On Friday, November 10, Jesuit Football played against Arlington Bowie in Round 1 of the University Interscholastic League Division II playoffs. Due to district records, Bowie was the home team and Jesuit would have to travel on the road to Wilemon Stadium.
Jesuit started off warm. The defense was unstoppable not allowing a single point in the first half, however the offense came out with only a touchdown and a field goal in the first quarter, and scoreless in the fourth. While the Bowie team was a very respectable team, Jesuit could have very much scored more.
“Defense played amazing I’m really proud of us.” -Logan Thompson ’24
The second half was also slow to start, with no points scored in the third. The Rangers were able to finally score another touchdown and field goal in the fourth, however, Bowie was finally able to break through the Ranger defense and scored a touchdown in the fourth, breaking the shutout. On their final drive of the game, in the closing seconds, Bowie’s pass was picked off by Tristen Bird ’24 and the Rangers finished the game in victory formation.
“HOW BOUT THEM RANGERS!” -Coach Hickman
Noah McGough ’25 also had an extraordinary night breaking two Jesuit records. In the first quarter, McGough hit a 51-yard field goal to break the record longest field goal in Jesuit history. Later that night in the fourth McGough hit his 16th field goal of the year to break the individual season record. McGough has been on point all year, and while you never want to settle for a field goal you know you can always count on him to get you three points.
Looking ahead the Rangers will face Coppell early this week on a Thursday at The Star in Frisco at 7:00. Honestly put, it will be a tough game and the Rangers are underdogs. If there was betting odds on the game most would advise to hammer the over on Coppell points scored. Coppell’s defense is quite possibly the best in the state, they have many Division I recruits, and they are undefeated on the year. They manhandled Denton Guyer, an opponent that has been historically great and an opponent Jesuit has struggled with. Jesuit is 5-13 all-time against Coppell. The only common opponent on the year is Hebron, whom Jesuit lost to 34-39 and Coppell destroyed 49-0. Jesuit has many of their starters out for the game with injury. It’s a very winnable game for Jesuit.
“Good win guys now we have to get focused for next week.” -Coach Woods
Reading the paragraph above, it may seem like I got confused by the last sentence, however, the sentence at the end is true and I believe in it wholeheartedly. Jesuit can win this game. Earlier this year, Jesuit beat the odds against Rockwall, a very comparable team to Coppell. The defense has improved throughout the year and is much better than where they started at Rockwall. Jesuit owns one of the best quarterbacks in Dallas in Charlie Peters ’25 and has chemistry with every single weapon on offense, especially with the loss of Cooper Cutler ’24. The backfield is incredible and the offense is unpredictable in a good way. No matter how much film Coppell crams in the short week there is no amount of film to understand the tomfoolery and shenanigans that can appear at any given moment. Not even trick plays, just bold play calling that somehow gets pulled off. Coach Hickman made a deep playoff run in 2019 with a 6-4 regular season team, beating the odds time after time. Jesuit has the weapons and it is possible.
I think what makes this game the most winnable, however, is how good Coppell is. Jesuit this year has played to the level of their opponents. Upsetting Rockwall in the second week then scraping by Pearce the next. Losing to Highland Park within a field goal and tying Richardson at the half. Jesuit feeds off the occasion and this is the highest occasion of the year. Coppell has a notorious student section but we have seen that only challenges the Rangers more. This Jesuit has liked being the villain. The Rangers took the Rockwall students and the Highland Park students as a challenge, not fearing their remarks. It was the same story earlier this year with baseball against a top-five team in the state in Hebron. So not give the Rangers an opportunity to be the villain in your story.
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