AURORA | Rangeview and Regis Jesuit faced off Friday night in the A-Town Game of the Week with more in common than their shared Raiders mascot: Both were seeking redemption.

The Rangeview home team — kicking off homecoming weekend at Aurora Public Schools Stadium — was seeking revenge for a 33-7 drubbing by Regis Jesuit in the second round of the 5A playoffs last November; Regis Jesuit, meanwhile, was seeking redemption after suffering their own dose of humility in last week’s Game of the Week, a 17-0 shutout loss to Mullen.

In the end, costly turnovers and missed opportunities made for a dampened homecoming, as the visiting Raiders beat the host ones, 34-18.

The score belies the closeness of the game itself and, as might be suggested by near-identical total yards (426-421 in favor of Regis Jesuit), it had the potential to be a much tighter match-up.

That was certainly the case through the first quarter, as both teams kept it close, with Rangeview’s defense neatly containing the running game of Regis Jesuit (2-1) and stifling its passing game altogether, en route to handing the visiting Raiders their fifth straight scoreless quarter (going back to that last, shutout game against Mullen).

Rangeview (0-3) didn’t fare much better, finding nearly no room on the ground and having one potentially outstanding play with just over four minutes left in the first quarter erased by a penalty. Rangeview quarterback Jaelin Odegard’s pressured-but-sweetly-floated 33-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to receiver Aaron Reed would have given the home Raiders a much-needed jumpstart on their touted visitors, but was called back due to an ineligible man downfield. 

That potential score would have also helped equalize Rangeview’s first costly error — a muffed snap resulting in a fumble early in the second period. On the next play, Regis Jesuit senior running back Alfred Jones took a handoff up the middle, burst into the secondary and was gone. The 50-yard TD run and ensuing 2-point conversion put the visitors up 8-0, and gave Regis Jesuit a lead they would not relinquish. Jones was the top yard-gainer of the night overall, rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns on just nine touches.

That’s not to say Rangeview didn’t battle back. In fact, the home Raiders responded to the Regis Jesuit score with arguably their best running drive of the night. Following a 5-yard offside penalty by Regis Jesuit, Rangeview rumbled back down the field, led by senior running back A.J. Thomas’s back-to-back scrambles of 26 and 15 yards. Thomas would finish the night with 119 rushing yards on 19 carries to go with 30 yards on four receptions.

Following a wise Regis Jesuit timeout resulting in an ensuing false start, Rangeview needed all four downs to capitalize from the first-and-goal at the 14. After a short pass and a QB-keeper took Rangeview down to the 2-yard line, Thomas punched it in on a fourth-down halfback dive. Odegard was sacked on the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt, however, leaving Rangeview with its smallest deficit of the night at 8-6. They would not get any closer.

Getting the ball back with about 7 minutes on the clock, Regis Jesuit responded in kind with their most sustained drive of the night, rattling off 10 straight plays over 3-plus minutes to work their way down to the Rangeview 16-yard line. After a Regis Jesuit false start was negated by a Rangeview pass interference call, the visiting Rangers set up with a first-and-10 at the 11-yard line. Two plays later, sophomore running back Kiahn Martinez got a big push from his O-line and hit the hole for the TD scamper.

Rangeview would block the extra point but, smelling blood, Regis Jesuit recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, giving them the ball right back at the 35-yard line. With more than 2 minutes left, Regis Jesuit needed only about 30 seconds of it, as junior running DJ Jackson took a second-and-5 handoff on the second play 30 yards up the middle for the score. The PAT gave Regis Jesuit a 21-6 lead. The 16-point margin would mirror the final score.

Rangeview had a chance to keep it closer with a well-executed two-minute drill to finish the first half. But they came up short after — facing a fourth-and-10 from the 40-yard line — Rangeview junior wide receiver Josiah Allen-Clark was unable to keep a handle on Odegard’s laser into the end zone with 22 seconds left in the half. Clark would finish the night as Rangeview’s top receiver, with six catches for 61 yards.

Regis got the ball back to start the third quarter and picked up where they left off. Led by junior quarterback Justin Lamb’s 20-yard pass to junior Aubrey Parker-Marschel and then the quarterback’s own 28-yard keeper, Martinez punched it through from the 6-yard line for his second score of the night. Despite Regis Jesuit missing the PAT, the 28-6 lead was enough to hold.

Following a Regis Jesuit turnover, Rangview bounced back and scored on a 28-yard pass to junior wideout Jayvion Swain (who also scored the 2-point coversion). Then, amid a flurry of substitute players, late-game penalties and formations designed to milk the clock, the two teams exchanged scores in the final period.

REGIS JESUIT 34, RANGEVIEW 18

Score by quarters:

Regis Jesuit  0  21  6  7 — 34

Rangeview    0    6  6  6 — 18

SCORING

Second quarter

Regis Jesuit — Alfred Jones 50 yard run (Tama Tuitele pass from Justin Lamb), 9:59

Rangeview — David Aggrey 2 yard run (run failed), 6:44

Regis Jesuit — Kiahn Martinez 4 yard run (kick failed), 2:33

Regis Jesuit — DJ Jackson 30 yard run (Jarred Worrick kick), 1:56

Third quarter

Regis Jesuit — Martinez 6 yard run (kick failed), 10:47

Rangeview — Jayvion Swain 28 yard pass from Jaelin Odegard (pass failed), 3:43

Fourth quarter

Regis Jesuit — Jones 78 yard run (Worrick kick), 9:06

Rangeview — Josh Hollins 20 yard run (pass failed), 2:31

RUSHING

Regis Jesuit: Alfred Jones 9-149, Justin Lamb 6-69, DJ Jackson 13-64, Kiahn Martinez 9-48, Michael McPeek 4-39

Rangeview: AJ Thomas 19-119, Jaelin Odegard 11-45, Josh Hollins 3-41, David Aggrey 2-1

PASSING

Regis Jesuit: Lamb 6-20, 56 yards; McPeek 3-5, 1 yard

Rangeview: Odegard 14-27, 162 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions; Josh Hollins 5-10, 53 yards

RECEIVING

Regis Jesuit: Aubrey Marschel-Parker Jr. 1-20, Quentin Birch 1-12, Jack Weigand 1-12, Keegan Krahn 1-7, Jackson 1-6, Cade Mendenhall 1-5, Martinez 1-(minus 5)

Rangeview: Josiah Allen-Clark 6-61, Alex Segura 4-57, Aaron Reed 3-35, AJ Thomas 4-30, Jayvion Swain 1-28, Ethan Fray 1-4