Jesuit beat two nationally-ranked teams this weekend on their way to a first place finish at the annual Jesuit Dallas Rugby Showdown, and climbed to No. 13 on the Goff Rugby Report national high school rankings. After beating St. Maximillian Kolbe 50-7 on Saturday morning, the Rangers downed previos No. 13 Regis Jesuit in the semifinals and previous No. 4 Colorado Springs in the finals to earn the title.
 
The Rangers were featured in a lead article on the Goff Rugby Report, which quotes captains Joey Nuchereno and Chris Madonna. Jesuit came into the tournament ranked No. 24 nationally, and No. 3 in the state by This is Texas Rugby.
 
In the tournament opener Saturday morning, senior Nick Pace, senior Cole Wilson, and junior Christian Schoeberl each scored two tries a piece, while Eric Miller and Ryan Black registered tries of their own. Pace was named man of the match in Jesuit's win over St. Maximillian Kolbe.
 
The afternoon match against Regis Jesuit provided the most dramatic action, as the Raiders took an early lead and Jesuit quickly responded with a Christian Schoeberl try and Dane Bender kick. Joey Nuchereno added to Jesuit's lead with a try making it 12-5, but the boys from Denver answered with a try and kick of their own, sending the match into overtime locked up at 12-12. Bender nailed the game winning kick in OT, earning himself man of the match honors and sending the Rangers to the championship game.
 
Sunday's title tilt pitted Jesuit against a Colorado Springs team that had steamrolled through the tournament. The Rangers got on the board early with a Billy Newman try, and never turned back. Senior Roman Kimbrel scored for Jesuit, then Dane Bender scored a try and a pair of kicks to give Jesuit a commanding 19-0 lead at halftime. Bender added three more points in the second half on a PK, and Jesuit won the match 22-0. Kimbrel was named the man of the match in the finals.
 
Jesuit advances to 9-3 on the season, and will likely continue to move up the state and national rankings. The Rangers travel to Round Rock this weekend to take on Stony Point.
 
Follow all Jesuit Rugby action, including live in-game scoring, at @JesuitRugby.

IN DEPTH: Read about the Showdown in a recap from The Roundup, Jesuit's award-winning student newspaper. This recap, complete with quotes and additional photos, was written by junior Matthew Favre: Varsity Rugby Dominates Over Spring Break