This past Friday Night, October 13th, the Jesuit Rangers took on Mesquite John Horn in the first round of the Texas High School 6A Division playoffs.
The Rangers came into the game as the favorite after posting an impressive 9-1 record while the Jaguars displayed a 6-4 record. However, even though the Rangers were confident in their team’s ability, they knew it would be no cakewalk. Junior John Wunderlick said, “We know we have what it takes to beat them, but we know they are believing they have what it takes to beat us. If we play our game the way we know how to play it, we should be able to beat anybody.”
Coach Hickman said, “The game plan was to score one more point than them…we didn’t care how we did it, but we had to find a way to win.”
Right from the start, the game proved to be worth the money as both teams began battling it out. After recovering a muffed punt within the Jaguar’s ten-yard line, the Jaguars defense stuffed the Rangers on the goal line. However, the Rangers didn’t need much more time as on their next offensive series as senior Adam Holtz found the end zone on a one-yard touchdown.
The Rangers stout defense did not end their trend of dominance in the regular season. The Rangers defense accumulated two defensive turnovers both leading. First, Ryan Brooks ’16 forced a fumble that was recovered by Jordan Rice ‘17 which led to a beautifully designed quarterback keeper resulting in a 26-yard Jacob Palisch ’17 touchdown.
With under a minute remaining in the first half, the Jaguars were mounting a drive that led them all the way to the red zone when senior safety John Michael Priddy jumped a pass and took the interception 95 yards to the house. Priddy’s play gave the Rangers a 21-0 lead headed into halftime saving a touchdown that would have made the game 14-7. Priddy said, “I knew we needed to make a stop to give us the momentum headed into the half so I read the quarterback’s eyes and luckily was able to make a play.”
In the Second Half, the Rangers were able to quickly extend their lead to 35-0 thanks to two long touchdowns by senior Rusty Landon of 35 and 34 yards. The Rangers receiving core was able to thrive verse the Jaguars defense as Palisch threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns. John Wunderlick said, “Jacob [Palisch] has really developed throughout the year and he makes it easy for the receivers to make catches.”
The Rangers were able to coast to a 42-21 victory over the Jaguars as Adam Holtz found the end zone through the air for the second time of the game extending the lead. The Rangers fired on all cylinders on Friday, allowing for them to handle the Jaguars.
Coach Hickman said, “the team looks great moving forward and we are excited about playing Rockwall again for the third straight season. We still need to keep practicing hard and mentally staying focused on our job each week as a team. In the playoffs the deeper you play, the smaller the window is for making mistakes. If we can eliminate mistakes and keep playing with the energy and passion, we have shown [that] winning will take care of itself.”
The Rangers look to keep their title hopes alive as they face off against the Rockwall Yellow Jackets who eliminated the Rangers last year this Friday at Kimbrough Stadium in Murphy, TX. This second round matchup should be a good one so make sure to come out and support the team!
