Legendary coach Charlie Delong added another trophy to his astonishingly large cabinet as the Rangers were crowned Bi-District Champions this past Friday. Defeating Arlington Sam Houston in a 2-1 victory, Jesuit secured a trip to the UIL area round for the third year in a row. The Rangers will face Flower Mound Marcus in the second round of the playoffs on Tuesday, March 28th, at Max Goldsmith Stadium in Lewisville at 7:30.
Beginning with a shaky start from both squads, Jesuit quickly emerged as the dominant force in the game as connections between Jason Ogbolu ’24 and James McCrea ’23 often penetrated Sam Houston’s weak back line. The Rangers effectively minimized Sam Houston’s attack as their only scoring opportunities seemed to come from a winger who could launch the ball in from the sideline to the back post of the goal on throw-ins.
The game went well when we scored first, but towards the end we knew as a team one more would send us through — Midfielder Reese Garner ’24
At the midway point of the 1st half, Jesuit tallied their first goal, scored by junior Caleb Fisher and assisted by Erwin Ordaz. Ordaz served a picture-perfect corner to the back post, finding Fisher unmarked, who volleyed the ball over the fingertips of the Sam Houston keeper. Jesuit defiantly held their lead at 1-0 going into halftime.Â
We worked as a team and didn’t put our heads down when they scored. We weren’t going to let it be our last game together –Center Back Matthew Sucato ’24
The Rangers seemed to be carrying the momentum into the second half, but Sam Houston came out matching that energy. After a Jesuit dry spell, Sam Houston shockingly tied the game at 1-1 with 24 minutes left. This prompted a strong retaliation by the Jesuit attack with a slew of shots on goal by Jason Ogbolu, James Mccrea, and Lucas Parra.
With 14:25 left in play, a Rangers corner, reliably taken by Erwin Ordaz, was dropped into the middle of the box on top of multiple Jesuit and Sam Houston players alike. After multiple blocked Jesuit shot attempts, the ball found its way into the feet of Sophomore Noah McGough ’25, who launched it at the crossbar, ending up in the back of the net.
After knocking on the door for so long, Jesuit had the game back in their hands. Looking to park the bus, Jesuit’s defense held on to the lead for the remaining time, securing the 2-1 triumphant victory.
On Tuesday, Jesuit has a big match ahead of them as they take on Flower Mound Marcus in the Area Round. Marcus impressively took down Prosper, one of the top-ranked teams in the state, 3-2, making a statement in the first round of the playoffs.Â
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