As the sun set over the Hanson-McClain Stadium, a large crowd of fans had gathered under the lights to watch the battle between two rivals in the first night game in Jesuit High School’s history.

In an inaugural attempt to have a Friday night football game, Jesuit finally was able raise temporary stadium lights for the football game against Rio Americano High School.  

After coming off a massive Holy Bowl win against Christian Brothers High School, Jesuit continued their dominance defeating Rio by 49-14.

Despite winning by 35 points, the Raiders gave the Marauders a run for their money after scoring a surprising 90 yard touchdown, yet that spark seemed to burn out after several consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter.

“The game went well,” said Connor McIntee ‘19. “We picked things up in the second half and really played like we were supposed too.”

Despite the many injuries plaguing the team and the several mistakes made in the first half, the coaches also saw an improvement in the team morale brought on by the night game.

“The team loved [the game],” Coach Isaiah Frey ’08 said. “With me being a former player here, I actually loved it too, and it is something I never thought I would see [. . .]. It was one of the bigger crowds that we have seen at a home game, so they were excited to see that.”

Even with the varsity team’s success, the game was a huge logistical undertaking, requiring several extra fields to be open for parking and a larger volunteer group to support security.

“This particular game was a lot harder to prepare for because we knew we were going to have many more spectators than normal,” said Assistant Athletic Director Robin Cummings. “A lot of planning went into [the game] to deal with parking along with additional things we normally don’t deal with.”

With the Night Game being a success, Principal Michael Wood ’99 and the JHS administration are looking to the future for possible future events of a similar scale.

“For a variety of reasons, I would have more night games,” Mr. Wood said. “More night games mean a more enjoyable and often times safer football game experience [. . .]. My favorite part was people coming together, celebrating Carmichael, celebrating high school sports, supporting one another, and just having plain fun. There’s nothing wrong with a bunch of nice people coming together and having fun.”

This Friday afternoon at 4:15 p.m., Jesuit plays Franklin High School at home. Come out and support the boys as they look for a third straight win.