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Sports
VERSATILE JESUIT SENIOR SPENDS LITTLE TIME ON SIDELINES
Northwestern-bound 3-way star Fitzgerald has strength, speed, smarts
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By Todd Jorgenson
People Newspapers
You can find Robert Fitzgerald playing four or five different positions at any given Jesuit game this season.
He’s primarily a hard-hitting safety, which is the position he’ll play next year at Northwestern University. But the senior also takes snaps at running back, and on special teams, he can serve as a punter or punt returner.
“I always do whatever the team needs me to do in order to win,” Fitzgerald said. “Defense comes first for me. Whenever I’m needed on offense, and I have my breath back, then I’ll go out there. It’s definitely a challenge. I feel it the next day, for sure.”
With his ability to run, catch, block, tackle, kick, and run down opponents, he probably could add more spots to his resume under the right circumstances. But one position where Fitzgerald hasn’t yet seen action at the varsity level is at quarterback, where he played until his freshman year.
The following season, he became a varsity starter at safety as the Rangers won a school-record three playoff games. He made 79 tackles that year and grabbed the game-clinching interception in a postseason win over Klein Collins. Last season, he secured 81 more tackles and was named the District 7-6A defensive MVP.
Jesuit’s Robert Fitzgerald is primarily a safety, but he was also the team’s top returning
rusher entering this season. (PHOTO: CHRIS MCGATHEY)
“Robert is an unbelievable athlete,” said Jesuit head coach Brandon Hickman. “We’ve got to find a way to get him on the field and get him the ball as much as possible. We can’t afford for him to be standing on the sidelines much. He’s an all-around player and a great leader.”
As the leader of a team with district title aspirations again this season, the naturally soft-spoken Fitzgerald knew he needed to become more of a vocal leader.
“For the past two years, I’ve tried to lead by example,” he said. “This year, I’ve had to speak up and lead with my voice, as well. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with it.”
Fitzgerald plans to sign this winter with Northwestern, near where his father grew up in Chicago. He verbally committed to the Wildcats after attending a camp there during the summer.
“I wanted to go somewhere to get a great education that also has a great football program,” Fitzgerald said. “I chose Northwestern because I really like the trajectory of where their football program is going.”
Long Wait: New Facilities Have Helped Boost Longhorns, Panthers Bond package led to new gyms, other improvements at various DISD campuses
By Todd Jorgenson
People Newspapers
When W.T. White High School football coach Tony Johnson first arrived on campus four years ago, his players lifted weights in a double-wide trailer with holes in the floor.
Since then, he’s found space in spare corners, bussed athletes off-campus, or scaled back the types of strength workouts many schools take for granted.
That changed over the summer when Dallas ISD unveiled a brand new 4,000-square-foot weight
room at WTW as part of a 2015 bond initiative that included millions of dollars in athletic upgrades. “I can now get 50-plus players in there to lift weights. They feel like they’re respected and taken care of,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to build a program when you don’t have that. They take great pride in it.” The facility enhancements benefit other athletic programs, too, with renovated locker rooms and a new gymnasium that hosted basketball games starting last season. A new practice field and track are slated for completion this fall. “We’re filling every inch of those spaces,” said Johnson, also the school’s athletic coordinator. “When you’re looking at houses, if the yard doesn’t look good, you don’t go in. Athletics are the front porch.” A few miles away, Hillcrest has won more than a dozen district championships across several sports since 2018. That roughly coincides PCP_Nov2021_Banner-1-Revised.pdf 1 9/14/2021 10:40:59 PM with the opening of an expansive new on-campus weight room, which probably isn’t a coincidence.
“That has complimented every sport. A lot of collaboration went into that. It’s made an immediate difference in terms of closing the gap,” said Jacob Ramon, Hillcrest football coach and athletic coordinator. “Kids want to be in there.”
The weight facility and a new competition gym are among more than $30 million in improvements at the school.
“I put mirrors in that weight room on purpose,” Ramon said. “When a kid puts a lot of effort in the weight room and then sees his progress, it’s motivation to get back in there.”
Likewise, the new gym has become a source of school pride, as reflected by increased fan attendance and student participation.
“The gym has had an impact on the spirit at our school,” Ramon said. “Hillcrest has a lot of great tradition, and that tradition is coming back, and the biggest reason is the facilities.”
TOP: Hillcrest High School recently got a new competition gym as part of than $30 million in athletic facility improvements that also included the weight room that opened in 2018. BOTTOM: W.T. White High School expects work to
wrap up this fall on a new practice field and track. (PHOTOS: COURTESY DALLAS ISD)
