Riding on a successful season, the Rangers football team came into their playoff matchup with Sachse High School on November 11, 201,1 at Mesquite Memorial Stadium feeling confident.
However, Sachse came out strong the first half and fended off a Jesuit rally in the second to pull out the surprising victory 49-42, ending the season for the Rangers.
The opening kickoff was taken by the Rangers; however, their powerful offense couldn’t find a spark the first few drives.
The first score of the game was by Sachse who handed it off to RB Billy Cole at the 15-yard line. Under a minute later, the Mustangs forced a turnover and used that to score another TD on a 24-yard pass from QB Trent White to WR Tyrique Edwards.
The Jesuit offense began to find some steam power as they marched down the field and used a trick play to get on the scoreboard. WR John Berend ’13 pretended to fall down while running his route, but got up and ran to the opposite side of the endzone, sliding to make the pass.
The Mustang offense struck back though on a 21-yard pass from White to WR Kent Myers, getting their third score of the quarter to end the 1st Quarter.
The second quarter found Jesuit pick up momentum as WR Jake Oliver ’13 scored two touchdowns.
Opening the 2nd Quarter, White pounded one in the endzone to be up by two touchdowns on the Rangers.
On the next Jesuit possession, QB Brian Buell ’12 handed the ball off to Oliver for an 8-yard rush, Oliver’s first of the season.
Despite a strong defensive effort, RB Billy Cole found his way into the end zone yet again with 6 minutes to go in the half.
The Rangers came storming back to score right before the half when Oliver caught a 4-yard pass from Buell. At the half, Jesuit was down 35-21.
During the half, the Rangers went over their assignments and didn’t put their heads down once. They knew that they were
far from out of it.
The 3rd Quarter was dominated by hard-nosed defenses as no one scored until WR Marty Murad caught a 25-yard pass from Buell. Murad bounced off two Mustang defenders, keeping his balance, determined to get into the end zone.
Seconds later, as the Rangers forced a turnover in the beginning of the 4th quarter, Buell threw a beautiful screen pass to Oliver, who sprinted 44 yards to pay dirt.
Like that, the game was tied at 35-35 and the Rangers were mounting the comeback of a lifetime.
Continuing to pick up their defense, the Rangers allowed their first score of the second half with 5 minutes left in the 4th. White completed another touchdown to Edwards for a 30-yard score.
But the Buell-Oliver connection gave the Rangers even more confidence, as Buell found Oliver for the third time on the night for a 37-yard score.
The Rangers kept trying to stop the Sachse offense and force overtime, which they knew they would be able to win. However, White completed a pass to WR Brandon Durr for a 42-yard pass with 43 seconds to go in the game.
Coming out onto the field, the Rangers had little time to get into the end zone. 
The game ended when Sachse picked off their third pass of the night.
The night was quite emotional for all involved. Seniors, coaches, fans all shed tears after the loss. They knew how close they were to a chance to keep playing, and the feeling was just absolutely devastating. After the game, Head Coach Brandon Hickman and his staff told the team how proud they were for how they fought again and again, not giving up at all. He also added that this was the best team and best season he had ever been a part of.
After the heartbreaking loss, DT Chris Koskovich ’13 said of the loss, “It was only a matter of time left in the game, and had there been only a few more seconds left on the clock we
would have been able to get the win.” He always said that despite a sad loss, the team was proud of the season they had and the goal they accomplished.
Looking forward to next season, Kosko said that “as far as next year, we’re always looking to continue growing and we’ll be expecting to make a longer run in the playoffs.”
Summing up the season in one word, Chris referred to the team nickname with a smile on his face, “Crimemob.”
So here’s to a wonderful season Rangers, and may we continue to gain confidence and dominance over the offseason.
Next time you see the Rangers, they’ll be playing on the grassy hills of Emerald Isle in Ireland as they participate in a game against Loyola High School (Chicago).
