Despite impressive performances by the Jesuit offensive skill positions, four Jesuit turnovers turned into three Plano East touchdowns, providing the difference in the Rangers' first loss of the season, 57-42, on Friday evening at Tom Kimbrough Stadium.

Junior quarterback Jacob Palisch completed 20-of-36 passes for 206 yards, throwing for a touchdown and an interception.  Senior Adam Holtz averaged 8.1 yards per carry, closing out the contest with 137 net yards on the ground.  The Rangers additionally dove into their bag of tricks during the contest, executing the wide receiver pass to perfection when senior Rusty Landon found Palisch for an electric second half touchdown pass.  Juniors John Wunderlick and Connor Jackson additionally caught touchdown passes for Jesuit.

Ranger third year Evan Jackson rushed for a pair of touchdowns, snagging 44 net yards of offense for the visiting Rangers.  Holtz also found the end zone once, finding pay dirt after a 14-yard scamper in the third quarter.

Defensively, senior Dane Bender led the team in tackles with five solo stops and three assists.  Classmate John Michael Priddy scored seven tackles while senior Peyton Long and junior Jack Metz scored five tackles each with three solo and two assisted stops each.  Jack Metz added two tackles for loss totaling four yards.

The Panthers threw the first haymaker with 11:03 remaining in the first quarter, airing out the ball downfield on their first offensive play after an unsuccessful Ranger drive and going 63 yards in nine seconds for the game-opening touchdown.  Unshaken by the opening salvo, Palisch kept the offense calm, marching the Rangers to a 13-play, 75-yard drive that eclipsed 5:14 of the first quarter and ended with a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Jackson.

After forcing a Plano East punt, Jesuit again made a long and determined drive to take the lead, ending when Palisch found Wunderlick on a post route on third and goal to put the Rangers up, 14-8.  Over the next six minutes, the Panthers would score twice, first on a 30-yard pass before turning a Jesuit turnover into a one-yard touchdown run to take a 23-14 advantage with 5:22 left in the half.

Jesuit's most impressive and innovative play came on third and 17 at the Plano East 26-yard line.  Landon took the ball behind the line of scrimmage and scrambled to the right, sending defenders converging on his position.  However, the senior had enough time to toss a perfect pass to Palisch, who brought the ball down in the end zone to send the Jesuit bench into a frenzy, slicing the Panther lead to 23-21 heading into the half.

Plano East's Miklo Smalls sucked the momentum out of the Rangers on the first drive of the third quarter, racing for a 67-yard touchdown on third and one to increase the lead back to eight points.  Jesuit would never recover from that momentum swing, watching the Panthers score touchdowns on three of their next four drives.  

Holtz found the end zone on a 14-yard run with 3:40 left in the third followed by Jackson's second touchdown of the game in the final minute of the quarter from three yards out, but Plano East consistently parried Jesuit's attempts to cut into the lead, putting the game out of reach with 3:38 remaining in the fourth quarter after scoring another touchdown following a Jesuit turnover. 

Senior quarterback Matt Smith completed his first varsity touchdown pass to Jackson with eight seconds remaining in the fourth, completing an impressive drive that spanned nine plays and 84 yards.

The Rangers will look to rebound against Strake Jesuit at Postell Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11.