In a game worthy of the championship stage, Jesuit Dallas and Highland Park were tied, 6-6, with 2:48 left in the third quarter. The Rangers scored two goals over the final moments of the third to swing the momentum in their favor, then stopped the Highland Park attack down the stretch to secure the program's third Texas High School Lacrosse League (THSLL) State Championship with a 10-8 win over the Scots on Sunday at George Turner Stadium in Humble, Texas. With the victory, Jesuit earns its first title since 2017 and ends the season on a nine-game winning streak, a run which included two wins over the rival Scots.
Junior
Connor Knight was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player after another stellar game in the cage, making several key fourth quarter saves during the scoring run to keep the Rangers in front. Senior
Curran Rose scored four goals in the championship game, earning Tournament Offensive MVP plaudits. Sophomore
Charlie Metz was named the Tournament Defensive MVP, playing a major role in a disruptive defensive midfield unit that caused chaos for Highland Park throughout the afternoon.
Senior
Tilt Fernandes scored Jesuit's final two goals of the game, late fourth quarter goals that kept the Rangers ahead in the waning moments. Senior
Caiden Vlasimsky scored two goals with two assists while senior
Sam Teachout added a goal and an assist.
Jesuit trailed Highland Park, 4-1, early in the first quarter. Senior
Henry Suarez snapped the run with a face-off win goal, cutting the Scots lead in half before Rose scored back-to-back goals to tie the game with five minutes left in the first half, then added his third of the game in response to a Scots tally to send the game into halftime tied, 5-5.
Vlasimsky and Teachout took over in the third with the Rangers trailing by one as Vlasimsky fired home a shot from the far side goal line extended before Teachout ripped a step-down shot from the point to give the Rangers the lead with 2:04 left in the third. Rose's fourth of the game gave Jesuit the two-goal lead heading into the fourth. Highland Park scored with 7:53 left in regulation to cut the lead to one, but Teachout quickly sent a phenomenal pass to Fernandes on the doorstep of the crease for a one-timer, putting Jesuit back up by two goals. After Knight made another stop on the defensive end, Vlasimsky fed Fernandes for another close range one-timer, putting Jesuit up by three goals with two minutes left.
Highland Park scored with just over 90 seconds remaining in the fourth, and appeared to cut the lead down to one with 35 seconds left, but the goal was waved off and the Scots were called for a crease violation that gave the ball back to the Rangers. Jesuit converted the final clear of the game to clinch the win and the championship.
The victory provides a proper send-off for the Jesuit Dallas lacrosse senior class, consisting of
Mason Chandler,
Alex Chen,
Blake Dickey,
Tilt Fernandes,
Tristan Hassell,
Matthew Isbell,
Hudson Johnston,
Connor Legg,
Curran Rose,
Henry Suarez,
Sam Teachout,
Caiden Vlasimsky and
Rob Williamson. The Rangers end the season with a 12-2 record and a fantastic, nine-game winning streak that started on Mar. 15 against Trinity (Ky.) and lasted until Sunday's state title game. Sunday's win also marks the 206th career win for head coach
Chris Surran, who is now 3-for-5 in state championship games and has won three straight championship game appearances (2016, 2017, 2021).