FOLSOM — Over the past nine years, the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I soccer playoffs have been dominated by Jesuit and Davis.

The two schools have combined for eight championships, with Vintage winning the only other title in 2004.

So, when the Crushers upset nationally-ranked Davis on Tuesday, the reward was taking on Jesuit, which looked like a daunting task.

And so it proved on Thursday night, as Jesuit ran away with a 4-0 win in the Division I semifinals at Prairie City Stadium.

The Marauders (23-2-2) scored two goals in a span of three minutes in each of the first and second halves to advance to their first section championship game since 2003.

Jesuit will play West of Tracy at 4 p.m. in Folsom. West defeated Atwater 4-1 in the other semifinal.

“We were a little flat to start,” Vintage coach Dennis Sweeney said. “It’s difficult to play two teams of that caliber 48 hours apart. We had some guys with heavy legs and a couple of players who tried to go but were out of the game within 15 minutes.”

The bruising encounter with Davis, who were ranked fifth in the country, took its toll on the Crushers, as Jesuit scored a goal in the 21st and 24th minute.

Kellen McLoughlin scored the Marauders’ first goal off a free kick from Ian Forner, and then three minutes later McLoughlin turned provider, setting up Matt Gardner to give Jesuit a 2-0 lead.

Both goals occurred after Vintage sweeper Edward Olvera had limped off with an injured right ankle that the four-year starter hurt in the Davis game.

The Crushers (12-6-6) attempted to get back into the game in the second half, and largely dominated play for the first 20 minutes, but could not score that all-important first goal.

Juan Ochoa had an excellent chance to score in the 51st minute but Jesuit goalkeeper Kyle Verle made an outstanding point-blank save.

Then just three minutes later, Olvera’s header from a long throw bounced right across the goal line with no Crusher near enough to bundle the ball into the net.

“Coach Sweeney told us to put the first one in,” Vintage senior Majdi Abuhamdieh said. “And usually when you put the first one in they keep on coming.”

But, the Crushers were never able to score that first goal — and seemingly when one team goes close to scoring and doesn’t convert, the other team usually does.

In the 65th minute Jesuit put the game away with a goal from Brandon Hamer.

Three minutes later Trent Fischer scored the Marauders’ fourth.

“All year we have scored in bunches,” Jesuit coach Paul Rose said. “Vintage is one of the elite programs in Northern California. They are every bit as good as the best teams in the area and I have a lot of respect for the program and Dennis.”

The Crushers lost for the second straight year in the Division I semifinals, but were more a surprise this year as Vintage, who finished second in the Monticello Empire League, came alive late in the season.

The Crushers used a mid-October loss to Armijo to kick-start their season and surged at the right time before running out of gas.

“They just got tired of making excuses and losing,” Sweeney said. “We had a lot of meetings and they took a couple of day off and their attitude was much better.”

Seniors Olvera, Chris Martinez and Enrique Roldan took up some of the leadership roles and returning players like Gerardo Martinez and Osvaldo Trejo upped their contributions as the Crushers rolled over Folsom and Davis in the playoffs.

“People expect us to go far,” Abuhamdieh said.

“When we almost did not make playoffs, we wanted to prove people that they were wrong about our team.”

Chris Martinez, Olvera, Roldan, Eric Ayala, Ivan Gallegos, Ochoa, Abuhamdieh and Trejo all graduate for the Crushers, as Vintage will attempt to reload for another run next season.

Olvera and Martinez will be especially tough to replace, as both have been a part of the last three unbelievable seasons for the Crushers.

“I had a good time playing this year,” Abuhamdieh said. “It was a tough loss and I hope we do better next season.”