The clock struck 0:00 and the grueling game on the gridiron was over. The score read 35-13, and this time it was the Rangers who emerged on top. This past Friday versus Houston Strake Jesuit, the Jesuit Ranger varsity football team got its first win, defeating the Fighting Crusaders by 22 points. Let’s take a deeper look into the great game that gave Dallas Jesuit a vital first victory in the 2013 campaign.
Dallas Jesuit, as usual, started the game off strong. Even though Strake started with possession, the Ranger defense quickly forced a punt after a brief, unsuccessful first drive. This was promptly answered back with a 81 yard touchdown drive by the Ranger offense that was led by quarterback Bo Schneider ’15. Highlights of this drive featured a 65 yard catch by Garrett Amy ’15, later followed by a 21 yard catch by running back Adam Holtz ’16 for a touchdown. This series was particularly special in that it was the first action of the season for star athlete Orion Salters ’14, returning after an injury. He had two catches for 8 yards on this drive. Rangers were up 7-0 with 7:11 in the first.
Coach Hickman commented on the star’s return: “Salters brings speed and experience to our offense. It was nice seeing him out there getting back into playing shape. Orion is a competitor and we know we can count on him to make big plays for our team. He got the rust off as the game progressed and played real well.”
Strake attempted to respond as they drove 59 yards down the field all the way to the Ranger 16 yard line. They were forced to kick a field goal after some tough defensive play by Dallas Jesuit. The Rangers lucked out as the Fighting Crusaders missed their 34 yard field goal attempt.
Dallas Jesuit capitalized off this costly mistake with an 80 yard touchdown drive. This series included an amazing catch by receiver Kellen McAlone ’14 that was tipped by Salters. Even though McAlone made it into the end zone, the play was called back to the place where he caught it at the 23 yard line due to “unsportsmanlike conduct” (McAlone pointed at the end zone as he was trotting in for the score). This didn’t affect the Rangers as Schneider quickly completed a 20 yard touchdown pass to Amy with 1:29 left in the first. This gave Dallas Jesuit a 14 point lead.
Strake appeared to be en route to scoring after two long passes of 30 and 24 yards by quarterback Colby Chapman. However, the Crusaders
fumbled twice on this drive, one of which was lost to the Ranger defense. Dallas Jesuit could not capitalize off of this turnover and their following series ended with a punt by Christian Roberts ’14.
The Rangers immediately bounced back at the start of the second quarter with an interception returned for a touchdown by defensive lineman Kyle Shannon ’14. Lineman rarely do intercept the ball, let alone score, but Shannon made it look easy running 36 yards to complete the score, putting the Rangers up 21-0 with 8:58 left in the second quarter.
Dallas Jesuit didn’t let up off the throttle as the defense forced a quick three-and-out. The Ranger offense did their part too, scoring a touchdown in under 30 seconds. Schneider threw a 56 yard bomb to Salters who ran a deep wheel route down the Strake sideline. Expect Schneider to throw plenty of touchdown lobs up to Salters for the remainder of the season.
The rest of the half was relatively quite, with a punt by the Crusaders, a missed field goal by the Rangers, a turnover on downs by Strake, and a pouch kick by Schneider with :36 left in the quarter. However, Strake was able to get some points on the board before the half, with Chapman scoring a 1 yard rushing touchdown as time expired. Going into the locker rooms, the score was 28-7 with the Rangers ahead. This is the first time they’ve been ahead at half this season.
Both teams started out flat in the second half, each failing to convert on fourth down. However, on their second drive, the Rangers scored again to give themselves a 28 point cushion over the Crusaders. This drive was led by three rushes for 20 yards by running back Adam Holtz ’16, followed by two rushes for 30 yards by Salters, one of which was a 25 yard touchdown.
Strake again failed to respond as their ensuing drive ended with a missed 25 yard field goal. The kick was actually blocked by defensive end Justin Rotich ’14. This added to the stellar night by the Ranger defensive line, which also included an interception and fumble recovery.
Unfortunately, Strake was not the only one to fumble as backup running back Max Loughborough ’16 fumbled on the following drive. The Crusaders showed some promise as Chapman completed a 37 yard touchdown. The score was 35-13 after a missed extra point.
This was the final score for the game as both teams failed to find the end zone for the rest of the game.
Regarding his first victory of the 2013, coach Hickman said, “It feels great for our team to get the victory against our brother school. Our goal is to improve each week to be ready for district. We still need to keep playing consistently for four quarters and eliminate penalties. I’m happy with the effort the players played with and our play up front on the O line and D line.”
The Ranger defense played its best game of the year, holding Strake to only seven points in the first half. When asked what was different on the defense, Hickman said, “I thought we were very good against the run and need to keep improving our pass defense. I thought coach Thompson and our defensive staff had a great game plan and the players executed it.”
Schneider also brought his best game, throwing for 319 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Hickman said it was the improved supporting class that really helped Bo: “We have more quality depth at WR this year than in years past. We can distribute the ball to many players which makes it difficult to cover just one player.”
Other stat leaders included stud sophomore Adam Holtz who ran for 147 yards. Salters had 142 yards of total offense, 85 receiving and 57 rushing, coupled with two touchdowns. Amy also racked up 122 yard and a touchdown.
Now 1-2 Jesuit takes a week off with a bye due to Community Days for the seniors. After that they take on a tough opponent in Skyline, so go out and support your Rangers.
