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Football

Jesuit football has a great tradition of success, with State Championships in 1968 and 2021 and a State runner-up finish in 1992. The Tigers also have won numerous Region Championships; entering the 2022 season, Jesuit had earned Region titles in 6 of the past 7 seasons: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. From 2015-21, the Tigers compiled a record of 83-13, including a 15-0 Class 5A State title campaign in 2021 led by 1st-Team All-State players RB Jo Smith '23 (1,976 rushing yards, 30 TDs), WR Junior Vandeross '22 (1,976 all purpose yards, 15 TDs), LB A.J. Cottrill '22 (160 tackles), and safeties Wade Woodaz '22 (97 tackles, 4 forced fumbles) and Caleb Williams '22 (110 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 6 int). In the regular season, the Tigers defeated national powerhouse Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 24-21 on a last-second score to vault into the national rankings. Jesuit finished off the perfect season with a 37-12 rout of Miami Northwestern in the State Semifinal and a heartstopping, final-minute win over Pensacola Pine Forest, 35-29, in the title game in Fort Lauderdale, finishing the year ranked No. 8 nationally by both MaxPreps and USA Today.

Jesuit's football teams – Varsity, JV, and Freshman squads – play in the shadow of the majestic Jesuit Bell Tower before large, raucous crowds on Alumni Field at Corral Memorial Stadium. The powerful Blue Tide student fans have helped the Tigers defeat rival Tampa Catholic every year for more than two decades, with the 22nd straight victory in the rivalry coming on Nov. 5, 2021, a 42-0 win at home. Other recent victories over TC include the 17-7 win in 2018 when the TC offense never crossed midfield, and a 35-20 victory in 2015 when Malik Davis '17 rushed for a school-record 357 yards. Davis rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four games v. TC and became Hillsborough County's all-time leader in rushing (7,029 yards) and touchdowns (84) before signing with the University of Florida.

Every year, several Tigers sign to play college football, including Class of 2022 members Tre'Quan Alexander (Rhode Island), Liam Conroy (Rhodes College), Cottrill (Florida State), Jaydn Girard (Wake Forest), Gozy Okeke (West Florida),Wayne Quin (Florida A&M), Vandeross (Toledo), Williams (Furman), Woodaz (Clemson), and Class of 2021 members Joe Pesansky (Holy Cross) and Todd Bowles (Rutgers). Other recent college signees include Jonathan Odom '20 (Florida), Connor McLaughlin '20 (Stanford), Larry Hodges '19 (Miami), Dane Belton '19 (Iowa), Anthony Nelson '18 (Harvard, from where he graduated in 2022 and now plays at Duke), Kendrick Torain '18 (Duke), and Travell Harris '17 (Washington State), who was selected Pac-12 All-Conference and Academic Pac-12 All-Conference. Numerous Jesuit alumni also have played in the NFL, including Jay Feely '94, who was one of three finalists for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2014; Anthony Allen '06, who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens; and Garrison Sanborn '03 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belton was a 4th round draft choice of the New York Giants in the spring of 2022, and he and Davis (Dallas Cowboys) both enjoyed strong rookie seasons in the NFL in 2022. See below the 2022 Jesuit football schedules, rosters, and more.

Always check the website Athletics Calendar or MaxPreps.com for the most updated Jesuit athletics schedules 

2022 Varsity Schedule
DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION

 

     
Aug. 26 7:30 Wharton Wharton
       
Sept. 2 7:30 Treasure Coast  Jesuit 
       
Sept. 9 7:00 Miami Columbus Miami Columbus
       
Sept. 23 7:30 Armwood Armwood
       
Sept. 30 7:30 Leto Jesuit
       
Oct. 7 7:30 Clearwater C.C. Jesuit
       
Oct. 14 7:30 Gaither Jefferson
       
Oct. 21 7:30 Tampa Bay Tech Jesuit
       
Oct. 28 7:30 Hillsborough Hillsborough HS
       
Nov. 4 7:00 Tampa Catholic Tampa Catholic
       
       


 

2022 Junior Varsity Schedule
DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION
       
Aug. 27 7:00 Delaware Valley (Pa.) Orlando
       
Aug. 31 7:30 Lakeland Jesuit
       
Sept. 15 7:00 Sarasota Sarasota
       
Sept. 22 7:30 Lake Gibson Jesuit
       
Sept. 29 6:00 Clearwater C.C. CCC
       
Oct. 13 6:00 Tampa Catholic Tampa Catholic
       
Oct. 19 7:30 Manatee Jesuit
       
TBA TBA TBA TBA
       

HEAD COACH

VARSITY HEAD COACH



MATT THOMPSON

  • 10th season at Jesuit in 2022
  • 99-22 overall at Jesuit in 9 seasons (25-8 State playoffs), with 1 State Title, 8 District Titles and 6 Region Titles/State Semifinals
  • United States Marine Corps 1986-91
  • University of South Florida 1995 graduate
  • mthompson@jesuittampa.org,
    (813) 877-5344, ext. 613

