Last Friday night the stakes were high as the varsity football team matched up against the Plano West Wolves, a classic private vs. public school rivalry. The winner would advance to round two, to play at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park. The loser would go home, thus terminating their 2013 season. This time it was the Jesuit Rangers who would advance to the Cotton Bowl, as they defeated Plano West in the Bi-district playoff game 48-41.
Jesuit started the game off strong with a 17-0 lead. On their first drive, the Rangers settled with a field goal by new kicker Connor Lanpher ’16. The first touchdown came from Bo Schneider ’15 as he threw a 23 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kellen McAlone ’14, putting the Rangers up by 10 with 6:30 left in the first.
West then made a huge mistake, fumbling on the ensuing kickoff. The Rangers quickly capitalized off this and scored with another Schneider-McAlone
touchdown connection, this time on a nine yard pass. This gave Jesuit a 17 point cushion at the end of the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Schneider threw a costly interception in the red zone as he was being tackled. This, however, would be his only turnover of the game.
The Wolves were able to take advantage of the turnover as their two elite running backs, Soso Jamabo and Auston Anderson, led West to its first score. It was Jamabo who found the end zone on a 16 yard rush. According to ESPN, he’s ranked as the number two running back in the nation in the class of 2015. The Rangers struggled to slow him down for the majority of the night.
Jamabo then scored again on a 76 yard rush after Jesuit was forced to punt. Jesuit athlete Orion Salters ’14, however, responded with a 62 yard touchdown reception halfway into the second quarter. This put Jesuit up 24-10.
The dynamic duo of Anderson and Jamabo then led West to a 72 yard touchdown drive; Anderson was the one who scored on a 43 yard run. All the plays on this drive were run plays. West only scored once more in the half on a field goal.
The Rangers, however, snuck another touchdown in before they headed to the locker rooms. Schneider completed two long passes in the final minute of the quarter, of 40 and 30 yards, the second of which was a touchdown to receiver Garret Amy ’15. Jesuit now led 31-24 at the half.
The Wolves, disappointed with their first half performance, came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders as Anderson and Jamabo led yet another touchdown drive. Anderson again scored on a 5 yard rush, his second of the game.
Schneider responded with a scoring series of his own. He connected with receiver Charlie Eikenberg ’15 on a 25 yard touchdown pass. They put Jesuit up 38-31 halfway into the third quarter.
For West, the rest of the quarter featured another rushing touchdown by Anderson. He was aided by third string running back Malik Rochelle, who had a 43 yard rush to setup the touchdown. The Wolves’ rushing attack dominated the Ranger defense all night as they had size, speed, and depth in the backfield.
Jesuit’s only score for the rest of the quarter was another Lanpher field goal. The sophomore didn’t miss a kick the entire night, despite the high pressure of the situation. The game going into the fourth quarter stood at 41-38.
The Ranger defense finally came up big as they thwarted West’s fourth down conversion attempt. The phenomenal front seven swarmed around
Jamabo and forced a three yard loss. Head Coach Brandon Hickman commented on this stellar stop:
“The goal line stands and fourth down stop on #1 was huge for our team. They had two big time backs and our defense rose to the occasion when we needed it. Our effort was there all night and those stops will help us down the road. We had guys flying around out there and playing reckless.” Having turned the ball over on downs, West gave Schneider another chance to extend the lead.
And sure enough he did as he led Jesuit to another touchdown drive. He completed passes of 24 and 43 yards to McAlone and Salters, respectively, to set up a one yard rushing score by running back Matt Slovak ’15. Rangers led 48-38 with about six minutes left in the fourth.
The Jesuit defense again came up big as they forced West to settle with a field goal on the follow series. Cornerback J.J. Boles ’14, despite being much shorter than the large West receiver, made a pivotal play as he batted down an attempted goal-line fade by West quarterback Logan Williams. Jesuit was ahead 48-41 with three and a half left in the game.
The Wolves’ only hope would come from an onside kick. However, the Rangers recovered the kick and ultimately shut down any possible rally by West. Slovak and Salters ran the clock out as they rushed for first downs to send West home.
Hickman said, “It’s very exciting for our players and program. Our kids came to play and it showed tonight. I really love this teams heart and
toughness.”
The win was a team effort on all sides of the ball. But it was Schneider who out shined both teams as he threw for 509 yards and five touchdowns to four different receivers. He had 12 passes of 20 yards or more and completed 68.57% of his passes. SportsDay HS named him the Offensive Player of the Week, beating out the top athletes in the metroplex.
This was his best game of the season and of his career. Coach Hickman commented on his amazing game:
“Bo is very composed and made some great throws all night. You don’t see many players pass for 509 yards in one game. We wanted to take some shots going into the game and it worked out well.”
Other stat leaders for Jesuit included Salters (264 yards of total offense and one touchdown), McAlone (187 yards receiving and two touchdowns), and Slovak (75 rushing yards and a touchdown).
The Wolves also had some impressive numbers. They had 429 yards rushing-214 and two touchdowns by Jamabo; 186 and three touchdowns by Anderson. Jamabo also had 83 yards receiving.
It wasn’t just the players that factored into the game, the crowds too were very impactful. Jesuit had its biggest fan turnout of the year; Hickman described the fans’ effect:
“The student section motivated the team and was great all night. JezNation was in full force waving towels and staying loud all night. They played a huge role in our success and showed everyone that our school spirit is alive here at Jesuit. The best part is our kids were classy the whole time. We appreciate our students being there for the team and giving us that extra boost you need during playoff time.”
With the win, Jesuit has extended its win streak to seven. Coach Hickman explained this progress:
“We continue to improve and play with that kind of passion for four quarters the sky is the limit for this team. We have an opportunity to do something no other Jesuit football team has done. If we continue to stay focused, play physical, take care of the ball, and create some turnovers we will be tough to beat.”
Jesuit will square off against Rockwall next weekend. This game, however, will be held at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday at 1 PM. There, they hope to defeat the Yellow Jackets and advance to the third round of the UIL playoffs for the first time ever. With the way the they’re playing, they’re sure to make history, so go out and support your Rangers!
