JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2021-22 19
injuries caused a few key Tigers, such
or two. Otherwise, it was a healthy
squad. The team that lined up to face St.
Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 3 was virtually
identical to the squad that would face
Pensacola Pine Forest in the State
The Tigers cruised through the regular
season. The two games right after St.
Thomas Aquinas – potential let-down
games – were against formidable local
opposition, home vs. Bloomingdale (32-
14 win) and at Hillsborough (28-7), and
the Tigers handled both comfortably.
ultimately not that close, winning 35-13
and 35-21, respectively.
As the season moved along, playmakers
emerged throughout the roster.
Bowles, one of the nation’s top recruits
in the junior class, had two blocked
punts returned for TDs. Safety Wade
became a force, generating
major college offers and signing with
of Woodaz and Williams, who signed
with Furman, had to be the best in the
state. Williams led Jesuit with 6 interceptions
and added 4 forced fumbles and 3
fumble recoveries.
Pesansky and OLB
season, harassing QBs for a combined 13
sacks and making a combined 46 tackles
school’s all-time leading tackler, cleaned
up seemingly everything else while
also showing a big-play knack, such as
his forced fumble/TD vs. St. Thomas
Aquinas. And emerged
as a lockdown cornerback, with 16
passes defensed and rarely allowing a
completion.
Smith was putting up monster rushing
and TD numbers behind a powerful
offensive line, and
Vandeross was a terror on returns, taking
three punts back for touchdowns.
At midseason the Tigers really hit their
shutouts and six straight running clock
games (the running clock is implemented
when a team takes a lead of 35 points or
more in the second half of a game).
The annual season-ending rivalry game
ever – Jesuit would win its remarkable
22nd straight in the series – was just a
blip on the road to glory: another shutout
(42-0) and another running clock in
the second half as the defense smoth-
season 10-0.
The Tigers were stampeding toward a
Miami Northwestern, the 2017, 2018, and
Thomas Aquinas game, it felt as though
everything was just preamble and
preparation for that moment: Jesuit and
Miami Northwestern were on a collision
course.
The Tigers had reached the State Semi-
The previous four all were road games at
South Florida powerhouse programs. In
2019, Jesuit lost at Northwestern, 42-21.
In 2020, the Tigers got thisclose to the
were all blowouts, including a 42-0
dismantling of Hillsborough in the
Region Final. Northwestern took care of
was all set.
didn’t have to travel to Broward or Dade
The Bulls brought a huge crowd, band,
and dance team, along with their Miami
swagger. Moments before the game, as
the Jesuit players gathered in the north
end zone to run through the banner onto
end zone, putting the teams just a few
feet apart and nearly inciting a brawl.
penalize the Bulls.)
Northwestern’s intimidation attempts
may have had an impact in past years,
but they failed miserably against this
Jesuit team. The Tigers ambushed them.
Smith was unstoppable, rushing for 234
Football is just one of 12 sports at Jesuit,
but it can bring a school community
together in a way that few
things can. The large number of players
on the roster (more than 90 for Jesuit
this season), the true team nature of the
sport, the many others directly connected
to it – the band, the cheerleaders,
the student fans, the parents, the alumni
supporters – can bond a school around
the Friday night lights.
-
ship game vs. Pensacola Pine Forest was
four hours away on a Saturday night, the
big moment on the big stage brought
home of the Inter Miami soccer club.
More than a hundred Jesuit supporters
stopped by a pregame event nearby
before heading to the stadium. Many
more would watch the livestream on
Spectrum Sports. , the VP
Buccaneers, said he had never rooted so
hard during a high school football game
as while watching the Jesuit-Pine Forest
livestream.
Pine Forest had won 13 straight games
and had a powerful, unique option
ground attack. The Tigers also had to
handle the big expectations – Jesuit, with
its lofty national ranking, was considered
the favorite – and the two-week gap
an extra week of potentially distracting
media attention.
The game was a classic.
giving him a whopping 30 on the season
– to take a 14-7 lead in the 2nd quarter,
but then Pine Forest seized control. The
Eagles mounted a long drive, converting
two 4th downs to score just before the
end of the half, and then pounded in a
2-point conversion for a 15-14 lead at
intermission.
The 3rd quarter was more of the same.
Pine Forest scored on the opening
Peter Pesansky '24 skies to block a Miami
Northwestern pass attempt.
yards and 3 TDs. A huge psychological
hurdle had been cleared.
Jesuit 37, Northwestern 12.
The Tigers would play for the State
53 years.
Ever since the Aquinas win, Jesuit had
been nationally ranked in the Top 20 by
up toward the Top 10. The decisive
victory over Northwestern cemented
Jesuit’s national credentials. All the Tigers
needed to do now was beat Pensacola
Pine Forest in two weeks in Fort Lauderdale.