The Jesuit Dallas football last won a University Interscholastic League (UIL) district championship in the program's inaugural season in the official governing body of Texas athletics, picking up the hardware in 2004.  A stingy defense and a fourth quarter point surge ended the Rangers' 11-year drought, as the Blue and Gold secured the outright UIL District 9-6A championship with a 40-14 win over Irving MacArthur on Thursday evening at Irving Schools Stadium.

Junior quarterback Jacob Palisch finished the evening with five total touchdowns and 279 all-purpose yards, including 210 yards on 12-of-19 passing and three touchdowns.  Senior Adam Holtz had another impressive game, rushing for 139 yards on 19 carries to lead the squad.

Senior Max Loughborough finished the contest with six receptions for a team-high 106 yards, adding a rushing and receiving touchdown.  Classmates Rusty Landon and Connor Lanpher also snagged receiving thouchdowns. 

The Ranger defense stepped up once again, causing four MacArthur turnovers, including three interceptions.  Seniors John Michael Priddy, Esteban Garcia and junior John Guzman each snagged a pick, all three of which occurred with the Rangers pinned deep inside their own end.  Senior Emmet Flood snagged a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that helped the Rangers seal the district crown.

Senior Peyton Long finished the contest with a team-leading eight tackles, including four tackles for loss and a sack.  Fellow fourth year Ryan Brooks made six stops, while senior Dane Bender added five solo tackles.  Jesuit Dallas only allowed 75 MacArthur rushing yards, holding the Cardinals to 7-of-14 on third down conversions.

On the third Jesuit Dallas drive of the first quarter, the Rangers moved into the Cardinals' red zone for the first time.  Palisch leaped over the line of scrimmage on third and goal to open the scoring, putting the Rangers up, 6-0.  Jesuit Dallas struck again with 9:29 left in the second, when Palisch threw a lofting pass to the northeast corner of the MacArthur end zone.  Lanpher drifted back and lept into the air, snagging the ball while falling into the end zone to put six more points on the board for the Blue and Gold.

MacArthur scored with 7:30 left in the second on a 57-yard pass from quarterback Kane Hardin to wide receiver Ryen Sanchez, snapping the Rangers' shut out streak at 172 minutes and 45 seconds.  After allowing the first points to an opponent since the memorable win over then-No. 10 Skyline, Jesuit Dallas increased the lead back to two scores with an 11-play, 95-yard drive culminated by an eight-yard scramble into the end zone by Palisch on a play action pass.

The Cardinals were driving at the end of the second quarter, but the Ranger defense made their presence known on an acrobatic, one-handed interception in the end zone by Priddy, sending the Blue and Gold into halftime holding a 19-7 advantage.

Loughborough snagged a 49-yard reception in stride on the Rangers' first drive of the third quarter, finding pay dirt from five yards out on the next play to increase the lead to 26-7.  MacArthur looked poised to get back into the game with a 15-play, 54-yard drive that encapsulated 6:17 of game time, but Garcia jumped in front of a pass bound for the end zone, giving the ball back to the Blue and Gold.

After a 41-yard rush by Holtz kicked off the fourth quarter, Palisch found a wide open Loughborough for his second passing touchdown of the evening.  MacArthur fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Flood recovered to give the Rangers the ball at the MacArthur 25-yard line.  Two plays later, Palisch again took advantage of a Cardinal blitz, finding Landon in the seam for the Rangers' final touchdown of the evening.

The Rangers, ranked No. 20 in the state by MaxPreps.com, will close the 2015 regular season on Nov. 6, when the Blue and Gold will host R.L. Turner for their annual homecoming contest.  In addition to the homecoming festivities, Jesuit Dallas will honor the Ranger seniors participating in their final year with the program.