Unlike so many of its games this season, St. Ignatius was unsuccessful as it tried to rally from down double-digits in the second half at Central-Fresno in the NorCal 1-A championship game on Saturday night.
The Wildcats couldn’t overcome the brilliance of Central senior Brandon Smith, who rushed for 159 yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground, one touchdown as a receiver and another on a fumble recovery.
SI ended its season as West Catholic Athletic League and Central Coast Section Open Division champions but was unable to add one more crown to its collection on a weekend that featured some truly classic regional matchups.
The Cardiac Cats sure did try, though.
After Smith scored the first three touchdowns of the game to put the hosts up 20-0 early in the second quarter, St. Ignatius star running back Jarious Hogan ran behind Washington signee John Mills for his 21st rushing touchdown of the season on the ensuing drive.
After Smith caught a touchdown to put Central up 26-7, Odhran Kenny kicked a short field goal as time expired to send St. Ignatius into the halftime locker room down 26-10.
Led by linebackers Latham Davis and Sui Gallegos-Hunkin, the Wildcats found a way to keep the Central offense out of the end zone on multiple drives.
In the meantime, Hummel capped one SI drive with a powerful burst up the middle into the end zone for a 1-yard score, and Zui Shelton caught a three-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 26-23.
Smith put Central up by 10 again when he withstood a hard hit in the end zone and still held on for a touchdown catch with eight minutes left.
The Wildcats drove downfield and got within striking distance, but an interception by a Central defender snuffed out the drive with 4:11 to go.
Smith ripped off runs of 15, 19 and 21 yards on the last drive to help Central salt away the rest of the clock.
Hummel threw for 221 yards and a touchdown, completing 18 of 27 passes. Hogan rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts, and Shelton caught seven passes for 138 yards and a score.
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St. Ignatius finished the season 10-3, a year that included comeback victories against Serra, Archbishop Riordan, Valley Christian and St. Francis.
Central will play Edison-Huntington Beach next Saturday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo for the 1-A state championship.
