Photography by Alex Kurilecz
This past Thursday, Postell Stadium saw its first action of this up and coming season. The Jesuit Rangers JV football team took on the Arlington Bowie Volunteers in a tight fought game that went down to the wire.
A beautiful night for some football, the teams took the field at 6:00 P.M. Going into the game, Head Coach Rick Leal wanted to make sure the team did a good job of “containing [Bowie’s] team speed.” On the offensive side of the ball Coach Leal wanted to “establish the run and set up some play action [pass].”
In this intense battle, it was the defense that made the big plays needed to win the game. 12th Man Will Guzman ’17 and Jordan Rice ’17 solidified the run defense and stopped the Volunteers from breaking any big runs off. This run defense allowed Sophomore Corner Back Stephen ‘Stevie’ Rodrigues to tighten up his cover and jump a pass. When asked about the play Stevie said, “I knew it was time for this game to shift our way, and I wanted to be the one to do it. I knew once I caught it I was gone.” Coach Leal pointed out Stevie’s play as one of the “plays of the game.”
On the offensive side of the ball, it was the ground and pound approach that worked best against the Volunteers defense. Offensive Lineman Nick Beshera ’17 and Dalton Allen ’17 led the way for sophomore running back Evan Jackson. Evan Jackson had this to say about his performance, “I knew that if I kept the pressure on the defense by breaking big runs I could open up our passing game.” Evan was right because after his constant runs, QB Matt Smith ’16 was able to find wide out Evan Sonnier ’18 for a game changing touchdown. Sonnier said he had been “waiting all day for his number to get called and he was not going to disappoint his coaches when it did.”
Touchdowns from Sonnier and Rodrigues were enough to propel the Rangers in the lead all the way up until the 4th quarter. In the closing seconds of the game the Rangers D found themselves backed up deep in their territory. On 4th down and with 18 seconds left, the Rangers D knew a stop would clinch the game. Safety Mark Ready ’17 knew “the game was coming down to one final play,” and he had no intentions of losing his first home game of the year. Bowie’s quarterback dropped back to pass and fired a ball into the end zone where Ready, with fire in his eyes, was waiting to intercept it. Ready’s second pick of the game was enough to seal the deal, and the rangers held on to win 14-6.
Coach Leal was impressed with the victory his team had and is excited for what the season has in store. Mark Ready was “glad he could help the team win.” Ready’s outstanding performance also caught the eye of coaches for the Varsity team since he was called up for this weeks game against Plano East.
Come out to Plano East this Thursday at 5:30 to support the Rangers JV team as they attempt to go 2-0 on the season.
