Over the past few years, Jesuit’s homecoming games have been far from enjoyable for the team. In 2009, a mismatched Jesuit lost its homecoming game to Allen 55-14 under the lights at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Last year, Lake Highlands shocked the Rangers, squeaking out a 29-20 win in what was truly a “homecoming” for last year’s road warriors.
This year’s homecoming, however, was different than others. In a remarkable season, Jesuit played its last home game of the year on October 28, 2011, against Samuell in a lopsided affair.
Surrounded by students, faculty, alumni, and fans from around the country, the Rangers rocked the Samuell Spartans in a Homecoming Game for the ages. The team won, 49-7, and gave fans one last taste of football at Jesuit Stadium for the year.
The last regular season game is away at Sunset, followed by playoff games at venues like SMU’s Ford Stadium and Cowboys Stadium.
The game began after an always-enjoyable Ranger Day on Friday afternoon. Festivities allowed the team to relax and focus on proving their greatness on the gridiron.
In remembrance of Veteran’s Day, Jesuit wore their Army-inspired camouflage pants for the second time this season, and the stadium was decked out with American flags.
As kickoff loomed, students entered the stadium decorated with mums and garters, and alumni filled the seats in anticipation of seeing what their school’s football team is capable of.
Samuell got the opening kickoff and forced a fumble on a punt to maintain possession, but ended up punting again to give Jesuit the ball.
The first Jesuit drive took eight plays and spanned 91 yards. WR Marty Murad ’12 ran one in from 23 yards to score the only touchdown of the first quarter.
On the next Samuell drive, the Rangers forced another punt, but QB Brian Buell ’12 threw an interception at the Samuell 46 yard line at the end of the quarter.
However, Samuell threw an interception to CB Orion Salters ’14 on the first play of the second quarter, setting Jesuit up for its next scoring drive. RB Christian Franz ’12 and Murad split carries on this drive, and Murad scored another touchdown from 20 yards out to put the Rangers up 14-0.
The Spartans were ineffective yet again on the next possession, and Jesuit capitalized, using five plays to get another score. WR Jake Oliver ’13 snagged two catches on the drive, including a 20 yard scoring reception.
The Jesuit defense forced another three-and-out and got their offense the chance to score more points. After a good punt return by Jesuit, Buell completed one throw to Oliver for a touchdown from the 1-yard line only a minute after his last touchdown pass.
Samuell moved back four yards on the next drive and yet again punted to Jesuit.
The Rangers made a change at Quarterback by subbing in QB Joe Willie Laufenberg ’13. Laufenberg moved the team down the field but was picked off at the 7 yard line.
The next Samuell possession was highlighted by a play made by one of Jesuit’s senior captains. SS Luke Olinger ’12 sacked Samuell QB Kamron Jones for a loss of 11 yards, forcing a fumble in the process. Jesuit took over surging with momentum.
Oliver then made an outstanding catch through two Spartans and sprinted into the end zone on a 58-yard play right before halftime.
The Jesuit lead at halftime was 35-0, its best halftime margin of the season.
After halftime, Laufenberg took the reins again for the offense. Laufenberg marched the team down the field 65 yards on 16 plays, finishing with a 20-yard touchdown heave to WR Taylor Tibbits ’13. This was both players’ first touchdown of the season.
With a clear lead, the Rangers ran the ball a lot to run the clock out. Jesuit’s coaching staff pulled most of the starters, allowing backups to get valuable playing time.
The Rangers’ final plays were rushes by WR Nick Zipko ’12, RB Will Brown ’13, and Franz. WR Ryan Grant ’12 and Tibbits were the only Ranger targets for the rest of the game.
At the opening of the fourth quarter, Franz galloped 15 yards into the end zone to put the Rangers up by seven scores.
With three minutes left, the Spartans scored their first points of the game on RB Keith Hill’s 55-yard carry, ruining a near shutout for Defensive Coordinator Paul Maturi’s defense.
The game ended 49-7 with the Rangers improving to 7-2 (5-1 in district) on the year.
Jesuit put up 469 yards of offense, including a noteworthy 224 rushing yards. The defense allowed only 196 yards and forced four turnovers.
After winning the first homecoming game in recent memory, Rangers senior quarterback Brian Buell reflected on the big win. “This win was definitely bitter-sweet,” said Buell. “Even though we won by a large margin and secured our 7-2 record, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad afterwards knowing it was my last time to play under those lights.”
Buell, who took over at quarterback after QB Jack Brezette ’13 went down with a broken leg, has produced flawlessly. His last game at Jesuit was short to preserve him for playoffs, but he put up usual big numbers – including three touchdown passes.
“With all of the returning alumni present at the game, it felt like we were playing for the entire Jesuit community, not just the immediate student body,” Buell said.
Next Thursday on November 3, 2011, the Rangers travel to John E. Kincade Stadium to face the Sunset Bison. With a win, the Rangers will secure their second-best team record in their history in the UIL. This game will end the regular season and determine what team the Rangers will play in the first round of playoffs.
