It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. On Monday, April 13, The Roundup took on Varsity Football in the 11th Annual Expository Bowl. This was a match of precision, decisiveness, accuracy, and resilience. After months (a week) of training, The Roundup was ready to take on Varsity Football’s seniors in a fight to the death. They were willing to do anything they could to take back victory and lead The Roundup to a three-peat. However, things did not pan out as expected. In an absolute dogfight, Varsity Football took back the crown, defeating The Roundup 63-28.
“We fought tooth and nail for every point. disappointed about the result but happy with the effort.” – managing editor sebastian suwanda ’26
Preparation
Despite expecting tough competition, The Roundup was prepared for the challenge. Throughout the week prior to the bowl game, they had been making extensive preparations, both in the classroom and on the field. The writers came together and precisely created a play-by-play strategy to dominate Varsity Football. Through thorough preparation, they had mastered every play in the playbook, knowing the ins and outs of football and the secrets that Varsity Football withheld. In addition, they spent days putting together a professional hype video for all of their fans and cheerleaders.
“we drew up plays during meetings that seemed smart and complex.” – pedro rios ’28
The Big Day
Arriving to the scene, Varsity Football knew who they were up against, and with a look of terror, saw The Roundup make their way onto the field. Together, players from The Roundup warmed-up through an extensive (five-minute) warm-up, preparing their bodies for the challenge they were about to face. In addition, Coach Hickman huddled with The Roundup for some last-minute advice and preparation. Afterwards, it was time. Both teams stepped onto the field. Players were stacked on both sides, and, eye-to-eye, they glared deviously at each other. Tension built in each player’s leg and sweat beaded on their foreheads. Then, Coach Woods, the referee for the game, blew the whistle, sending the players off into the most competitive game of their lives.
Hot Start
The Roundup came out of the gates hot, pushing their way into the red zone relatively quickly. In their first drive, although they were close to a touchdown, they could not yet do it; they were saving steam for later. On the next drive, WashU Commit Cady Kirby ’26 made a few catches for Varsity Football, pushing them into the same position as The Roundup. The only difference, however, was that they were able to score, Luke Cutler ’26 lobbing the ball into Kirby’s hands for a quick touchdown. The score was 7-0.
The Roundup knew it was early, only being five minutes into the first half, so they had time. Again, they pushed closer and closer into the red zone, but horror struck when the ball suddenly flew into Kirby’s hands, handing possession over to Varsity Football with their first interception of the game. The Roundup was motivated not to let that stop them, as they would soon push back with a similar play of their own. As Cutler swung the ball into the air, he intended for his target to be Cabe Weissmueller ’26. But The Roundup couldn’t let that happen. The ball swung high, and while Weissmueller ran to catch it, Pedro Rios ’28, from yours truly, The Jesuit Roundup, made an interception, sending possession back into the hands of The Roundup.
“It was a phsyical game and from the start we thought we couldn’t match up against the jesuit roundup, but with the help of our good team chemistry, we were able to barely escape with the win.” -cade kirby ’26
Mid-Game Struggles
Despite these early strides from The Roundup, they would slowly start to lose their flow. Throughout the remainder of the first half, Varsity Football started to gain a competitive edge on The Roundup. Score after score, the Varsity squad reigned strong over The Roundup. Cade Kirby was to thank for a few of these scores, as well as Cabe Weissmueller and Lucas Mayer ’26, who were able to push their way through The Roundup‘s extensive defense. Finishing out the half, the score was 28-7, Varsity Football in the lead.
Together, The Roundup huddled, strategizing on what to do to get their game up. Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared over Tony Kohler ’26‘s head, as he created a perfect strategy for the team’s offense. The Roundup broke up the huddle and made their way back to the line of scrimmage. Coach Woods blew the whistle, and the second half commenced.
Varsity Football started this half off with possession, and they made sure to make use of it. They were able to score on yet another drive, sending a long pass into Cade Kirby’s hands. With Kohler’s ingenuity, The Roundup made use of their strategy in their first few drives. Although they were able to push a bit closer to the red zone on these drives, they were unsuccessful due to the skilled defense of Varsity Football. After the next few drives, disaster struck as Varsity Football scored four more touchdowns, skyrocketing their total score to 56. The Roundup may have been out of luck.
Late Comeback
With only ten minutes to spare, The Roundup was eager to finish strong by hopefully adding 63 points to their score. Using some motivation and strategy work, the ball was snapped to Managing Editor Sebastian Suwanda ’26, and he threw it into the hands of Pedro Rios to raise The Roundup‘s score for the first time in a while; they were now at 14. With some more work on their final few drives, Editor-in-Chief Zach Ingham ’26 was lobbed a few short passes to move The Roundup closer to the end zone. The last two scorers for The Roundup were Owen Maynor ’27 and Adam Jackson ’28, pushing The Roundup‘s score up to 28 with great catches and running plays. The clock struck zero, the scoreboard went off, and the final score was 63-28.
“i think we really had [varsity football] on the ropes for several minutes, but ultimately, their lead was slightly too large to overcome.” – editor-in-chief zach ingham ’26
Conclusion
When the game concluded, players from both teams went up to each other for handshakes and words of sportsmanship. Through these acts of comradery, players put aside their differences, recognizing that they were all Jesuit Rangers who are defined by more than a score of 63-28. In a final act of companionship, players came together to share a meal and a picture.
While The Roundup may have faced a pretty significant loss, they made sure to put in a solid effort that won’t be forgotten. Well, off to next year, as training for the 2027 Expository Bowl begins tomorrow!
It’s obvious where the superior coaching can be found. I basically ‘unseamed [Hickman] from the nave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements’ — figuratively speaking, of course. He’s going to need to brush up on his football technique next year–Dr. Degen, coach of the varsity team
Tune into The Roundup for next year’s coverage of the 12th Annual Expository Bowl!
Cover Image Credit: Coach Hickman
