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Ranger Field Report
Jesuit Topples Plano East for First Win of Season: Jesuit's defense held firm in the second half, breaking up several critical third down pass attempts and making a goal-line stand in the fourth to secure a 23-17 win over Plano East on Friday at Kimbrough Stadium in Murphy, Texas. The Rangers close out the non-district slate with a 1-2 record and earn their second straight win over the Panthers.
Senior Jack Judson led the charge for Jesuit's defense, recording 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a safety. Judson has tallied 26 tackles over the first three games of the season, emerging as a key contributor to the Ranger defensive unit. Junior Robert Fitzgerald recorded 10 tackles and two pass breakups, including the game-clinching breakup late in the fourth quarter.
The defensive backfield played a huge role in the win as senior Cooper Manning tacked on two tackles and a pair of breakups, including one in the team's final defensive stand. Junior Max McFarland broke up a critical pass on a third down in the fourth quarter to continue the strong outing by the defensive back corps. Senior Pierce Jackson recorded eight tackles, classmate Major Kent added four stops and senior Graham Bowers contributed a four-yard tackle for loss.
Offensively, senior Charlie Cook caught seven passes for a career-high 117 yards and a touchdown. Junior Gage Roy found Cook for a 39-yard touchdown in the first quarter, finishing the game 15-of-25 for 206 yards. Fitzgerald added two rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive game, leading the wildcat formation to the tune of 11 rushes for 45 yards. Senior Jake Taylor led the team in rushing for the third straight game, posting 57 yards on 12 carries.
Offense Coming Through Unexpected Source: Junior Robert Fitzgerald has turned into a major red zone threat for the Rangers over the past two weeks and currently leads the team with four rushing touchdowns. Finding his success in the wildcat formation, Fitzgerald has averaged 4.9 yards per carry this season and has been a key component of a Jesuit red zone unit that has scored on five of seven opportunities inside the opponent's 25-yard line.
Keeping the Turnovers at Bay: A key contributor to Jesuit's win on Friday against Plano East was the lack of turnovers by the Jesuit Dallas offense. The Rangers are 5-2 over the last four seasons when the team does not commit a turnover while securing a 13-8 record when forcing one or more turnovers.
Up Next: Jesuit will battle currently unbeaten Lake Highlands on Friday in Dallas, Texas at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. The Rangers and Wildcats last met in 2017, when Jesuit upended Lake Highlands, 59-35, in its annual homecoming game on Oct. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Scouting J.J. Pearce
Making it Rain on a Rainy Friday? J.J. Pearce has lit up opposing defenses this season despite its 0-3 record, averaging 40.7 points per game. A key component of that success has come from the Mustangs' passing game, led by senior quarterback Burke Wahlberg. Heading into week five action, Wahlberg ranks ninth in the metroplex with 876 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions, doing so in three games while other members of the weekly DFW listing have four games under their belt. Wahlberg's favorite target, junior Jack Livingstone, ranks seventh in the area with 14 receptions for 369 yards and two touchdowns, and has shown a penchant for the big play by averaging 26.4 yards per catch. Wahlberg raised eyebrows throughout the metroplex in Pearce's week three game against Denton Braswell, when the senior threw for 509 yards and seven touchdowns.
Avoiding Mistakes: J.J. Pearce enters Friday's game with an 0-3 record on the season, suffering a pair of one-possession losses in the non-district portion of this year's campaign. Pearce has committed five turnovers on the year, including two turnovers in its one-possession setbacks to Mesquite Horn and Denton Braswell. Over the past two weeks, the Mustangs have been penalized 20 times for 147 total yards. Although the passing game has produced substantial numbers, the Pearce running game is hoping for a breakout performance on Friday, as the Mustangs have crossed 125 team rushing yards in one game this season; a 35-7 setback to Frisco Wakeland on Oct. 2.
Up Next: The Mustangs will head to Eagle-Mustang Stadium for a district showdown against Berkner on Oct. 30. J.J. Pearce will rotate playing home and away before closing out the district season with back-to-back home games against Nimitz (Nov. 27) and MacArthur (Dec. 4)
The Last Time They Met...
Senior Parker Towns raced into the end zone for a game-winning, 21-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to push Jesuit Dallas past J.J. Pearce, 38-31, on Friday evening at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. The Rangers continue to exhibit a flair for the dramatic after scoring the go-ahead touchdown within the final two minutes of regulation for the second consecutive week.
