When talking about the St. John’s College High vs. Gonzaga College High rivalry, fans brought up a few comparisons: Michigan vs. Ohio State. Auburn vs. Alabama. USC vs. Notre Dame.
That’s a tall order for a high school football game. But on a sunny fall afternoon in Washington, D.C., the atmosphere at St. John’s' packed Fernandez Stadium sure delivered.
This year’s iteration may not have quite replicated the often-tight competition of its college football comparisons – St. John’s took down the Eagles 44-3 – but that didn’t touch the rowdy enthusiasm of either fan base in the sold-out crowd. St. John’s students hung sheets painted with “Birds Aren’t Real” and “Beat Gonzaga” (with all the Gs ex-ed out, of course), while Gonzaga kept up their chants
of “God is Purple” all the way until the blowout’s final seconds.
There were some extra bragging rights on the line during this 106th meeting of the legendary D.C. rivalry – heading in, the all-time series record was knotted up at 50-50-5. After back-to-back Gonzaga victories in 2024 and 2025, the Cadets’ dominant revenge victory puts them back on top of history.
Series bragging rights still came second to the in-the-moment joy of beating a rival.
“I don’t know that we focus so much on breaking ties,” St. John’s head coach Terrence Byrd said with a laugh. “Just breaking their back.”
The win also gives St. John’s the No. 1 seed in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference playoffs, pushing Gonzaga to the third seed behind DeMatha.
The Cadets knew what was at stake, and they never took their foot off the gas after an early strike. Indiana RB commit Da’Jon Talley-Rhodes opened scoring four minutes into the first quarter, dashing 29 yards to give St. John’s the lead they would never relinquish. He added a second score in the second quarter.
“This game, it took everything out of us, man. Even though the score says otherwise, this game took everything out of us because of the emotions, the intensity, everything,” said Talley-Rhodes after the victory. “This game means the world to me…I feel on top of the world."
Senior quarterback Nyeem Woods turned in an impressive performance at the helm, highlighted by a 71-yard dime straight into the end zone in the second quarter to widen the Cadets’ lead to 14-3. “Take ‘em up top,” he said with a smile.
As far as next weekend's WCAC post-season kickoff: “We’re focusing on keeping that standard," Woods said. "We’re focusing on not letting the negative outside noise get in our head and our community and we’re going to keep going forward."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'On top of the world': St. John's dominates Gonzaga in 106th meeting of D.C. rivals