 

 

VARSITY ROSTER

JESUIT TIGERS 2022 VARSITY ROSTER

# 1ST NAME LAST NAME CLASS POS HT WT   # 1ST NAME LAST NAME CLASS POS HT WT
0 Houston Weathers SR OLB 6'3" 187   35 Cole Ballesteros FR DB 6'0" 175
1 Andre Gilbert SR CB 5'8" 150   36 Smith Sanders FR RB 5'7" 155
2 Justin Thurman SO RB 6'0" 178   40 Dylan Callahan SO DL 5'9" 163
3 Willy Suarez JR WR 5'11" 166   42 Gabe Themar JR FB 6'0" 195
4 Drew Woodaz JR SS 6'3" 189   43 Tyler McLeod SO LB 5'9" 168
5 SJ Green SO CB/WR 5'11" 175   44 Jensen Whittlesey SO LB 5'10" 165
6 Luke  Knight JR QB 5'10" 173   45 Camden Haywood SO LB 5'11" 160
7 Gary Givens JR WR 6'0" 176   47 Alex Nocco SO DL 6'0" 167
8 Jarriett Buie SR WR 6'3" 185   50 Cayden Fluker SR OL 6'1" 284
9 Creighton Koontz JR FS 6'3" 180   51 Gavin Blanchard SO OL 6'3" 282
10 Trip Boyle JR ILB 6'2" 184   52 Cale Shwedo SR OL 5'10" 253
10 Jack  Cunningham SO QB 6'1" 175   53 Pierce Luttrell JR DL 6'1" 238
11 Will Griffin FR QB 6'3" 225   54 Thayne Swenson FR OL 6'0" 205
12 Max Hunt SO WR 6'5" 190   55 Kyle Boyes SR DL 6'3" 227
13 Bryson Goodwin JR WR 6'2" 170   56 Jamison Thurber FR OL 5'11" 229
15 Kyle Weaver SR FS 5'10" 168   58 Brian Rodriguez SO DL 5'9" 194
16 Zach Barbose JR DB 5'10" 137   60 Griffin More JR OL 6'0" 266
17 Peter Pesansky JR DL 6'2" 272   61 Richard Harris SR OL 6'3" 279
18 Antray Lee FR ATH 5'9" 148   63 Joey Commesso SR OL 5'8" 158
19 Gus Baier JR WR 5'10" 168   64 Ray Cuevas JR OL 5'9" 233
20 Kevin Doherty SR SS 6'3" 181   66 Jake Margetis SR OL 5'7" 200
21 Ian Wilson SO RB 5'7" 170   67 Wesley Shaw SR OL 6'4" 280
22 Cyrus Aboud JR ILB 5'11" 200   70 Lucca Norton FR OL 6'3" 244
23 Troy Bowles SR OLB 6'2" 205   71 Evan Rordam JR OL 6'4" 272
24 Joquez Smith SR RB 5'8" 193   74 Austin Allen FR OL 6'4" 260
25 Zach Quinn SO LB 6'0" 163   77 Anthony Orsillo SO OL 5'11" 234
26 Braylon Maples FR LB 5'10" 161   80 Trent Teeling SO WR 5'9" 145
27 Jack Ferreri SR K 6'0" 171   81 Xavier Nocco FR WR 5'10" 155
28 Matthew Mangiocco JR DB 5'10" 147   83 Kaleb Smith FR WR 5'9" 140
29 Mike Brown JR RB 5'11" 175   87 Hansen Rix SR DL 6'7" 215
30 Holton Roberts SR ILB 5'11" 195   88 Anthony Rametta FR DL 6'2" 230
31 John Consuegra JR RB 5'6" 146   90 Frank Orsillo SO DL 6'1" 194
32 Connor Dooly JR ILB 6'3" 192   94 Tucker Witte SO DL 6'0" 211
33 Luke  Arena SR ILB 6'3" 202   96 Andre Morris SR DL 6'4" 285
34 Donovan Kolbe SO LB 6'1" 190   97 Julian Alonso JR DL 5'10" 247
                99 Nick Quinn SR DL 6'3" 214

SOCIAL MEDIA AND LIVESTREAMING

LIVESTREAM: All Jesuit football Varsity home games, and some away games and playoff games, are livestreamed on the Facebook page Jesuit High School Football - Tampa. The NFHS Network livestreams some away games and playoff games.

