This past Friday, October 7, 2011, members of the Jesuit football team expected to celebrate what was essentially the District 9-5A championship game against the Skyline Raiders. However, the game played out to be an embarrassing 54-7 loss for the Rangers against the Texas football powerhouse.
The Raiders came into the game ranked number 3 in the state of Texas. Since both teams were tied for first in the District 9-5A rankings, this game would serve as an accurate predictor of the future District Champion.
The game consisted of utter domination by Skyline, Jesuit not being able to get into the end zone until the 4th Quarter.
In the 1st Quarter, Skyline showed off their mindboggling ground game. QB Devante Kincade ran in a score from 52-yards
out to put the first points on the board. Four minutes later, RB David Greene scored on a 23-yard run. Skyline failed to score on both PAT conversions.
Most of the damage was done in the 2nd Quarter, in which Jesuit allowed four additional touchdowns. Kincade ran in another TD from 17-yards. Then, after Skyline’s defense once again shut down the Jesuit offense, WR RaShaad Samples caught an astronomical 92-yard deep ball from Kincade for another score.
Jesuit was stopped yet again on its next possession, and RB Ellis Onic scored a 45-yard touchdown. As the final seconds of the 1st Half ticked away, P Jeff Fulcher ’13 allowed a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by Onic.
The Rangers went into halftime down a discouraging 40-0 to the seemingly untouchable Skylin
e Raiders.
Furious and at a loss for words, the team went to the locker rooms to recuperate and focus up, desperate for the comeback of a century.
Shortly after play resumed in the 3rd Quarter, the Rangers were stopped early, and Skyline added even more points on the board with a 1-yard run by David Greene. Greene powered himself to his third touchdown of the game after the next Jesuit drive ended.
Surprisingly enough, neither the Rangers nor the Raiders had turned the ball over once.
While never giving up hope for a comeback, the Rangers were pretty much out of the game in the 4th Quarter. However, Senior Captain WR Marty Murad ’12 finally put Jesuit on the board with a 1-yard run.
In what many had wanted to be the Cinderella upset of Skyline for the 9-5A title, Jesuit was obliterated 54-7.
QB Brian Buell ’12 went 22-30 with 188 yards. The rushing game consisting of WR Orion Salters ’14, WR Marty Murad ’12, RB Garrett Van de Ven ’13, RB Christian Franz ’12, QB Brian Buell ’12, and QB JoeWillie Laufenberg ’13 combined for a mere total of 14 yards.
WR Jake Oliver ’13 and WR Austin Lock ’12, both accustomed to multiple touchdown games, had silent nights. Ultimately, the usually high-flying Jesuit offense was silenced by an experienced Skyline Raiders football team, which totaled 558 yards of offense.
Punter Jeff Fulcher ’13 provided an accurate synopsis of the night, stating that “In the first half everything was going wrong; offense wasn’t moving the ball, defense wasn’t stopping the run, and special teams wasn’t covering.”
Fulcher added that “Skyline is a fast team, and there isn’t much [they] could have done about that.”
In order to get back on track, Fulcher said that the team simply needs to “Focus up.”
With a 2-1 district record, the Rangers can still win out the rest of the season and secure a Number 1 playoff seed.
Jesuit (4-2; 2-1) takes on the Richardson Eagles (4-2; 2-1) this week on October 14th in the last game at Jesuit Stadium before the first away game of the season. Come out and support the Rangers as they look to move past this loss to Skyline.
