The Ranger defense slammed the door on Lake Highlands in the second half, allowing the offense to score 28 unanswered points in Friday's University Interscholastic League (UIL) District 9-6A bout en route to a dominant, 56-21 win at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.
 
Senior John Wunderlick posted his third consecutive 100-yard performance, finishing the gridiron battle with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Wunderlick threw his first career passing touchdown, a 56-yard pass to junior Fletcher Rosenbleeth on Jesuit's first offensive play. Senior Jacob Palisch threw for 132 yards and a touchdown, one of six Rangers to find pay dirt.

Junior Jack Tabor caught a 52-yard receiving touchdown pass in the third, while junior Hank Clements recorded a season-high 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Reigning Ranger of the Week Evan Jackson carried the ball nine times for 64 yards and a score. Jesuit (5-3, 5-0) out-gained Lake Highlands (2-6, 2-3), 519-365, holding the Wildcats to a 4-of-13 conversion rate on third down.
 
Senior Matt Eubanks recorded 10 tackles, tying the season-high posted by classmate Billy Daly last week against J.J. Pearce. Sophomore Pierce Strong returned a punt 18 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, adding three solo tackles. In total, Jesuit stopped the Wildcats six times behind the line of scrimmage, including tackles for loss by seniors Jack Metz and Andrew Miskell, who finished the contest with five total stops.
 
Jesuit wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, opening the bout with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Wunderlick to Rosenbleeth to take the early advantage. Lake Highlands runningback Jordan Sutton scored his first of two touchdowns with 9:03 remaining in the first to match the Ranger score. The two squads traded touchdowns, with Evan Jackson scoring from 11 yards out for his 12th touchdown of the year. Palisch found Tabor with 24 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, and the junior broke several tackles down the sideline to score his first career receiving touchdown, spotting the Blue and Gold another seven-point advantage.
 
In the second, Lake Highlands drove eight plays for 36 yards, but the Jesuit defense shut the door on the Wildcats, capped by a Miskell tackle on Sutton on a fourth and one to give the ball back to the Rangers. Wunderlick plunged into the end zone from a yard out to build the lead to 14 points. Lake Highlands drove 45 yards downfield on 10 plays, but missed a 36-yard field goal to send the Rangers into the halftime break with a 28-14 lead.
 
Wunderlick's second touchdown of the game scored with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter tilted the momentum permanently in Jesuit's favor, a lead supplemented by a 19-yard touchdown run by Palisch with nine seconds left in the third before Strong's punt return to open the fourth.
 
Clements took the second play of Jesuit's penultimate drive 73 yards down the near sideline, scoring Jesuit's longest running touchdown of the season and pushing the Rangers to their third consecutive offensive outing over 50 points.
 
Jesuit will next travel to Alfred J. Loos Stadium in Addison, Texas for a 7:30 p.m. bout against W.T. White, where the Rangers can clinch their second consecutive UIL 9-6A District Championship with a win. The regular season concludes on November 4 during homecoming weekend, which will pit Jesuit against Berkner.