On Saturday, February 13th, the Jesuit High School Marauders defeated the Rio Americano High School Raiders 63-51 in the annual “Battle of American River Drive”.

The Marauders outscored the Raiders in the first half at 34-28. They continued their lead through the third quarter, but RHS fought back, outscoring Jesuit 16-10 in the fourth quarter.

Guard and Forward Matthew Ehrlich ‘17 led the Marauders with 19 points going 8/14 on field goals. This was Matthew’s first game against long-time rival, Rio Americano, because last year he was forced to sit out due to transfer rules.

“Rivalry games are always going to be tough, no matter how good one team or the other is. Both teams came to battle on Saturday and it made for an extremely exciting game,” Matthew said.

Both respective student sections were in full force, packing in as many students as possible into their allotted space, which provided for an electric atmosphere.

“There was a lot of hype going into the game, and it did not disappoint. We were down three key players, and we knew Rio was going to give us their best game, so we all had to step up,” said guard Justin Gregg ‘17.

Since the “Battle of American River Drive,” Jesuit has advanced to a record of 24-4 with a 63-51 win over league competitor Grant High School.

Jesuit, ranked 4th, starts the CIF Division one playoffs this Wednesday against 13th ranked Chavez High School from Stockton.