Photography by Delisa Schlachter
Coming off their great win over Keller Fossil Ridge, the JV football team continued their success with a commanding win over the Stephenville Yellow Jackets. Jesuit won the game 35-13 behind a great performance from quarterback Rusty Landon.
During the practices leading up to the contest, the JV team focused on getting off to a fast start and being more
consistent. What did Jesuit do the very first play of the game? Zach Kissick returned the opening kickoff for 75 yards, setting up the offense with great field position. This led to a touchdown pass from Rusty Landon to Tom Secules, making
the score 7-0. Jesuit’s defense caused a three and out on Stephenville’s first possession, but the Rangers didn’t capitalize and had to punt. Rewarding their defense for the stop, Stephenville scored on a touchdown pass to tie it up at 7-7.
In the second quarter, the Rangers drove down the field with a balanced attack of runs and passes. The drive was capped off with a one yard touchdown run by Jackson Suarez, 14-7. The Ranger’s defense once again caused a three and out, but the Stephenville punt backed the Rangers up deep into their own territory. Starting the drive with bad field position, Jesuit could not get anything going, and was forced to punt. The snap was fumbled, forcing Marco Navarro to dive on it at his own ten, giving Stephenville a first and goal. Set up nicely by the turnover at the Ranger eight yard line, Stephenville soon ran out of luck due to Luke Kelly’s game changing interception in the end zone.
After the interception, late in the second, the Ranger’s offense felt the momentum switch to their side, and they took off down the field. A 35 yard pass to Matthew Helm from Landon took the Rangers to past midfield and setup a 31 yard touchdown pass to Preston Sledge from Landon. The score put the Rangers ahead 21-7, at the half.
Stephenville received the ball to start the second half and scored on their opening drive, but they missed the
PAT, making the score 21-13. After the kickoff, the Rangers got the ball at their own 30 yard line. Eager to score again, Landon threw a 50 yard bomb to Mac Elliott. After the big play, Landon found Preston Sledge for another touchdown, making it 28-13. The rest of the third quarter consisted of many punts by both teams, but the scoring started up again in the fourth.
The final period started with a punt by Stephenville, that was returned to their 32 on a great return by Mac Elliott. That return led to another touchdown pass from Rusty Landon to Connor Lanpher on the screen, making it 35-13. Jesuit pulled back the dogs, Landon and company, after the touchdown. Neither team scored again, making the final score Jesuit Rangers 35, Stephenville Yellow Jackets 13.
The offense’s fast start led to quarterback Rusty Landon finishing with four TD’s on the game, and the defense consistently getting stops led to the win, and the 3-0 start for the JV team.
