One of the hardest things to do in a sport is rebound after a terrible loss. Strake tore through Jesuit Dallas and left many speculating, like the leading news writer for high school rugby, Alex Goff. After a loss a 31-0 blowout to Strake, the Rangers responded by rolling over the Allen Eagles and St. Thomas Houston Eagles.
Jesuit vs. Allen
On Monday, April 3rd, the Rangers traveled to take on the Allen Eagles in Allen, Texas. The Rangers started extremely hot and determined. The offense was moving and the defense was sound. At the half it was a 35-0 shutout, Allen had zero momentum. A notable hat trick from Junior Chase Brown aided in the first-half dominance. By the end of the game, Senior Neil Lancaster and Juniors Jacob Lehman, Luke Lamont, Mathew Toker, and Dylan Wachsman all found the try zone. Moreover, the kicking was perfect from the Rangers with Juniors Mitch Sullivan and Dylan Wachsman nailing shots between the uprights. At the end of the night, Allen came away with a single score and the Rangers propelled to playoffs with a 63-6 win
“It was a great game that really tested our abilities with a very some very physical opponents, allowing us to see what we need to work on for the up coming state championship.”- Senior Captain Anthony Lucido
Jesuit vs. St. Thomas
On April 14th, Jesuit hosted St. Thomas of Houston at Ranger Stadium. Coming into the match, the Rangers knew what needed to happen and what lay ahead. The game started with beautiful tries from Senior Jordan Mason and Junior Fly half Mitch Sullivan. Mason was the leader in the first half ending the half with a hat trick propelling the Rangers to a 22-0 lead. In the second half, two sketchy calls led to the Rangers playing 13 on 15 because of 2 yellow cards. However, that didn’t stop the Rangers, with junior Luke Lamont nailing a breakthrough try followed by senior captain Neil Lancaster ’23 to make the lead 25. A forward and a back, junior Chase Brown landed the final try ending the game 39-17.
“That was the best start to a game in my time on varsity. The team was working together well and doing everything we practiced. We started to got hot at the right time and just gelled. Looking forward to another chance against strake on Saturday” – Senior Captain Neil Lancaster
I had the chance to ask the Head Coach of Jesuit Rugby on his opinion of the upcoming state championship game. Coach Upton responded by stating the following:
“It’s going to be a great game.”
Look out for the Rangers on Saturday, April 22, at 2 PM as they battle for the State Championship against arch-rival Strake Jesuit of Houston @ Granger Stadium in Houston.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more coverage on rugby!
