes including sophomore QB Jelani Dippel (3,070 yards passing, 38 TDs) and one of the top junior athletes in the state Brandon Smith (1,638 yards rushing, 22 TDs, 59 tackles).
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FIRST QUARTER
CENTRAL TOUCHDOWN! The Grizzlies strike first after three possessions. Brandon Smith 1-yard TD. Central 6, St. Ignatius 0. 1:00 1Q.
CENTRAL, SMITH AGAIN! Brandon Smith has been regarded as one of the most versatile and outstanding juniors in the country. He just proved it again, picking up a fumble and rambling 51 yards for a touchdown. Central 13, St. Ignatius 0. :35 1Q.
A strip sack and score by the Grizzlies. 1:26 in 1Q – SI 0 Central 13. pic.twitter.com/o7SlU2ZWLG
2ND QUARTER
TOUCHDOWN CENTRAL: Brandon Smith again! His 23-yard run gives Central commanding lead early in the third quarter. Smith's third touchdown of the game. Central 20, St. Ignatius 0. 10:15 2Q.
23 yard touchdown by the Grizzlies. SI 0 Central 20 with 10:05 in the 2Q pic.twitter.com/ZkOtRvBS97
TOUCHDOWN ST. IGNATIUS! Jarious Hogan finishes off nice drive with 7-yard touchdown run. Midway. Central 26, St. Ignatius 7. 6:15 2Q.
Touchdown Wildcats! Hogan runs it in. SI 7 Central 20 with 6:18 in the 2Q pic.twitter.com/v8ZnXvzlTd
SMITH, CENTRAL AGAIN! Making a case for Smith as state POY with fourth touchdown. A 3-yard run, gives Central a 26-7 lead 1:00 2Q.
FIELD GOAL ST. IGNATIUS! On last play of the first half, Odhran Kenny boots 22-yard field goal. Big lift for Wildcats heading into halftime. Central 26, St. Ignatius 10
HALFTIME: Central 26, St. Ignatius 10
Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.
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