St. Ignatius senior running back Jacob Brisbane breaks through the Sacred Heart Cathedral defense.

St. Ignatius relied on its running game to defeat Sacred Heart Cathedral Friday at Kezar Stadium, adding the upset over pre-game favorites SH to the storied rivalry between the two schools. Meanwhile, Washington High School shut out Marshall to bump the Phoenix from the Academic Athletic Association playoffs.

St. Ignatius 31, Sacred Heart 21

Although Sacred Heart Cathedral came to Friday’s matchup as favorites against St. Ignatius based on a stronger record this season, the SI Wildcats continued their historical football dominance over the SH Irish by sticking to the ground and grinding out 277 yards rushing on 52 carries. SI quarterback Luke Pappas threw just three passes the entire game.

Luck also played a part in the game, as a fourth-quarter fumble by SI just short of the SH end zone went right into the hands of St. Ignatius running back Jacob Brisbane, local high-school sports website San Fran Preps reports.

“Honestly, I thought [Zac Shuller] scored, but the ball just went right into my hands,” Brisbane said. “I didn’t even know what happened. Luck of the draw right there.” …

Even though St. Ignatius has dominated the teams’ recent meetings, it was Sacred Heart (4-5, 1-5) that came into this matchup as the favorite, likely needing a win to secure a CIF-Central Coast Section playoff spot.

“I am so utterly frustrated right now,” said Sacred Heart head coach John Lee. “How we are going to bounce back is what I want to know. I could understand if we were getting blown out, but we’re right there and don’t know how to close the book.”

The win over Sacred Heart also gives St. Ignatius the first stage of the three-part competition between the schools for the Bruce-Mahoney trophy.

Washington 24, Marshall 0

Washington High School shut out the visiting Marshall Phoenix Friday, and now share second place with Galileo High School in the Academic Athletic Association.

Washington running backs Jeremy Jetton and Lajarie Mabrey combined for 167 of the Eagles’ 223 rushing yards, reports San Fran Preps. Jetton and Mabrey each scored a touchdown as well.

“For us to do well in the playoffs, we need to improve on tackling and special teams,” [Washington head coach Karl Finley] said. “We’ve lost two games due to special teams, and we focused on that today and besides the missed field goal, we did really well.”

Washington junior quarterback Aram Gevandian went threw for 83 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-12 passing, while his Marshall counterparts, Marcus Blacksher and Joseph Sagiao, combined for 5-of-20 passing for 67 yards and two interceptions.

Washington will play Galileo next week, while Marshall will head to face first place Mission.

Photo: AJ Canaria/San Fran Preps