Ranger Field Report

Inspired Comeback Falls Short in Season Opener: Jesuit Dallas came storming back from a three-score deficit to draw to within seven of Flower Mound Marcus late in the third, but Jesuit suffered a 48-31 loss in the season opener last Friday. The Blue and Gold scored 21 points in the third, the first time since 2017 that the team accomplished that feat, behind a pair of impressive offensive debuts and impactful plays on the defensive end.

Junior Gage Roy completed 24 of 34 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns. Despite throwing two interceptions, Roy still finished with the highest passing yardage for a debuting varsity quarterback since Bo Schneider's 408-yard outing in 2014. Roy found classmate Hunter Krepp for two touchdowns as the junior finished his varsity debut with five receptions for 136 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown catch.

Senior Jake Taylor wasted little time getting back into form, finishing with two touchdowns and 74 yards rushing. Kyle Heckel caught five passes for 53 yards, and carried the ball five times to finish the game with 66 all-purpose yards. Junior Ford Butler caught a 46-yard pass during the Jesuit rally, finishing his varsity debut with two catches for 54 yards. Senior Parker Brown drilled a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter and finished the game 4-for-4 in point after attempts while recording touchbacks in four of his five kickoffs.

On defense, Robert Fitzgerald, snagged his first pick of the season and fifth of his career while adding eight tackles and three pass breakups. Senior Jack Judson finished the game with 10 tackles and forced a fumble recovered by junior Lucas Hernandez. Fellow senior Major Kent led the team with 11 tackles as senior Sy Mendenhall tacked on eight stops.

Second Half Surge: Jesuit scored 21 points in the third quarter of Friday's game against Flower Mound Marcus, marking the first time since the program's bi-district round matchup against Lakeview Centennial on Nov. 17, 2017 that the team scored 21 points or more in the third quarter. 

Home Cooking: Jesuit Dallas has forged a 33-10 record at Postell Stadium since the 2012 season, including a 5-1 mark at Postell Stadium last season. The Rangers finished one game shy of earning its first unbeaten home stand since the 2015 season, when Jesuit earned a 6-0 home record while in a district with Carrollton, Dallas and Irving ISD. 

Up Next: The Rangers will return to the road next Friday to take on Plano East at Kimbrough Stadium. Jesuit and the Panthers have met every year since 2014, a stretch that Plano East has controled with a 4-2 record, but last season Jesuit Dallas snapped a four-game skid against the Panthers with a 41-34 win in the regular season finale on Nov. 8, 2019 in Postell Stadium.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets

Rockwall Opens Season with Win Over Braswell: Quarterback Braedyn Locke threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 59-40 win over Denton Braswell on Friday. The Yellow Jackets leapt out to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back en route to the win over a Braswell team that made the jump from 5A to 6A this season. Locke completed 15-of-27 pass attempts as senior Jax Johnson finished the game with four receptions for 128 yards. Senior Goodnews Iwuamadi finished the game with three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Rockwall was able to secure the win despite allowing 610 yards from Denton Braswell.

Moving On Without a Buckeye: Rockwall won its first game of the season, answering a massive question mark on whether or not the offense would be able to withstand the loss of reigning Gatorade Texas High School Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who began his Ohio State career this fall. The electric wide receiver finished his senior season with 2,161 receiving yards and ending his time at Rockwall with 5,403 yards, the state's third-highest career receiving yard total. Smith-Njigba recorded 248 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns in Rockwall's stunning 60-59 win over Allen in last year's UIL Area Round.

Brooks Takes Over: The Trey Brooks era in Rockwall began with Friday's victory as the former offensive coordinator was promoted to the head position following the departure of former head coach Rodney Webb, who took the same post at Denton Guyer. Brooks was named the Texas Football Assistant Coach of the Year last fall after helping lead the Yellow Jackets to the UIL Division I-6A State Semifinal. Serving as quarterbacks coach since 2015, Brooks has mentored one of the most prolific offensive teams in the Metroplex, most recently coaching current senior Braedyn Locke to a 4,248-yard and 53-touchdown season in 2019.

