The Jesuit rushing attack peppered the John Tyler defense, but University of Houston commit Bryson Smith used an eyebrow-raising offensive performance to hand the Rangers a 69-21 loss in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 6A Area Round on Saturday afternoon at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
 
Senior John Wunderlick ran for a team-high 97 yards and two touchdowns eclipsing the 1,000-rushing yard plateau, finishing the season with 1,079 yards and joining fellow senior Evan Jackson, who pounded the pavement for 1,166 net rushing yards. Jackson caught his second receiving touchdown of the campaign, finishing the area round bout with five receptions for 73 yards and 11 carries for 35 yards. Senior Jacob Palisch threw for 213 yards and a touchdown, wrapping his senior season with 1,837 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, adding nine touchdowns on the ground.
 
Defensively, senior Jack Lynch recorded two interceptions and a pass breakup. Fellow senior Luke Nolan made eight unassisted stops to tie classmate Billy Daly for the team lead, adding a 10-yard sack. Senior John Guzman recorded seven stops, including six solo tackles, while senior Jordan Rice made a team-high three tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Junior Israel Ollarzabal finished the season with a perfect 55-of-55 on point after attempts.

Jesuit (8-4) answered a game-opening touchdown by John Tyler (11-1) with a nine-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 26-yard touchdown run by Wunderlick. Smith led the Lions on a key scoring run, holding the Jesuit offense scoreless for the remainder of the first half while finding pay dirt five times to head into the half leading, 42-7.
 
In the second half, the Rangers scored a pair of touchdowns to answer two third quarter John Tyler touchdowns, the first a 48-yard run by Wunderlick before Palisch found Jackson from 15-yards out to close out an 80-yard drive. However, the Lions defense held Jesuit scoreless down the stretch to secure the UIL Area Round victory.
 
After capturing their second consecutive UIL 9-6A District Championship this season, the Rangers close the historic 2016 campaign on Saturday. Jesuit continued its undefeated run through district competition, going 7-0 in 9-6A to improve its winning streak to 15 games, dating back to the 2014 season.

In addition, Ranger head coach Brandon Hickman earned his 50th win as Ranger head coach on October 28th against W.T. White, while the Jesuit offense averaged 40.5 points per game. The Jesuit offense was anchored by an experienced and dedicated offensive line that helped the squad to 256.1 rushing yards per game and 43 rushing touchdowns.