Rangers Close it out Against District Opponent JJ Pearce

The Jesuit Rangers have had a very interesting season to start. In week one they dropped a very winnable game against Hebron, then came in week two and beat state-ranked Rockwall in the waning moments of the game. Neither of those games matters, however, as it is really for morale and practice because those teams do not affect playoff standings. What does matter, however, is district play, which Jesuit opened up on Thursday,  September 7, 2023 at JJ Pearce.

First Half

Jesuit opened up the scoring early on what looked to be a promising blowout on a Charlie Peters ’25 to Cooper Cutler ’24 connection for a 24-yard touchdown. Pearce responded with a field goal on their next drive before scoring a touchdown on a 1-yard run to close the quarter.

Jesuit was able to drive down field midway in the second and secure a field goal from reliable kicker Noah McGough ’25. Zane Williams was able to get the Rangers another touchdowns to give the Rangers a 17-10 lead. Peters hit Quentin Williams for a 15-yard pass to get another touchdown on their next drive. Pearce was able to score a touchdown in the final moments of the half, making the score 24-17.

Second Half

Pearce opened the scoring in the third quarter with a touchdown. Pearce then scored another touchdown in their next drive, giving them back the lead, 31-24. Zane Williams was able to get another touchdown run in before the half, making the score 31-31 headed into the fourth.

No scoring occurred in the fourth until three minutes left in the fourth, after the Rangers defense stepped up big and pinned Pearce deep in their territory on a turnover, allowing for Charlie Peters to run in the score for a touchdown. Pearce responded on their next drive, however, and scored a touchdown to make the score 38-37. They then went for two, making the score 39-37 with 0:47 left in the game. The Rangers went downfield and set Noah McGough up to hit a 27-yard field goal with 0:04 left in the game to win the game.

Final Stats

Offense

Charlie Peters ’25: 24/37, 329 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 10 rush, 36 yds, 1 TD

Zane Williams ’25: 11 rush, 49 yds, 2 TD

Cooper Cutler ’24: 7 rec, 135 yds, 1 TD, 1 rush, 5 yds

Quentin Williams’24: 6 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD

Henry Bourret ’25: 4 rec, 48 yds, 1 rush, 1 yd

Defense

Grayson Wombacher ’24: 14 TOT, 4.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks

Entonyo Jones ’24: 13 TOT

Tirsten Bird ’24: 13 TOT, 2.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks

Logan Thompson ’24: 10 TOT, 1.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks

Chris Simington ’24: 8 TOT, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks

Connor Raney 24: 7 TOT, 1.0 TFL

Bobby Musso ’24: 6 TOT, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks

Cade Gill ’25: 5 TOT, 2.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks

Special Teams

Noah McGough ’25: 2 field goals (22,27), 4 kickoffs, 147 yds

Dylan Drennan ’24: 2 punts, 87 yds, 4 kickoffs, 210 yds

“It was a battle the whole game, and of course McGough came through at the end. Big first win of district.” -Tristen Bird ’24

My Thoughts

First things first: a win is a win. No matter how you get it, it goes down as a W and it counts the same towards playoffs whether you secured it early or in the final moments. Also, the defense put up some very impressive stats behind the line of scrimmage, as seen above. That said, this game should not have been near that close. Last year Noah McGough hit a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the Lake Highlands game, which is totally okay because Lake Highlands is a very good team. It should not have had to happen, no matter how much Pearce may have improved from last year.

“We did not execute how we could have.” -Ben Petroff ’24

I think a few factors went into this, but mostly it was just the hype of the game going in. Traveling on the road on a Thursday against a relatively empty student section just doesn’t get the blood churning, which is totally understandable. With that being said, the team has to find out how to come out hot on the road. They still have Irving, Berkner, and MacArthur on the road this season. Berkner is a very improved and talented team from last year, and MacArthur is also on a Thursday. This team has proved capable success like we have seen against Lake Highlands, but has also shown some weaknesses. It is evident this team feeds off of energy, so it it up to us as fans, to provide them the energy.

“It was a battle the whole game, and of course McGough came through at the end. Big First win of district.” -Tristen Bird ’24

Looking Ahead

On Friday, September 15, 2023, Jesuit will take on Lake Highlands at Rangers Stadium at 7:00. Lake Highlands is 2-1 on the year too, with a loss in week 1 to Flower Mound, but they have a HUGE victory over Highland Park in week 3, putting up 51 points against a very talented Highland Park defense featuring many returning starters.

In history Jesuit is 7-4 against Lake Highlands, currently sitting on a 3-game win streak. Their last ten matchups have been relatively even, Jesuit edging out slightly 6-4. Last year as previously mentioned it took a Noah McGough field goal in the final moments to win the game on the road 32-31. It is important that we as a Jesuit community show up and show out for this game. With the Highland Park loss, it may be the most important game of the year.

“We got the win but we have to be ready for next week.” -Coach Hickman

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