Ranger Rival Report

Recaps Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News

Lebanon Trail 39, Berkner 14: Quarterback, Drew Martin, led Frisco Lebanon Trail with 100 passing yards and a combined 3 touchdowns in the 39-14 win over Richardson Berkner. After Berkner took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter, Lebanon Trail answered with 3 straight touchdowns including a punt return touchdown by Chinonso Arinze. With a score of 21-7 at halftime, Lebanon Trail came out in the third quarter with a quick touchdown including the 2-point conversion by Keyon Jones. Devin Joshua led the way for Berkner scoring both touchdowns and rushing for nearly all of the team's rushing yards. In a game full of injuries, Lebanon Trail goes home with the easy win on Berkner's home field.

Mesquite Horn 31, J.J. Pearce 24: Charles Demmings came up huge with a one handed, acrobatic interception to thwart a game-tying drive and give Mesquite Horn (1-0) the 31-24 victory over Richardson Pearce (0-1) Friday night at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. Both teams struggled to get going in the first quarter but a 94-yard touchdown run by Camden Tyler early in the second would spark the Mesquite Horn offense and they were able to take a 17-7 lead into the half. Richardson Pearce continued to fight all second half, but Mesquite Horn was always there to answer, including Eddryk Ruff's 53-yard touchdown run with just under four minutes in the game. Ruff finished with 104 yards and a touchdown while Camden Tyler finished with 191 yards and two touchdowns. Richardson Pearce was lead by Burke Wahlberg who threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns, which were caught by Anthony Bohling, Brigg Sears, and Cormac Boylan. Chris Courrage also caught seven passes for 111 yards.

Allen 49, Plano East 26: The Eagles were able to ward off 492 yards of total offense from Plano East, defeating the Panthers, 49-26 on Friday. Plano East quarterback Dylan Hayden completed 18-of-33 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, adding 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Allen quarterbacks Jake Wolff and General Booty combined for 326 yards passing. The Eagles' run game finished the game with 217 yards, as Allen forced two turnovers to secure momentum.

Lake Highlands 49, Mesquite Poteet 20: Mitch Coulson was all over the field with 266 all-purpose yards, three passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns as he led Lake Highlands (1-0) to a 49-20 victory over Mesquite Poteet Thursday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Both teams were able to move the ball in the first half, but a turnover on downs in the first and a fumble in the second cost Mesquite Poteet and proved to be the difference as Lake Highlands took a 21-7 lead into the half. Jaylond Police tried to get Mesquite Poteet back into the ball game with two touchdown passes over 40 yards in the third, but Lake Highlands responded with a touchdown drive and a blocked punt, killing any momentum Poteet had gained. Lake Highlands would add two touchdowns for insurance in the fourth quarter. Lake Highlands had great production from Noelle Whitehead, who had 163 total yards and two touchdowns. Will Hutton and Shamar Donaldson each caught a touchdown pass from Coulson. Mesquite Poteet's Jaylond Police finished with 301 yards and two touchdowns through the air and a rushing touchdown. He was joined by Xzaveon Jeans, 16 carries for 74 yards, and Marcel Jackson, six catches, 129 yards and a touchdown.

Additional Week One Final Scores ** () Ranking Reflects Dallas Morning News Area Ranking**

No. 2 (6A) Denton Guyer def. No. 18 (6A) Hebron, 56-33

No. 1 (5A) Denton Ryan def. No. 7 (6A) Arlington Martin, 47-24

No. 8 (6A) Prosper def. No. 6 (TAPPS) Prestonwood, 24-17

No. 1 (TAPPS) Parish Episcopal def. No. 7 (TAPPS) Bishop Lynch, 43-7

No. 1 Galena Park North Shore def. Shadow Creek, 38-21

No. 4 Austin Westlake def. Schertz Clemens, 53-7