TWITTER: Jesuit football has a very active Twitter account, @JesuitTigers_FB, and many Varsity games are live-tweeted from this account.

OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: Jesuit Football is on social media year-round, follow the Jesuit Tigers here:

  • Twitter: @JesuitTigers_FB
    twitter.com/JesuitTigers_FB
  • Facebook: Jesuit High School Football - Tampa
    facebook.com/JesuitHighSchoolFootballTampa/
  • Instagram: jesuit_tigers_football
    instagram.com/jesuit_tigers_football/
  • MaxPreps: https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/jesuit-tigers-(tampa,fl)/football/home.htm

JV ROSTER

JESUIT TIGERS 2022 JV ROSTER

# FIRST LAST GR POS # FIRST LAST GR POS  
1 Julian Reino 10 WR 43 Tyler McLeod 10 DB  
1 Michael Curtis 9 DB 44 Luke Battaglia 9 LB  
2 Weston McCarthy 9 P/K 44 Jensen Whittlesey 10 LB  
3 Braxton Dolitsky 9 RB 45 Camden Haywood 10 LB  
6 Lane Maynard 9 P/K 47 James Garstka 9 WR  
7 Andrew Changsut 10 WR 47 Alex Nocco 10 LB  
7 Ethan Carastro 9 DB 50 Wyatt Allender 9 OL  
8 Bryce O'Donnell 10 DB 52 Riley McMullen 9 OL  
9 Sebastian McNeill 10 WR 53 Robert Bogle 9 OL  
10 Jack Cunningham 10 QB 54 Thayne Swenson 9 OL  
11 Chris Lankford 10 WR 55 Carson Gatz 10 OL  
12 Blake Mitchell 10 DB 55 Patrick Dineen 9 LB  
14 Zion LaBarbera 10 WR 56 Jameson Thurber 9 OL  
15 Parker Caskey 10 DB 56 Whit Waechter 9 LB  
16 Andre Brown 9 DB 58 Brian Rodriguez 10 DL  
17 Luke Mezher 10 WR 64 Hunter Hoss 10 OL  
18 Antray Lee 9 WR 64 Emerson Schumm 9 DL  
18 Jackson Lossius 9 WR 68 Jackson Thames 9 DL  
18 Nick Thompson 10 DB 70 Kellis Braddock 9 OL  
19 Connor Corr 10 DB 70 Lucca Norton 9 OL  
20 Marco Tini 9 LB 71 Felix Lopez 9 DL  
21 Alex Myers 9 DB 74 Austin Allen 9 OL  
23 Marshall Urquhart 9 DB 75 Benjamin Gentile 9 OL  
24 William Kinsey 10 RB 76 Finn Gunderson 9 DL  
25 Ryan McNeil 10 RB 77 Isaiah Cintron 10 OL  
25 Sagar Lopez 9 DB 77 Anthony Orsillo 10 OL  
25 Zach Quinn 10 LB 80 Trent Teeling 10 WR  
26 Braylen Maples 9 LB 80 Zeb Rogozinski 9 WR  
26 Jace Martino 9 DB 81 Xavier Nocco 9 WR  
27 Chris Thomas 9 RB 81 Jack Kruger 10 WR  
28 Preston Shuster 9 LB 83 Kaleb Smith 9 WR  
29 Mason Culver 9 DB 83 Chase Burkard 9 WR  
30 Jac Sansone 9 WR 87 William Wright 9 WR  
31 Austin Blewitt 9 DB 88 Anthony Rametta 9 DL  
32 Brayden Johnston 9 LB 89 Brady Parrado 9 WR  
34 Donovan Kolbe 10 LB 90 Grey Wright 10 DL  
34 Drew Garcia 9 LB 90 Frank Orsillo 10 DL  
35 Hudsyn Pears 9 LB 94 Tucker Witte 10 DL  
35 Cole Ballesteros 9 DB 96 Jackson Arcos 9 DL  
36 Smith Sanders 9 RB 97 George Boumalhab 10 DL  
40 Dylan Callahan 10 DL 97 Robert Davis 9 DL  
40 Brady Fogarty 9 DB 99 Graham Risdon 9 DL  
41 Paul Ward 9 DB   Turner Mackie 9 DB  

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

To access voluminous photos from Varsity football games 2014-present, go to www.jesuittampa.org/videos or visit Jesuit football's social media pages. The links below from 2021 are to highlight videos, and the links from previous years are to large photo slideshows on the Jesuit website:

