Jesuit Loses to Lake Highlands in Last Four Seconds; WR Jake Oliver ’13 Sets Record

Invariably, Senior Night is one of the most profound and meaningful evenings of a high school sports season.  Celebratory and thankful for all of the hard work and unending efforts by the Senior Class of 2013, Jesuit honored the football players on what would turn out to be both a record and heart breaking night for Ranger fans everywhere.  After spoiling the Lake Highlands Wildcats’ Senior Night in 2011, Jesuit was looking to go for two straight wins over LH, a team that has always kept it close with Jesuit in recent memory.  On October 19, 2012, the stage was set for a memorable and invigorating game.

At the coin flip, Jesuit and Lake Highlands captains were joined by Congressman Pete Sessions, along with WR Davis Bitter ’13, DE Dylan Clancy ’13, and WR Paul Arden ’13, at mid-field to commemorate a summer leadership conference that Sessions held that the three Ranger football attended.  Jesuit won the toss and elected to receive.

The 1st Quarter saw Jesuit start off slow, with two penalties and four incomplete passes by QB Jack Brezette ’13 killing the opening drive.  Thankfully, Lake Highlands, led by QB Trent Jones, was never able to get into Jesuit territory, halting their first drive as well.  The next Ranger drive showcased the fast-paced, efficient, and precise offense that Jesuit is used to.  Gaining five first downs and 71 yards, the offense pounded the ball downfield.  Three catches by WR Jake Oliver ’13, bringing him within two catches of Jordan Shipley’s record, and strong running by RB Will Brown ’13 and WR/DB Orion Salters ’14 got Jesuit into the end zone on a 16 yard scamper by Salters.  Defense stepped up huge on the next drive and got Jesuit’s flowing offense back onto the field after a Wildcat three-and-out.  The offense looked to get back into the end zone; however a hyper-extended left knee as a result of a tackle sidelined Brown for the remainder of the game.

Jesuit’s third drive of the night went into the 2^nd Quarter but was stalled when Brezette threw an interception in Wildcat territory.  Again though, the defense stepped up, as they did all night, by recovering a fumble by Trent Jones.  As the Ranger offense took to the field, the home team sideline became fully aware that Oliver was nearing the career receptions record.  On a 2^nd Down-and-14 at the LH 39, Jake Oliver caught his 265^th career pass, breaking UT standout Jordan Shipley’s previous record.  The fans erupted in a standing ovation, even though the Rangers ultimately had to punt.  Jesuit got one last chance to put points on the scoreboard in the 1^st half, but an interception in the end zone ended the hopes of getting up by one more touchdown before intermission.

At halftime, the Rangers, leading 7-0, were looking to polish up mistake on offense, such as dropped pass, bad timing, and poor decisions with the ball.  The defense was dominating and essentially keeping Jesuit in the game.  In the locker room, coaches uttered words of encouragement, such as “Keep fighting.”, “Finish.”, and “Don’t hold back.”

The 3^rd Quarter flew by, and the majority of the game’s points were scored during a back-and-forth period.  After a forced fumble by DE Justin Rotich ’14, Salters scored the second Ranger touchdown of the night, putting Jesuit up 14-0.  As the quarter began to go on, things were rolling.  Oliver was putting the team on his back, piling up the catches, indeed making a record of his own.  Nonetheless, LH was able to finally find pay dirt when WR Tyree Britton caught a dart in the north side end zone.  Then a 39 yard field goal by K Mitchell Henton cut the Jesuit lead to four.  As the Wildcats were beginning to gain momentum, K Cody Wicker ’13 was able to silence Lake Highlands by putting the lead back to one touchdown with a minute left in the 3^rd Quarter.

Leading 17-10 at the start of the 4^th Quarter, the Rangers just needed to shut out LH and would take home the win, but a 46 yard rush by RB Jamarice Preston knotted things up at 17 all.  Mistakes throughout the entire 4^th Quarter kept the Rangers from reclaiming the lead, including another interception in the end zone.  With 1:31 left in the game, the Rangers had the ball exactly where they wanted it and had the potential to drive down the field and win the game.  With 26 seconds left in the game, Jesuit called a timeout at the LH 35 yard line, and Wicker rushed out on to the field for another potential game-winning field goal.  The attempt went wide right, and with 17 seconds left in regulation, it looked as if the game could go to overtime.  Although, an amazing diving catch by Britton for 40 yards at the Jesuit 25 set Lake Highlands up with their own chance to win the game.  With 4 seconds left on the clock, a timeout was called, and Mitchell Henton was able to boot a 42 yard field goal barely over the left post to give the Wildcats revenge on Jesuit, spoiling the Class of 2013 Senior Night.  This was the only time that LH led.

After the game, Jake Oliver, who now has 274 career receptions after a 15 catch, 174 yard outing, said, “We just made too many mistakes [on offense].  It’s a great memory to get this record, but I only wanted to get the win really bad.  But it’s a great honor.”  Jesuit had all the chances, but mistakes doomed them to losing potential scoring drives.  Head Coach Brandon Hickman offered insight into the situation: “This loss is tough, but we have to come back strong.  I’m challenging [my players] to give all out effort for the rest of the season.”

Leaders for the Rangers:

Tonight, the Rangers (5-2; 2-2) look to bounce back stronger than ever against the JJ Pearce Mustangs (1-6; 1-3) at Eagle Mustang Stadium.  Come out to Richardson and support your Rangers!1