St. Ignatius is back in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game after a 21-7 win over Bellarmine on Friday, The Mercury News reported. It is the Wildcats' second trip to the Open title game in three years, after a one-year hiatus.
High School On SI listed the final as SICP 21, Bellarmine College Prep 7 among California scores from Nov. 13. The Mercury News said the Wildcats answered an early Bellarmine touchdown with three consecutive scores, then held on.
A MaxPreps recap generated from official stat entries said the victory was St. Ignatius' fifth in a row over Bellarmine, a series that also includes prior meetings of 26-7, 28-0, 46-0 and 31-30 listed on the same page. The recap said Bellarmine running back Justin Donahue rushed for 158 yards and one touchdown on 9.9 yards per carry, a reminder that the Bells moved the ball even as they came up short on the scoreboard.
The matchup is one of the Peninsula and San Jose area's oldest high school rivalries, and both schools arrived in the Open bracket with regular-season reputations to defend. The Mercury News described the result as St. Ignatius holding off Bellarmine rather than running away, consistent with a 21-7 final and with Donahue's yardage in the MaxPreps summary.
The win sends the Wildcats back to a championship setting they reached two seasons ago. The Mercury News emphasized the one-year gap: this is the second Open final in three years, not a repeat appearance from last fall. MaxPreps' automated recap did not list St. Ignatius' next opponent, but the championship-game berth is the fact the Mercury News put in the headline.
Friday was a busy CCS playoff night across the section. High School On SI also recorded Burlingame 22, Live Oak 19; Sacred Heart Prep 17, Mountain View 7; Wilcox 46, Ann Sobrato 13; Palo Alto 28, Milpitas 7; King City 34, Menlo-Atherton 28; Salinas 56, Santa Teresa 21; and Soquel 27, Woodside 3. Those results, and St. Ignatius' return to the Open final, give the section a clear Saturday-morning picture of who is still playing for a title.
For Bellarmine, a 158-yard night from Donahue was not enough to break a five-game skid against the Wildcats. For St. Ignatius, the assignment shifts from surviving a rivalry semifinal to preparing for the Open Division championship after earning the right to play in it for the second time in three years.