Rangers Earn First UIL Regional Final Bid in Program History: Two key defensive stops continued Jesuit's incredible run through the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A playoffs as the Rangers toppled Klein Collins, 28-21, on Friday night at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. Friday's win brings the Rangers into uncharted territory as the Jesuit is headed to the regional finals for the first time in program history. 

Senior EJ Smith accounted for all four Jesuit Dallas touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Smith scored three rushing touchdowns and caught a 95-yard pass from fellow senior Rance Holman, which stands as Jesuit's longest scoring play of the season, to give Jesuit an early, 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Smith would finish the game with 62 rushing yards and 103 receiving yards. Holman completed nine passes for 103 yards, helping Jesuit total 342 yards of offense.

Jesuit jumped on the board early on a nine-yard touchdown run by Smith with 8:21 remaining. After a Klein Collins punt was downed at the Ranger five-yard line, Holman found Smith with separation down the sideline for his 20th touchdown pass of the year, spotting the Blue and Gold a 14-point lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening quarter.

With time ticking away in the fourth, Jesuit faced a second-and-seven from their own 41-yard line. Senior Christian Allocco brought the Ranger fans out of their seats with a 37-yard reception on a jailbreak screen to bring the Rangers into the red zone. Smith then scored his third rushing touchdown of the game to give the Rangers a seven-point lead with under a minute left. Klein Collins tried to tie the game in the waning monents of regulation, but a pass by Klein Collins quarterback Colby Powers in the end zone was intercepted by sophomore Robert Fitzgerald with nine seconds left.  

Offensive Line Leading the Charge: Jesuit's offensive line, led by senior starters Branson Hickman, David Morales, Gabe Morales, Jacob Phillips and junior starter Ryan Lengyel, have cleared the way for the Ranger offense throughout the first two playoff games. In the playoffs, Jesuit is averaging 5.1 yards per carry while racking up 658 yards. Jesuit has scored 12 rushing touchdowns during the postseason.

Hit the Ground Running: During the postseason, Jesuit Dallas has outscored opponents, 100-59. A key component of that success has been the first quarter, in which the Rangers have scored a total of 45 points, averaging 15 points per game in the opening 12 minutes, compared to 14 points scored by opponents. Throughout the 2019 season, Jesuit is 8-0 when scoring first, and have scored first in all three postseason games.

Going for Broke: Jesuit enters Saturday's game with a 7-for-7 success rate in fourth down conversions. In both the area round against Longview and last week's game against Klein Collins, the Rangers scored their first touchdown of the game on a fourth down. Against Longview, Smith broke off a 41-yard run on fourth-and-two for Jesuit's game-opening score before a nine-yard touchdown run last week against Klein Collins, a touchdown scored on fourth-and-four in the first quarter.

Up Next: The winner of Friday's game will advance to the UIL Division 2-6A State Semifinal game against either Denton Guyer and Amarillo Tascosa. The Wildcats and Rebels will square off at 11 a.m. on Saturday at The Star in Frisco, Texas.