Dating back many years, the rivalry between W. T. White and Jesuit not only makes for a great community gathering but also for a great football game.
On Wednesday, October 21st, the JV Rangers traveled out to Loos Stadium to face their crosstown rivals, the W. T. White Longhorns.
Tensions were high going into the game, with the 4-2 Rangers ready to jump in the pen with the Longhorns. “The game plan was to go out and win,” since Jesuit was “on [the] road to the district championship,” remarked Daniel Nguyen ’18. Coach Jonathan Short stated the underlying “plan we always go into a game with is to put our younger sophomores and juniors into game-time situations that allow them to develop as players.” Additionally, he explained the coaches’ goals in saying, “we want everyone to play and get this opportunity to get better and take what they learn in practice and apply it.”
Kicking off the game, W. T. White knew the boys in blue meant business when, seconds into the game, Jesuit received the ball and set up strong field position for the offense. Out on the field, the Ranger offense quickly picked apart the Longhorn defense, with quick passes by quarterback Parker Towns ’18, putting Jesuit in the red zone just under a minute into the first quarter.
This speedy drive downfield quickly hit home with a Jesuit touchdown, putting the Rangers up 7-0 in the first quarter. This early initiative for the boys in blue set the tone for the rest of the half, with W. T. White’s defense struggling to the storm of the Jesuit pass and run game.
On the other side of the ball, the Jesuit defense was dominating. Led by linebacker Nicky Prendergast ’18, the Ranger defense filled the gaps of the Longhorn run game. In addition, the Jesuit secondary was all over the W. T. White passing game, holding the Longhorns to zero points in the first half.
With the defense getting the ball back to the offense quickly, it opened up the field for the Ranger offense. Throwing off the Longhorn defense with this brisk rhythm, Anthony Calabrese ’18 led Jesuit’s run game with a fury, scoring multiple touchdowns in the first half. The Rangers led at the half 28-0.
Coming into the third quarter, the carnage continued with huge blocks by offensive linemen Jordan Oduilo ’17 and Josh Marshall ’18 who provided the holes for the Jesuit run game led by Calabrese and Eric Miller ’17. The Rangers scored multiple touchdowns throughout the third quarter and continued to do so into the fourth. The Jesuit defense had the Longhorns right where they wanted them with defensive back Michael Bain ’16 and the rest of the secondary locking down W. T. White’s passing game. One slip by a defender and a two-point conversion caused the Longhorns to score, but the Rangers finished out the game 42-8, bringing home the win, making the Rangers one game closer to becoming district champs. In addition to being a key player on Jesuit’s juggernaut offense, Towns concluded with saying, “both offense and defense played great and we came up with the win.”
On Wednesday October 28th, the JV Rangers walked out the school doors to Postell Stadium, ready to go to battle with the visiting Irving MacArthur Cardinals.
Energized by a big win over W. T. White the previous week, the Rangers needed this crucial, last win to take district.
Once the ball was kicked off, Jesuit tried to perform as they did last week by taking control of the game early on both offensively and defensively. Taking the field, the Ranger offense met some resistance on their first drive from the Cardinal defense. Limited to some short passes and a few low-yardage runs, Jesuit’s offense had to turn the ball over early in the first quarter, after a hard fought drive ending deep in MacArthur territory.
Picking up the slack, the Ranger defense tried to get some of the lost momentum back working to quickly get on the MacArthur offense. Hitting the Jesuit defense hard, the Cardinal offense slowly advanced down the field, every step hard fought. Eventually the MacArthur offense was stopped and the Ranger offense took the field again, looking for some redemption. The Jesuit passing game pressed on, with a few completions resulting in some needed first downs. These first downs led to a hard-earned touchdown for the Rangers, eager to turn up the offensive rhythm to get ahead of MacArthur.
Kicking off after the touchdown, MacArthur came back with a vengeance against the Rangers, setting up solid field position for their offense in Jesuit territory. The Ranger defense responded by filling the gaps and stunting the run game for MacArthur. Despite watching the flats and staying on their men, Jesuit’s defense let a pass slip through, resulting in a Cardinal touchdown before the half, setting the score at 7-6 at the end of the second quarter.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Rangers had to make plays, so “we pounded them with the run game,” stated Parker Towns ’18, describing the positive mojo needed for the offensive to step up. This happened a little into the third quarter, with Jesuit’s offense taking the reigns and starting a drive down the field. This drive was led by offensive linemen Matt Anderson ’17 and Drew Billings ’17, creating holes for the Ranger running backs to slip through. Additionally, offensive lineman Colin Johns ’18 made a few solid blocks, enabling running back Hank Clements ’18 to dash down the field, putting Jesuit in the red zone. As well as making some receptions as a wide reciever, Clements continued the drive, resulting in a touchdown for the Rangers, making the score 17-6. Coach Short, recounting the gains made, stated that the “offense…was able to make plays when we needed them and [scored] to win the game.” This was just the spark Jesuit needed to finish out the game.
Pushing through the fourth quarter, the Ranger defense continued to make great plays against the formidable Cardinal offense. Led by linebacker Zach Harry ’18, the Jesuit front plugged up MacArthur’s run game for good. Towns recounted that “the defense came up big while defensive back John Cooke ’18 and the Ranger secondary shut down MacArthur’s passing game. This defense held the Cardinals to the end of the game, while the Ranger offense kept possession of the football, finishing for a 17-6 win for Jesuit. A stellar success, Coach Short, recounting the gains made stated that the “offense…was able to make plays when we needed them and [scored] to win the game.” Coach Short concluded with, “the coaches are very excited about the potential of the players on the JV team and look forward to watching them progress through spring football and the future of our program with them.” This success ended up in the JV Rangers clenching the district championship, going undefeated in district play.
If you see any of your JV football players in the halls make sure to give them a pat on the back for being district champs. For their next game, the JV Rangers will head out to Midlothian for their final game of the season, so be sure and cheer them on in order for them to finish strong.
