With a cool breeze flowing through Postell Stadium, the Jesuit rugby team warmed up for their first home game of the season. The forwards practicing line outs, the backs running plays, the thirst for victory swept over each player. As the clock ticked down, the players united under the goal post and performed the Jesuit “yell,” their Jesuit pride echoing into the stands.
On Friday, February 5th the Jesuit rugby team faced off against Alliance, kicking off the first of three home games. Jesuit performed phenomenally, senior Gordon Webb scoring within seconds of the beginning of the game. The initial score sparked an onslaught of Jesuit tries: two each for seniors Ryan Black, Trevor Lastelick, Jimmy Patterson, and Dane Bender, and one each for seniors Tim Jonas, Emmett Flood, and Christian Schoeberl. This clear defeat fed the team’s confidence, preparing them for oncoming games against the highly ranked teams Round Rock and Westlake.
The following Friday (2/12), the threatening Round Rock Rugby team met the Rangers once again at Postell Stadium, thirsty for revenge from their 23-14 loss to Jesuit in last year’s state championship game. Round Rock’s powerful 13 claimed the first try of the vigorous match, followed by a successful extra point kick, pushing the score to 0-7. Dane Bender ’16 quickly answered with a conversion, putting Jesuit on the board and slimming the lead to 3-7. The opponent scored another try, once again countered by Bender, ending the half with a visitor lead of 6-12. Bender led off the second half with another kick, shortening the lead, even more, 9-12. However, Rock secured the win with a late try. Captain Christian Schoeberl commented, “It was one of those games that could have gone either way,” adding, “We were the more disciplined team but they edged us out on athleticism and conditioning.”
Coming off the hard loss, Jesuit welcomed potentially their biggest threat of the season, the division one championship defenders, Westlake on Saturday, February 20th. Westlake, tending not only to have a big team but also a well-disciplined one, has always posed a large threat to the Rangers. The first half of the game was close and tenacious, but ended with an 8-7 Jesuit lead thanks to tries from seniors Emmett Flood and Jimmy Patterson and a kick from Dane Bender until Westlake broke away late in the half to gain the lead, 14-8. Flood quickly answered with a try early in the second half, regaining the lead by 15-14. Unfortunately, the Rangers wore out and Westlake took the half with 13 unrequited points, ending the game 37-15.
Eager to end their two-game losing streak, the rugby team bused four hours to St. Thomas H.S. in Houston the next Friday. The Rangers were down some integral starting players including seniors Gordon Webb, Tim Jonas, and Richard Janicki, forcing many players out of position and even calling some reserves into the action, as well as being without Head Coach Anthony Mattacchione for the practices leading up to the game. The game was hard-fought and close until the end, but Jesuit was able to come out on top with a 21-17 victory, propelling the team to be ranked 33rd in the nation for single-school teams. Gustavo Saucedo ’16 stepped up to the plate, contributing several powerful, long distance runs throughout the game. The team communicated extremely well throughout the game and ran their game plan to perfection. Also, first-year player Chase Kirkland ’16 started for his first time, playing lock alongside Patterson and making key tackles throughout the entire first half. Jimmy Patterson earned man of the match, feeling “amazed to be recognized by the other team.” “We were fielding a bunch of players who hadn’t started before,” commented Patterson, “went without Coach Mattacchione for practices that week, and some people had never even played varsity before that night. Still, we came out and steadily beat down St. Thomas until we won.” The victory serves to prove the depth of the rugby program, that it does not rely on a few all-stars but feeds off of the dependability of each player.
Be sure to come out and support your Jesuit Ranger rugby team as they continue to dominate their season!
