Friday, October 5, 2012 seemed like a typical Friday at Jesuit. The players were wearing their navy jerseys in the hallways at school. The cheerleaders were getting spruced up for the evening’s game. The band members were checking their instruments and preparing to file into the stands. In any essence of the term, it truly was a typical Friday in Texas. One thing about last Friday was different, though. A record set by Jordan Shipley, a former Longhorn wide receiver and current NFL player, was up for the grabs. Jesuit’s own WR Jake Oliver ’13 needed a 15-catch-game to surpass Shipley and make the career receptions record his own. It seemed like nothing could stop him; however, his own team essentially did. Oliver didn’t touch the field in the second half of the game because everything on offense and defense was clicking as Jesuit paced themselves to a rout of the Richardson Berkner Rams.
As the 1st Quarter began, the hype and magic around Texas high school football was abundant. A tailgating party had just finished up in the junior parking lot, and hundreds of high school kids were packing into the stands. Jesuit took the opening kickoff and wasted no time with the ball. The first pass of the game was from QB Jack Brezette ’13 to his star receiver Oliver for 13 yards. The next two plays, WR/DB Orion Salters ’14 took care of business as he rushed for a 7 yard gain and caught a 36 yard screen pass for a touchdown. From the start, the Rangers looked fired up and ready to roll over Berkner. Jesuit’s defense, one of the area’s best against a running offense, forced a 3-and-out, but two incomplete passes handed the ball right back to the Rams. Again, though, the Rangers’ defense halted the Rams and their scrambling QB Calvin Jones, who was subbing in for an injured starting QB Yedidiah Lewis. A 12 yard punt placed Jesuit deep in Ram territory, and RB Will Brown ’13 dashed 19 yards into the end zone to put the Rangers up by two touchdowns. As momentum continued to grow quickly, an un-fielded kickoff by K Cody Wicker ’13 was recovered by DB John Paul Bach ’13 and LB Preston Young ’13, showing that even special teams was firing on all cylinders as well. After an incomplete pass, a 10 yard run by Salters, and a 5 yard penalty on the Rangers, Will Brown punched in a 6 yard touchdown. Jesuit looked to be on pace for a blowout win. Down by 21 points, Berkner’s offense finally put together a strong drive and found their way into the red-zone off a 20 yard catch by WR Michael Weaver II. Calvin Jones burst through a hole to put Berkner on the scoreboard for the first and only time during the game.
The 2nd Quarter saw the exact same offense mastery as the 1st from the Rangers. On the first play of the quarter, Salters rushed for a 30 yard touchdown and Jesuit was continuing to pile it on. The Rangers’ defense forced another turnover, and the offense was back on the field immediately. On the first play of the next drive, the Rangers scored again as Brezette lofted a 33 yard pass to Oliver who only had 2 catches at that point, despite his team being up 35-7. Again, Jesuit’s defense was doing phenomenal as they forced another 3-and-out. Brezette, with his team starting again in Berkner territory, drove down the field, completing a pass to WR Kellen McAlone ’14. Two 15 yard penalties on Berkner put the Rams in a hole, which set Brezette and Brown up for a 9 yard touchdown connection. With 4:35 left in the half, Jesuit’s offense came back into the game, and despite being faced with a 4th down, managed to get into the end zone. Wicker booted a 46-yard field goal right down the middle to put the lead at 38 points. A 4th down stop gave Jesuit a chance to score one last time, and it managed to be the last of the night. As Jack Brezette tried to stay out of the arms of a defensive lineman and evade a sack, he heaved the ball down the field hoping for someone to come down with it. On the sideline, Coach Brandon Hickman shouted, “What is he doing?” Nonetheless, Oliver was there to make the pass look like a great decision, and Jesuit scored for the last time of the night.
At half Jesuit was ahead 52-7 and things were looking up for the Rangers, coming off the first loss of the season to Skyline a week before. No adjustments were made during halftime, other than backups being subbed in permanently. Coach David Adamson said, “It’s time to get some of my backups their first catches.” The biggest story during halftime was that Oliver was done for the night, and the record would not be broken that Friday. He finished with 3 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The 3rd Quarter saw no success of Berkner’s offense as they were forced to punt again. On the next Jesuit drive, QB Joe Willie Laufenberg ’13 took the field with WR Garrett Amy ’15 and RB Pierce Durham ’14 managing the carries. Faced with a 4th and 9 to go, Hickman took a timeout, and Wicker was faced with a 48 yard field goal. The attempt was no good, and Berkner got the ball at their own 32. Calvin Jones tried to make things happen with his feet, but the Jesuit defense forced another 4th down. After receiving the ball, Jesuit was faced with their first 3-and-out of the night, but Laufenberg’s punt was downed at the Berkner 1 yard line by WR Aidan Johnston ’13 and WR Drew Highlander ’13, setting up the Rams with a long field ahead of them.
What followed in the 4th Quarter looked to be a promising drive for the Rams, but a fumble killed their drive in Jesuit territory. Despite strong running by Pierce Durham, a block in the back penalty stymied the drive, and Berkner had one last chance to get into the end zone, but the Rams had to resort to punt – a reoccurring theme of their offense last Friday. The Rangers’ final drive of the evening was highlighted by a 10 yard rush by Johnston, a 6 yard rush by Amy, and a 4 yard rush by Durham. Laufenberg took a knee to end the game, and Jesuit got the win by a final score 52-7.
Jesuit complied 383 yards of offense as Jack Brezette went 7-15 for 152 yards and 4 touchdowns and no interceptions, his first game of the year with no picks. In addition, this was the first game of the year in which Jesuit has had zero turnovers. The leading rushers were Orion Salters with 81 yards on 7 carries, Will Brown with 71 yards on 9 carries, and Pierce Durham with 50 yards on 12 carries. Oliver (3 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns), Salters (1 catch for 36 yards and 1 touchdown), WR John Berend ’13 (1 catch for 21 yards), Amy (2 catches for 12 yards), Brown (1 catch for 9 yards), and McAlone (1 catch for 6 yards) were the leading receivers for the game.
After the win, Coach Hickman said, “I’m proud [of my boys] for playing with class. As the game came to an end, the other side was starting to get chippy and talking trash, but [they] didn’t react and let it get to [them].” Hickman’s coaching has been doing wonders for the Rangers who at mid-season are 4-1 and continue to play with dominance, poise, and a fast pace. His offensive attack was looking flawless, and “that’s pretty much the way we’ve been playing with the exception of a couple minutes last week,” added Hickman.
Jake Oliver on the field after the game had to say that “The main thing tonight was getting a win, not the record.” Now 12 catches away from the record, he humbly stated, “If it happens, it happens.” His hunt for the Texas record will continue. Stay tuned for more news on his chase for 265 career receptions.
This Friday, October 12, the Rangers (4-1; 1-1) will be traveling to Loos Stadium to take on the W.T. White Longhorns (2-3; 1-1). Kickoff is set for 7:30, so come out and support your Jesuit football team.
