The state-title aspirations of Jesuit Dallas were on life support in the waning minutes of last Tuesday’s playoff contest.
The Rangers found themselves trailing Flower Mound Marcus, 3-1, with less than three minutes remaining in their Class 6A Division 2 area-round playoff at The Colony.
Thirty minutes later, Jesuit was celebrating one of the biggest comebacks the program has ever experienced in 47 years under head coach Charlie DeLong.
Jesuit scored twice in 90 seconds to force overtime. Then, 11 rounds of penalty kicks were required before the Rangers ultimately secured the 3-3 win with a 9-8 margin in penalties.
“The kids never stopped playing and trying and believing,” DeLong said. “We had some bounces go our way, and once you get into penalties anything can happen.
“I’ve never been a part of anything quite like that. Usually, you’re grinding it out over a half. This was a whole different deal. The kids found a way and were amazing.”
DeLong noted the Marauders — ranked No. 2 in the area by The Dallas Morning News — controlled the run of play during the first half and for much of the second half.
Marcus opened the scoring 13 minutes in and doubled its advantage six minutes later before Cooper McGough trimmed the deficit in half to 2-1 at the 23-minute mark.
The Marauders then appeared bound for the regional semifinals after grabbing an often insurmountable two-goal lead in the 77th minute.
Jesuit’s spirits lifted a bit when McGough dropped a ball back to Luka Shipley, who fired a “buzz bomb” to the back of the net.
Just 47 seconds later, McGough knotted the match courtesy of an assist from Corbyn Wendorf.
“All of the sudden, it just happened,” DeLong said. “There’s no practical explanation other than the kids just kept fighting.”
Following two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods, the teams headed to a shootout. They were tied, 4-4, after one five-player round. The teams then matched goals until the 11th round when Matthew Dewers scored for Jesuit and Marcus’ shot sailed high over the net sending the Rangers to the third round.
DeLong said his team won’t have much time to celebrate its win. Instead, Jesuit is shifting its focus to its third-round matchup against El Paso Coronado. DeLong noted that the teams are still determining the time and location of the match.
“When you get to the third round, you know you’re playing some good ball and you know you’re going to be facing a very quality opponent.”
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