Ranger Run Game Stars in Road Win
Jesuit Dallas scored 62 seconds into the first quarter, pounding the pavement for 348 rushing yards, the highest team total since 2013 in a 42-3 win over Richardson. The Rangers' performance against the Eagles bested 341-yard efforts on November 23, 2013 against Rockwall and on October 11, 2013 against W.T. White. Senior John Wunderlick scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, and quarterback Jacob Palisch completed 7-of-10 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns to lead Jesuit to a season-high 486 total offensive yards. Defensively, Jesuit held the Eagles to 186 yards, anchored by senior Andrew Miskell, who made five tackles, including three tackles for loss with a sack and forced fumble. Junior Hank Bitterman forced and recovered a first-quarter fumble, while junior Jack Lynch led the squad with six tackles. Ranger defenders brought the Eagles down a season-high 14 times behind the line of scrimmage, posted four sacks and broke up four passes.
Offensive Line Earns Weekly Honor
A key component of the Rangers' 2-0 district record, the Jesuit offensive line earned Ranger of the Week honors on Monday. Senior starters Dalton Allen, Dean Eikenberg, Jaxson Fearing, Vance Holub, Max McLeod have cleared the lanes for the run game, which averages 213 yards per game. Scoring 12 of the team's 16 touchdowns on the ground, Jesuit has two running backs with 250 or more net rushing yards, led by 520 yards from senior Evan Jackson, who also leads all backs with six rushing touchdowns.
Palisch-ed Back to Form
Returning from an early season injury on September 23, senior and reigning UIL District 9-6A Most Valuable Player Jacob Palisch has provided an inspired spark to the Jesuit offense. Against Coppell, Palisch threw for 247 yards, the third-highest total of his varsity career, before completing 7-of-10 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Richardson. During his two seasons behind center Palisch has completed 59.4 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,328 yards and 26 touchdowns to only three interceptions and averaging 145.5 passing yards per game. A dual-threat quarterback, Palisch has added two rushing touchdowns this season after 495 yards and a team-high 11 rushing scores in 2015.
Making the Moments Count
Although not as dominant as the non-district slate, which saw Jesuit possess the ball for 25 out of a possible 48 minutes in all three games, the Rangers' methodical and efficient offense has played a large role in the squad's back-to-back victories. Against Richardson, Jesuit scored on five of its first six drives, with the longest scoring drive spanning 2:31 and 73 yards. The Rangers have averaged 16:25 of possession over the last two weeks, but are 8-of-10 in the red zone with six touchdowns and two field goals, and have scored on 13 of their last 20 drives, not including the two half-ending drives last week.
The Golden Boots
Junior Israel Ollarzabal is 5-of-7 in field goal attempts this year, 2-for-2 from inside the 30-yard line and kicked a career-long 36-yard field goal in the season-opener against DeSoto. The junior has also been reliable as the team's kickoff specialist, averaging 48.4 yards with six touchbacks. In addition, the team's starting punter Jacob Palisch has averaged 43.8 yards per boot, including a season-long 78-yard punt against Coppell. Palisch has two touchbacks to his credit this year, two punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and three of over 50 yards.
Last Time They Met
On October 2, 2015, an 18-yard touchdown run by Palisch with 1:06 remaining in the fourth catapulted Jesuit over the Skyline, 24-21, at Postell Stadium. Palisch finished the game with 141 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air to go along with his game-winning run on a third-and-eight. Jesuit converted 9-of-17 third downs, 2-of-3 fourth downs while forcing two Skyline turnovers. Current senior Jordan Rice provided the first spark for Jesuit Dallas with a second quarter interception that began to tilt the field back towards the home team. Senior John Michael Priddy led the squad with 11 tackles, followed closely by classmate Mac Elliott, who racked up 10. Junior Jack Metz made five tackles, but had a major impact by blocking a Skyline field goal attempt at the conclusion of the first half. Jesuit's win over a Skyline team ranked No. 10 at the time snapped a 49-game district winning streak by the Raiders.
Up Next
Jesuit will play at Postell Stadium for the third time in four weeks, welcoming J.J. Pearce for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on October 14. The Rangers and Mustangs last met in 2004, a 59-7 Jesuit victory in the UIL Bi-District round. Jesuit holds a 3-2 series advantage over J.J. Pearce since moving to the UIL in 2004. The Rangers will follow next Friday's game with back-to-back road games against Lake Highlands (Oct. 21) and W.T. White (Oct. 28) before closing the regular season slate at home against Berkner on November 4.
