Jesuit Dallas will conclude the 2018 season Friday as the Rangers travel to Kimbrough Stadium to battle the Plano East Panthers. The Rangers enter the bout hoping to snap a five-game skid and garner momentum for the 2019 season. The Blue and Gold will kickoff at 7 p.m. and fans will be able to listen live on www.JesuitRangers.org or www.770KAAM.com as Tom Walsh, Jack Fitzsimmons '76 and Chris Martinez '78 will call the action beginning with the LegacyTexas Pre-Game Show at 6:30 p.m.
 
Rangers Drop Homecoming Bout Against McKinney: A possession-based offense and a critical fourth-quarter turnover allowed McKinney to spoil Jesuit's homecoming and senior night as the Lions defeated the Rangers, 24-14, on Friday night at Postell Stadium.  Juniors Kevin Shuman and Rance Holman each completed a touchdown pass as Shuman led the team with 119 yards on seven completions, followed by four completions for 40 yards by Holman. Junior EJ Smith saw his string of consecutive 100-yard rushing games end but made up the difference as a receiver, closing out the bout with eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jake Taylor closed out the game as the team's leading rusher, carrying the ball nine times for 33 yards.
 
Senior Nick Hafertepe snagged his first touchdown since his return from injury, securing his second touchdown of the season in the third quarter for the Rangers. Junior Tommy Roy racked up a career-high 12 tackles, matching a season-high with two tackles for loss. Juniors Jack Barton and Zach Pendola tacked on eight and seven tackles, respectively as senior Andrew Gregory posted a six-tackle outing on senior night. Junior Ford Bucker closed the contest with a career-high five tackles. 
 
Senior Wide Receiving Corps Set for Curtain Call: Friday's game will mark the final appearance for a corps of senior wide receivers that have made a drastic impact during the 2018 season. Travis Whisler enters Friday's bout with a team-leading 429 receiving yards, averaging 47.7 yards per game. Whisler is followed by Jack Hajdu, who has matched junior EJ Smith with a team-leading four receiving touchdowns while racking up 264 yards. Despite a midseason injury, Nick Hafertepe has emerged as a viable weapon with three touchdowns and 208 yards. Brody Hilberth has one receiving touchdown to his credit but also served as the team's quarterback against Plano and has a rushing touchdown to his name this season.
 
Ranger Defenders Earning Impressive Numbers: Junior Jack Barton needs six individual tackles to surpass the highest single-season mark for the Rangers since 2016, when Matt Eubanks made 47 total stops. Barton has 55 total tackles to his credit and a team-leading 42 unassisted tackles, leading the defensive back corps which has caused four interceptions this year while breaking up 24 passes. Junior Tommy Roy leads the team with 59 tackles, including 40 solo stops and 19 assisted tackles and forced a fumble, matching Barton's 12-tackle performance against Allen on October 19 with a career-best dozen tackles of his own last week against McKinney.
 
Scouting Plano East: The Panthers routed Plano West, 51-17, on Friday at Clark Stadium. Racking up 491 total yards of offense, Plano East outscored the Wolves, 30-10 in the first half en route to the playoff-clinching victory. Panther quarterback Brandon Mallory completed 17 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns, adding 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground. In addition, Plano East forced two Plano West turnovers while limiting the Wolves to 138 yards through the air. Plano East has secured a playoff berth and will begin the postseason as the second seed in UIL Division I-6A. The Panthers seem poised to battle Sachse, who enters the final week of the regular season 6-3 but with an unbeaten, 6-0 mark in district.
 
Mallory Leading the Charge: Plano East quarterback Brandon Mallory currently leads the UIL Class 6A and the Metroplex with 2,615 yards and area-leading 29 passing touchdowns to his credit and is in contention to clinch the area passing title on Friday. The area's second-ranked quarterback, Rockwall quarterback Jacob Clark, recently concluded his regular season with 2,584 passing yards and the third-ranked quarterback, Blake Short from Flower Mound, trails Mallory by 379 yards heading into Friday's action. This season, Mallory is 168-of-280 passing (60 percent) and has thrown eight interceptions.
 
The Last Time They Met: Plano East defeated Jesuit, 41-30, in the Cotton Bowl Showcase on September 9, 2017. A 21-point swing by Plano East in the third quarter derailed an early offensive eruption by Jesuit Dallas as senior Parker Towns and sophomore E.J. Smith provided offensive sparks for the Blue and Gold.  Towns completed 28-of-42 passes for 341 yards, his second consecutive 300-yard game. Sophomore E.J. Smith finished the game with three all-purpose touchdowns, scoring two touchdowns on 57 yards rushing, adding one receiving touchdown to close the contest with 111 all-purpose yards. Junior Matthew Priddy led the team in rushing with 94 yards on 13 carries, adding 112 yards on seven receptions. Senior Fletcher Rosenbleeth crossed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game, leading the team with nine receptions for 124 yards.