Jesuit Dallas forced a Prosper turnover on the third play from scrimmage and never looked back, dominating the Eagles in all three phases of the game to remain unbeaten in district play with a 41-14 victory on Friday night at Postell Stadium. Jesuit led the previously unbeaten Eagles, 20-7, after the first quarter and dominated the run game while causing four turnovers to secure a key victory to begin the homestretch of the 2019 campaign.
 
Senior EJ Smith led the way with four touchdowns, running the ball a team-high 90 times. Junior Jake Taylor scored a pair of touchdowns while rushing for a career-high 170 yards, anchoring a rushing attack that totaled 320 yards and all six Jesuit touchdowns. Senior Christian Allocco caught a team-high seven receptions for 41 yards, including several key receptions that elongated drives which contributed to Jesuit's dominating, 30:38-17:16 time of possession.
 
Defensively, the linebacking corps of seniors Jack Barton and Tommy Roy held the Eagles in check as Prosper only managed 76 rushing yards against the Rangers despite entering Friday's bout averaging 242 rushing yards per game. Senior Zach Pendola, sophomore Robert Fitzgerald and Barton all secured interceptions while senior Mitchell Campbell grabbed a key fumble recovery for the Rangers in the second half.

How it Happened

• Pendola intercepted Berry on the third play from scrimmage to give Jesuit the ball in Prosper territory. The Rangers marched down the field on a seven-play, 40-yard drive which was capped by a one-yard touchdown by Smith, who broke through the Prosper defensive line for the game-opening score at the 9:10 mark of the first quarter.
   
• Prosper's second drive stalled and Jesuit responded with another touchdown drive, moving 57 yards down the field on eight plays. On a critical third-and-10, Holman found Allocco for a 14-yard reception and a 31-yard run from Taylor put the Rangers inside the red zone. Taylor plunged into the end zone for his first touchdown of the game to spot Jesuit a 13-point lead.
   
• Another failed Prosper drive, started by a tackle for loss from senior Ford Buckner and capped by a poor Eagles punt gave Jesuit the ball back at the Prosper 40-yard line. Allocco ran for 36 yards down to the Prosper four-yard line on a wild reverse play, taking the ball the four-yard line. Smith would capitalize with a four-yard run to give Jesuit a 20-point lead. Prosper would score its first touchdown of the game late in the first to send Jesuit into the second quarter with a 20-7 lead.
   
• In the second quarter, the Rangers marched down the field once again, and scored on a five-yard touchdown run from Smith. Prosper's ensuing drive failed and Jesuit missed a field goal with 2:19 left to give Prosper the ball back with one last gasp at cutting into the Jesuit lead. Campbell sacked Prosper's Jackson Berry on first-and-10 to take Prosper out of striking range, and Jesuit went into the halftime break with a 27-7 lead.
   
• Prosper intercepted Holman on Jesuit's first drive of the second half, but a lost fumble by Berry was recovered by Campbell on fourth-and-seven, stopping prosper at the Ranger 20-yard line. Prosper would stop Jesuit and score on its next drive to cut the lead to 13 points with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter.
   
• Jesuit used a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:06 off of the clock between the third and fourth quarter. A 21-yard touchdown run by Taylor on fourth-and-one topped off the drive with another Touchdown as Jesuit took a 34-14 lead with 11:46 left in the game.
   
• Fitzgerald picked off Berry at the Prosper 26-yard line then scored on a 15-yard run by Smith to take a 41-14 lead. Barton would intercept Berry in the Jesuit end zone, providing the opportunity for Jesuit to run out the clock with a seven-play drive that took 7:42 off the fourth quarter clock.

Jesuit will return to action next Friday against Allen as the two co-leaders in UIL District 9-6A will battle for the outright district lead with four weeks remaining in the regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eagle Stadium.