Amid a festive atmosphere and a crowd of nearly 3,000, Caden Noon passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 77 yards and two scores to lead No. 20 Christian Brothers to a 45-6 win over McClatchy tonight in the first high school football game to be played at renovated Hughes Stadium.
The win sets up a battle of unbeatens for next Saturday night's Holy Bowl at Hughes between the Falcons (3-0) and rival Jesuit (2-0).
Noon, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior completed 15 of 22 passes, including five for 98 yards to standout senior wide receiver Jalen Walker. He also carried the ball 13 times before calling it a night midway through the third quarter.
The game was close for most of the first half.
After Noon threw touchdown passes of 15 yards to Zach Brooks and 17 yards to Hayden Jones to complete a pair of long drives, McClatchy closed to within 14-6 with 3:27 to play in the second quarter on a 40-yard scoring strike from Nick Modar to Devajia Gupton.
But then it was the arm and legs of Noon and the Falcons' swarming defense that took over.
Noon capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run just before the half, then the Falcons exploded for 21 third-quarter points.
Evan Cook and Erik Bloomquist recovered fumbles and Modar was sacked three times as the Lions (0-2) were held to 70 rushing yards and 80 passing yards, though McClatchy receivers dropped at least three potential big gainers.
The only negative for CBS were penalties. The Falcons were flagged 11 times for 115 yards.
Hughes Stadium on the Sacramento City College campus is 84 years old. It was renovated for $13 million, including an artificial playing surface.
It once was the home stadium for CBS and McClatchy and other city schools.
But in recent years those two schools had played to small afternoon crowds at their respective campus fields.
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