2021

State Championship, 12-18-21, v Pensacola Pine Forest, 35-29 win

State Semifinal, 12-3-21 v Miami Northwestern, 37-12 win

Regular season, 11-5-21 v TC, 42-0 win

Regular season, 9-3-21 v St. Thomas Aquinas, 24-21 win


2020

State Semifinal, 12-11-20 at American Heritage, 16-13 loss

Regular season, 9-25-20 v Berkeley Prep, 28-14 win

Regular season, 9-4-20 at Bishop Verot, 28-21 win


2019

Region Final, 11-22-19 at Lake Wales, 55-21 win

Region Semifinal, 11-15-19 v Chamberlain, 30-7 win

Regular season, 11-1-19 v TC, 31-21 win (20th straight win v TC)

Regular season, 10-25-14 Homecoming v Bayshore, 45-14 win


2018
State Semifinal, 11-30-18 at Cardinal Gibbons, 14-3 loss

Region Semifinal, 11-16-18 v Immokalee, 31-3 win

Regular season, 11-2-18 at TC, 17-7 win (19th straight win v TC)

Regular season, 9-14-18 v Jefferson, 23-20 win


2017

Region Quarterfinal 11-10-17 v Jefferson, 14-7 win

Regular season 11-3-17 v TC, 35-7 win (18th straight win v TC)

Regular season, Homecoming, Senior Night, 10-13-17 v Robinson, 12-10 win 

 

2016
State Semifinal 12-2-16 at Plantation American Heritage, 21-14 loss

Region Semifinal 11-18-16 v Jefferson, 42-21 win

Regular season 11-4-16 v TC, 34-14 win (17th straight win v TC) 

GUY TOPH AWARD AND STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Record-shattering running back Malik Davis ’17 was named the 2016 Guy Toph Award winner in January, 2017. The Guy Toph Award is considered the Heisman Trophy of Hillsborough County football and most prestigious athletic award in the county. Founded in 1939, it is believed to be the oldest high school football award in America. 

Davis is the fourth Jesuit student to earn the award, joining Gary Godsey '99 in 1998, Al Lopez III '82 in 1981, and Skipper Peek '76 in 1975. Peek was the first private school student to win, and only seven of the first 78 winners have come from private schools.

Davis arguably had the greatest season and football career in county history, and compiled one of the best rushing careers in state history. In 2016, he rushed for 2,469 yards on 214 carries (11.5 avg.), with 33 touchdowns, breaking his single-season Jesuit records from 2015 of 2,337 rushing yards and 28 TDs. The 33 TDs are a single-season county record, and the rushing yards is second best in county history.

Davis completed his Jesuit career with county records of 7,029 rushing yards and 83 rushing touchdowns (84 total TDs). The rushing yards ranks Davis 11th in state history, and he is No. 1 in county history by a wide margin of nearly 1,300 yards over second-place Ray Ray McCloud of Sickles. Davis’ career total TDs and rushing TDs also are best in county history, with the rushing mark of 83 TDs easily surpassing second-place Kalvin Bailey of Armwood (67). Both McCloud and Bailey are former Toph Award winners.

 

COACHING STAFF

2022 VARSITY COACHES

MATT THOMPSON - Head Coach

DARRELL PALMER - Defensive Coordinator/DBs
DON MESICK - Offensive Coordinator/QBs 

DEREK BACHMAN - Running Backs
BRIAN CALLAHAN ’91, P ’22, 25 - Defensive Line
GARY GIVENS, P ’24 - Wide Receivers/Strength & Conditioning
JEFF GARNER - Kickers/Special Teams
DENNY HAYWOOD - Outside Linebackers
CHUCK MCLEOD, P’ 22 - Inside Linebackers
TRISTIAN OWUSU-YAW - Defensive Backs
CAMERON RUFF ’13 - Offensive Line
JOHN TELFER - Outside Linebackers

 

2022 JV/FRESHMAN COACHES

MATT KAISER - Head Coach/Special Teams/DL

BOB RODDENBERRY ’80 - Offensive Coordinator/QBs
DENNY HAYWOOD, P ’25 - Defensive Coordinator/ST/ILBs

GREG HARLOW ’69, P ’10 - OL
ALEX COTTRILL ’91, P ’22, ’24 - DL
KYLE CRAMER - OL
WESLEY FORDE - DBs
JEFF GARNER - K/P
DENIS LOPEZ, P ’21, ’22, ’23 - OLBs
BRANDON LOUDERMILK - DBs
BOB PICCIRILLIi ’69, P ’07 - WRs