With many returning starters, the Rangers Rugby got off to one of their best starts ever, going 5-1 and ranking in the top 3 in the state and top 25 in the nation. From January 30 to February 21st, the Rangers did excellent and showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in the state.
On Friday, January 30th, the Rangers traveled to Houston to take on Strake Jesuit. In this game, seniors Cole Wilson, Joey Nuchereno, Edward Talatala, and Junior Dane Bender established that they are contenders and the game resulted in a 22-7 victory for the Rangers.
The following day, the Rangers took on Houston Memorial, in what would be one of the biggest blowouts in many of the Rangers’ players
career. The game resulted in a 52-0 victory following big games from Bill Newman ’15, Emmet Flood ’16, and Andrew Murphy ’15. The game verse Memorial was especially significant because Coach Mattachione earned his 200th victory as a Jesuit coach.
Junior Tim Jonas explained that these two games were a “great start to the season and [the two games] also gave us momentum going into some difficult games in Dallas.”
Following the game vs. Memorial, the Rangers faced Plano in their home opener. The Rangers allowed Plano to stay close for most of the game, but their experience prevailed in the 19-12 victory, giving the Rangers a stellar 3-0 start.
The Rangers then took on Richardson, a top rugby program, who came into the game ranked number 3 in the state. This proved to be no problem for the Rangers, and they defeated them 18-7 in a game that increased the Rangers state and national ranking.
Three days later, on February 12th, the Rangers faced Alliance; in what would be another large win for the Rangers. The Rangers offense was dominant in this matchup, and the put up 52 points in comparison to Alliance’s 7 points.
Jonas explained that “the 5-0 start really added to our confidence and gave us a lot of momentum going into the Westlake game.”
The Rangers attempted to use their momentum going into the Westlake game. The Westlake Chaparrals are a rugby powerhouse and entered the game ranked as number one in the state and number 11 in the country. Although the Rangers fell short 25-5, they put up a good fight verse a team that is nearly undefeatable.
Head Coach Anthony Mattachione explained that in the Westlake game “we had a lot of mental errors, it was a 25-5 loss to the defending state champs which is not a bad thing.” This game was a big improvement for the Rangers, as they were defeated 63-0 last year by Westlake.
The Rangers sure have shown their experience in this stretch, going 5-1 with some very impressive wins. Despite the high state rankings Coach Mattachione instructed his players to not take the state rankings seriously or get caught up in them. Mattachione explained that he let the players know this because “the man who ranks them is a former coach who bases it on a lot of history of each team.”
Cole Wilson ’15 explained that the Rangers “have two of our biggest games ahead, which are Lake Travis and Round Rock.” Wilson added that he hopes his team “can win these and go on to win a state title.”
The Rangers have a lot of potential moving into the last half of the season, so come out and show support for them.
Photography by Alex Kurilecz