Sophomore EJ Smith excelled in the backfield for the Rangers (3-4, 3-1), rushing for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Along with 93 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, Towns completed 19-of-25 passes for 205 yards, tacking on a career-best 93 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Senior Fletcher Rosenbleeth added 11 receptions for 116 yards and sophomore Christian Allocco closed the bout with a career-high 10 tackles.
Both teams exhibited a proficiency in the run game, exemplified by Jesuit's 6.3 yards per carry alongside 6.4 yards per rush by the Mustangs. Jesuit finished the bout with five rushing touchdowns, making Friday the first time that the Rangers earned a win without a passing touchdown since last season's homecoming victory over Berkner on Nov. 4. In that game, Jesuit rushed for six touchdowns, closing the contest with 275 team rushing yards.
Ranger Rival Report
Recaps Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News
Lake Highlands 42, Plano 24: Quarterback Mitch Coulson rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns and caught a 65 yard pass for another score, leading Lake Highlands to a 42-24 victory over Plano. Coulson was perfect throwing the ball, completing all seven of his attempts for 83 yards. Lake Highlands and Coulson started the scoring quickly with him breaking away on a 65 yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. Plano managed to trade scores on their first two drives but after Plano's Tylan Hines touchdown run closed the deficit to 14-10, Lake Highlands (3-0) exploded for 21 unanswered points and eventually led at halftime 42-17. Four of Lake Highland's touchdown drives took a minute or less of game time and took only three plays or less. Oliver Towns led the Plano (0-2) offense with 215 passing yards while Hines gained 99 yards on the ground and scored twice. Lake Highland's Noelle Whitehead was a strong complement to Coulson, gaining 102 yards on only 13 carries while Tobias Henry led the team in receiving with three receptions for 52 yards.
Azle 44, Richardson 12: Chris Lee passed for 166 yards and Mason Wyble rushed for 113 yards to lead Azle (2-1) past Richardson (0-2) in a non-district game at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. Azle scored two defensive touchdowns, one on a 45-yard interception return by Bernock Iya and another on a 63-yard fumble return by Logan Strawbridge. Strawbridge also scored on a 9-yard reception off a fake field goal attempt.
Byron Nelson 37, MacArthur 6: Michael Giordano ran for 197 yards and four touchdowns to lead Trophy Club Byron Nelson over Irving Macarthur 37-6 Friday night at Northwest ISD Stadium. The Bobcats (2-1) had a 30-0 lead at halftime thanks to a dominant running attack lead by Giordano. The junior running back had 173 rushing yards and four touchdowns at the half, highlighted by a 66-yard scamper that set up his fourth touchdown.
Woodrow Wilson 47, Berkner 14: Houston Robinson piled up 161 total yards and five touchdowns as he lead Woodrow Wilson (1-0) to a 47-14 victory over Richardson Berkner (1-2) Thursday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Woodrow Wilson controlled the line of scrimmage and the turnover battle as Richardson Berkner struggled to get things going on all sides of the football. Berkner would find the endzone twice in the fourth, but it was too little, too late. Joining Robinson in an impressive ground attack was Nathan Barrilleaux, 121 total yards and a touchdown, and Matthew Jackson, 87 total yards. Richardson Berkner was lead by Devin Joshua, 149 total yards and a touchdown, and Dwight Davis, 80 total yards and a touchdown.
Nimitz 37, Carrollton Creekview 3: Kavon Bartlett totaled 119 all purpose yards with a touchdown as Irving-Nimitz rolled past Carrollton Creekview 37-3 at Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium on Friday night. Irving-Nimitz rushed for 235 yards as a team and a 21-point third quarter with a pair of scores off fumble recoveries put the game away. Carrollton-Creekview fumbled four times, lost three of them and totaled just 95 yards of total offense on the night to Nimitz' 341. Nimitz moved to 1-1 on the season with the win.
Richardson 22, North Mesquite 6: Aaron Bertrand had 193 total yards and two touchdowns to lead Richardson over North Mesquite 22-6 at Memorial Stadium. Richardson (1-2) got on the scoreboard first by capping off a 14-play, 78 yard drive when Bertrand connected with De'Aundre Johnson on an 18-yard touchdown pass. In the second quarter, Bertrand ran for a 9-yard touchdown. North Mesquite (1-3) rallied in the fourth quarter when Cordale Russell scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Liam Thornton. Anthony Vaughn took a 52-yard kickoff return to score to cap off the win for Richardson.
