The Crusaders' slow start has come as a surprise to many Jesuit fans. Coach Klay Kubiak and the 1-3 Strake Jesuit Fighting Crusaders are looking to bounce back from a tough shutout loss to Shadow Creek last week, as they face Pearland Dawson at The Rig this Friday. This will not be an easy win for Jesuit, the Eagles have started their season a perfect 5-0, with three of those wins within District 23-6A.
The Crusaders' game against Shadow Creek, which was broadcasted live on KUBE-TV Houston as well as the Crusader Sports Network, showed that Strake Jesuit Football has a lot of room for improvement, especially on the defensive side. In the 33-0 loss, the Sharks ran for a total of 280 yards, split between RB's Kelvon Brown (185), Dylan Campbell (39), as well as the Baylor Commit QB Kyron Drones (39). On the offensive side for Jesuit, QB Connor O'Hara could not find many completions, as he went 9/22 for only 64 yards. This week, it will be important for Connor to come as close as he can to his performance against Alief Hastings, which put him in the running for VYPE Houston Football Player of the Week (Week 4). It will also be important for Jesuit to establish a run game early, as both Alex May and Joel Crawford have proven to be strong pieces for this squad.
Although a run to win District 23-6A may be out of the picture for the Crusaders, they will have a good chance to finish within the top half of the District and make the playoffs. After the game with Pearland Dawson, Jesuit will finish their season with home games against Alief Taylor and Alvin, as well as a regular season finale at Crump Stadium against Alief Elsik. As of right now, those three teams have a combined one win, so it seems that Strake Jesuit has already played the toughest games of their schedule.
If the Crusaders come into The Rig motivated by their status as underdogs, as they have many times before, and are able to show that they have made major improvements on both sides of the ball, they may be on their way to an upset win over the Eagles.