No. 4 Skyline (3-1, 1-0) at No. 20 Jesuit Dallas (3-1, 1-0)
Friday, Oct. 2 - 7:30 PM - Postell Stadium
Faculty Appreciation Night
Live Stats
Live Audio (Web)
Live Audio (Mobile)
Game Notes
Rangers Smother Bison: The Jesuit Dallas Rangers made a strong statement staking their claim to the crown of UIL 9-6A, shutting out the Sunset Bison, 52-0, at Sprague Stadium on Thursday evening. En route to their second shutout of the season, the Rangers held Sunset to -10 net yards of offense, forcing five Bison turnovers on three fumbles and a pair of interceptions. Senior Esteban Garcia provided an electric pick-six for the Rangers, scrambling from 25 yards and slicing through the Sunset offense en route to Jesuit's first defensive touchdown of the season. Senior quarterback and Jesuit Ranger of the Week Matt Smith threw for three touchdowns while scoring another on the ground, finishing with 147 all-purpose yards.
Blue and Gold White Hot in Red Zone: The Rangers will enter Friday's game with a 22-of-24 success rate in the red zone, converting touchdowns on 21 occasions while adding one field goal. Jesuit Dallas's red zone success is yet another bullet point in the team's eye-opening situational success. The Rangers' offense has converted 48.9 percent of third downs and is 8-for-8 in fourth down situation. Finally, the Rangers continue to dominate time of possession, entering Friday's bout averaging 28:59 minutes of possession, compared to the 19:01 consumed by opponents.
Shutout City: Thursday's clean sheet against Sunset is the second shutout of the season for the Rangers, a new team-high under the tutelage of Coach Hickman. The Rangers have held opponents to 242.8 yards per game, a stark contrast to the 364.3 yards averaged by Jesuit through four games this season. Opposing quarterbacks have struggled against the Jesuit Dallas pass defense, as the Rangers' four opponents have only completed 23-of-61 passes for a paltry 37.7 completion percentage.
Rangers Striking Early, Striking Often: In all three of the Rangers' wins thus far in 2015, the Blue and Gold have struck first on the scoreboard and have built a mjor advantage in the first quarter. Jesuit has additinally outscored opponents, 56-8, in the first quarter.
Balanced Offense Paying Dividends: Despite the strong numbers in favor of the Jesuit starters, perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Jesuit Dallas football squad is depth. Entering Friday's game against Skyline, 13 Rangers have found the end zone at least once during the season. Junior quarterback Jacob Palisch has thrown for six touchdowns while additionally running for two and tacking on a receiving touchdown. Senior Max Loughborough has four rushing touchdowns to his credit, as classmate Connor Lanpher has snagged four touchdown passes.
Scouting Skyline Offense: The 2014 UIL semifinalists enter Friday's matchup ranked No. 4 in the most recent Dallas Morning News Area Rankings and No. 10 in Monday's Associated Press Statewide Texas High School Football Poll. Runningback Da'leon Ward has presented an impresssive 2015 campaign, rushing for 459 yards and three touchdowns, while starting quarterback Terreon Randolph has completed 68.83 percent of his passes for 485 yards and five touchdowns. The Raiders' lone loss of the year came on Sept. 11, when Skyline was forced to punt four times, lost a pair of fumbles and failed to convert on a pair of fourth downs en route to a 20-10 seback to Cedar Hill.
Scouting Skyline Defense: Skyline boasts the top defense in the state of Texas, holding opponents to 223.5 yards per game. The Raiders' defense locks down on the run game, allowing only 95.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 2 in the state, while the 128.0 passing yards per game ranks ninth. Overall, Skyline has allowed 15.3 points per game this season, placing the Raiders fourth in scoring defense.
Series History: A fresh rivalry in the UIL, Jesuit and Skyline have battled annually since 2010, with Skyline sweeping the series between the two to possess a 5-0 lead over the Blue and Gold. Jesuit last played Skyline at home in 2014, where the Raiders were able to updend the Rangers, 42-28, at Postell Stadium.
Up Next: Jesuit will continue the district campaign on Friday, Oct. 9 against Irving for a 7:30 p.m. clash at Irving Schools Stadium. The two squads last met at Postell Stadium last season, with Jesuit defeating the Tigers, 56-29. The Rangers posted 603 yards of total offense, with current UCF freshman quarterback Bo Schneider throwing five touchdowns to help Jesuit move to 2-1 in district play.
