Thursday night, September 25, the boys in blue made the long drive out to the town of Celina. With both Blue and Gold teams having great records and Celina always ready for a fight, this was sure to be a game to remember.
While practicing throughout the week, the Rangers were presented with a problem: Celina only had one team. The solution? Both the Blue and Gold teams merged to form a Blue-Gold hodgepodge of 75 players in total. This was not only a hectic game for Jesuit, but also an exciting challenge in which the issue of balancing out playtime and roster spots was a large task for the coaches.
The game plan going into the game was “…to make sure [everyone] got in and to try to win with so many playing” according to head Coach Bob Wunderlick.
At the start of the game, Jesuit had a rough time adjusting to the new style of their position rotations. The Blue-Gold defense was shaky at the start and had a tough time responding to the powerful, multiple-running-back formations and Power-Plays used by the Farmers’ offense. Throughout the first half, the Rangers’ defense was battered by the strong running backs of Celina, but the team held on tight and never completely backed down.
With the defense struggling, the offense had a lot of slack to pick up, needing to put up some quick points on the board to make up ground. Luckily, with a few long passes and a turnover caused by the defense, the Blue-Gold team went into the half tied with the Farmers 13-13.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Rangers returned a punt for a touchdown to place themselves ahead of the Farmers 20-13. Knowing what to expect from the Celina offense because of their first-quarter struggles, the Jesuit defense hunkered down, held their ground, and filled the gaps, clogging up the Celina run game, which wouldn’t score for the rest of the game.
The Rangers had the tasks of combining the Blue and Gold teams while still achieving the win and still making sure that each player got playing time. In the end, Coach Wunderlick explained, “We accomplished both.” The final score was 27-13 as a strong drive and Jesuit touchdown led the team to a win.
Even with double the usual amount of players, there were some clear standouts of this Ranger mashup-team. The MVPs on the offense were the four players who scored during the game: Jack Tabor, Aiden Johnston, Fletcher Rosenbleeth, and Jim Hayden. Defensive standouts included Nicky Prendergast, Marshall Ellison, and Daniel Nguyen. A special shoutout goes to kickers James Hayden and Israel Ollerzable, who both played great games.
