As the semester comes to a close and the football team falls out of the playoffs, you can be sure to see a group of guys on the lower field after school every day, tossing around oversized footballs and throwing tall, lanky players in the air to catch one of these balls.
Jesuit Rugby has high hopes for this season, but to understand these hopes, we should look back to last season’s successes. Last year, I wrote a similar article that discussed Head Coach Matt Upton’s ambitions for a state championship, something that was accomplished after beating Jesuit Strake in April of last year. Now, with such a skillful senior class that has been over 20 players strong since freshman year, Coach Upton hopes to monopolize on the chemistry built over the senior rugby class’s last 3 years.
“This senior Class is something special, its something we Won’t Have again for a While” – Matt Upton ’02
One thing Coach Upton wants to avoid this year is what he dubbed “the wake-up call.” In years past, the team has always needed a close game or devastating loss to realize they should be taking the season, the practices, and the culture seriously. Last season this manifested in a 37-0 loss to Strake Jesuit. To make matters worse, this game occurred the week after spring break, and Coach Upton attributed a lot of their team’s misfortune to laziness and a lack of commitment over the break. This “wake-up call” was successful, however, as the Rangers beat the same Strake Jesuit Team to win the championship as mentioned earlier. To avoid this road hump and have a perfect season, Upton frontloaded the 2024 season and added an exhibition game that was played by a skeletal Jesuit Rugby roster on December 9, 2023. For a breakdown of that game, stay tuned to the Roundup for a recap that will be released later this week.
In terms of leadership, during the offseason, many players looked to seniors Dylan Wachsman ’24 and Mark Sullivan ’24, both three-year varsity players, for a voice to follow. Captian elections will take place next Tuesday, December 19, 2023, right before the end of the semester. The team takes great pride in the way their captains are elected, as the whole team gets together in a space to vote, discuss, and decide on who they want to lead.
Looking ahead at the schedule, Jesuit Rugby fans may see a few unfamiliar names posted like Bixby Academy, and these new teams are on the schedule for two reasons. One is the constant state of re-alignment in high school rugby. A generally new phenomenon, Jesuit have played in multiple different leagues over the years, and teams are constantly jumping from league to league to see what will benefit them most. Up until the last 2 years, the Rangers were a part of Rugby Texas, but after its leadership collapsed, we joined the Varsity Cup League. Now, teams such as New Orleans Jesuit have joined this league, meaning the normal friendly played between Jesuit Dallas and New Orleans Jesuit will now count towards league standings. The other aforementioned reason is that there are simply competitive teams that want a challenge. Coach Upton has spoken on numerous occasions about how teams, such as Bixby Academy in Oklahoma, want to play Jesuit Dallas.
In conclusion, a talented senior class and a very competitive schedule await the Jesuit Rangers rugby squad during their quest for the 2024 Varsity Cup. However, Coach Upton has high hopes for this team and looks forward to a great season.
