As the season winds down and with the end of the regular season just a week away, the Ranger JV squad has proved to be a dominant team. Their success continued this past Thursday against Sunset as the Rangers picked up their fifth straight win.
Jesuit has consistently shown success against the Bison in the past, so the game-plan did not change for the 8-1 Rangers. Coach Jonathan Short implemented a simple plan in order to win: “continue to play hard and work to improve their skills.”
In a game with only a few passing plays, the Rangers got off to a quick start, rushing the ball down the field inside the 5 yard line led by running back Liam Nolan ’15. Unfortunately, the drive ended with a fumble on the Bison two-yard line.
The defense responded with a few key stops from Defensive Tackle Andrew Morris ’16, including a sack on third down that forced a Bison punt. Sprinting on a wide receiver reverse, Mack Wageman ‘16 immediately brought the ball within the opponent’s ten-yard line. Quarterback Rusty Landon ’16 then rushed the ball 9 yards to put the Rangers at a 7-0 advantage.
The Ranger defense kept its success up on the next drive, forcing another punt! The defensive line was accountable for two sacks and an incomplete pass, leading the Bisons to punt on a 4th and 25. Liam Nolan then provided the Rangers with a long run to the 15. Then, on a 15 yard reverse, wide receiver Henry Chu ’16 registered his first touchdown of the season.
Following a holding call against Sunset on the kickoff, the Bison started the next drive inside their own ten-yard line. The Bison quarterback fumbled on the opening play and was not able to gain any yards as defensive tackle Nmesoma Nwafor ’15 sacked him on the Bison one-yard line. With the first quarter coming to a close, the Rangers were shutting out the Bison 14-0.
In the following two plays, the Bison could not advance the ball past the five yard line, forcing another punt in their own end zone. The Rangers offense then took the field and Nolan had several solid rushes, including a one-yard touchdown run to put the Rangers up 21-0.
The Ranger defense held strong on the next Bison drive, only allowing one first down and eventually forcing a turnover on downs with a key stop by defensive end Austin Koehler ’16. With only a minute remaining in the half, the Rangers took the field, and Landon attempted his first pass of the night to wide receiver Mac Elliott ’16, resulting in a 30 yard gain to the Bison 15 yard line. Following a series of rushes, Marco Navarro ’16 attempted a field goal with 10 seconds remaining which, unfortunately, came up short.
At the half, the Rangers were dominating the game 21-0, with both the offense and defense in control. Though only passing the ball one time, the offense was still able to consistently drive the ball, and this success carried into the second half.
Special teams even proved to be fairly dominant for the Rangers, with Landon returning the opening Bison kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to start the half with a 28-0 lead. Navarro completed the score with his fourth straight PAT.
Following the Ranger score, the Bison were not able to drive the ball against the Jesuit defense, forcing their fifth punt of the game. With a series of runs by Nolan, the Rangers drove the ball to the opponents’ forty yard line, but had to punt with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Bison then mounted a long drive against the Rangers, but it resulted in a fumble. The Rangers ran the ball several times and the third quarter concluded with a 28-0 Ranger lead.
The fourth quarter was quiet for both teams, as neither offense drove the ball past their opponent’s 40 yard line and the plays were predominantly rushes. The Rangers then received the ball with a minute left and took a knee to run out the clock, triumphing over the Bison 28-0.
Coach Short was very impressed with the way the Rangers played against Sunset, noting that “[The Rangers] started and finished strong with a total team win.” All three aspects of the game proved to be stellar for the Rangers, resulting in the win.
Austin Koehler ’16 was happy with the way his team played and expressed that “[they] were able to put [Sunset] away early in the game, which led to the victory.” Koehler added that he believes his team can finish 9-1, extending their win streak to six games.
Coach Short explained that the team had to fight through distractions throughout the week with many of the players being moved up to Varsity. Short went on to say that “[the team] had some new guys step up and do a great job filling in for them.”
The Rangers look to claim their 9th victory this Thursday against district rival Richardson High School.
