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RANGER FIELD REPORT
FIRST QUARTER SURGE CATAPULTS RANGERS PAST PEARCE: Jesuit scored on its first offensive play and never looked back, securing a 55-34 win over J.J. Pearce in the district opener for both squads on Friday at Postell Stadium. The Rangers erupted for a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and averaged over three minutes per drive with their final three drives of the game in a convincing performance, dominating from start to finish en route to securing their second straight win.
The Ranger rushing attack combined for 292 yards and six touchdowns on the night, led by senior Jake Taylor, who racked up three touchdowns and 100 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Senior Charlie Clements scored two touchdowns, including an outstanding 75-yard breakaway scamper in the third quarter, and finished the contest with a team-high 125 yards on eight carries. Junior Robert Fitzgerald added his fifth touchdown of the year to cap the line of Jesuit's scoring rushers. Senior Sam Morales tacked on 32 yards to help push the pace of the game in the fourth quarter, averaging 3.6 yards per carry.
Senior Kyle Heckel opened the scoring with a 45-yard touchdown pass to junior Cole Younger, while junior Gage Roy finished the game 10-for-17 with 162 yards and a touchdown pass to fellow junior Hunter Krepp. Taylor also led the Rangers in receiving, catching a team-leading four passes for 47 yards. Senior Parker Brown averaged 39.7 yards per punt and recorded touchbacks on five of his nine kickoffs.
Fitzgerald also contributed heavily on the defensive side, recording a team-high 11 tackles and tipping a pass that led to an interception by senior Jack Judson. The senior linebacker, who earned Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of the Week honors after his performance against Plano East, racked up seven tackles ,a sack and two tackles for loss. Senior Cooper Manning and junior Landon Usry recorded their first interceptions of the season, while senior Pierce Jackson picked up eight tackles.
PUTTING THE CAR IN DRIVE: Jesuit Dallas has averaged 2:16 per scoring drive this season, scoring on 12-of-13 visits to the red zone this year. The defensive prowess has paid dividends for the Blue and Gold; after starting scoring drives on average at their own 31-yard line over the first two weeks, the Rangers have seen their scoring drives start on the 44-yard line against Plano East and J.J. Pearce.
LATE SEASON GAMES RESCHEDULED: After a district-wide vote, Jesuit Dallas has moved its final two games of the season, a move which will see the district play its final 12 games over the span of 15 days. Jesuit's Thanksgiving week contest against Irving, originally scheduled for 1 p.m. on Nov. 27, has been moved to the same time on Nov. 25, while the team's regular season finale against Richardson moves to a 7 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 30 from its original Dec. 4 date.
UP NEXT: Jesuit will square off with MacArthur for the first time since 2015 on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. Rangers and Cardinals split the 2014-16 district alignment series, with MacArthur picking up a 69-30 win over the Rangers on Oct. 31, 2014 before Jesuit returned the favor with a 40-14 victory over the Cardinals on Oct. 29, 2015.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Lake Highlands Running Game Powers Past Cardinals: The Wildcats recorded the highest single-game rushing total in the district on Friday, amassing 478 yards in a 44-19 win over MacArthur. Noelle Whitehead led the charge with 32 carries for a district season-best 297 yards, averaging 9.28 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns.
Coulson Shouldering the Load: Senior quarterback Mitch Coulson has emerged as one of the top dual threat options in the area with nearly 995 all-purpose yards. Coulson has secured a 68 percent completion percentage with 391 passing yards and four touchdowns, adding 477 yards and a team-leading 12 touchdowns on the ground and five catches for 127 yards. However, Coulson has thrown three picks on the year, two of which came last Friday against MacArthur. Coulson has continued a strong career for the Wildcats this season, following an all-district first team junior campaign that saw Coulson rush for over 1,000 yards.
Aiming to Make History: Lake Highlands reached the area round for the first time since 2009 last season, dropping a 36-27 contest to Flower Mound Marcus after upending Mansfield Summit, 35-19, in the bi-district round. Over its history, Lake Highlands has won one state championship (1981) and has not advanced past the area round wince 2008.
Up Next: Lake Highlands will continue the season against the other two teams in the top half of the district standings, battling J.J. Pearce on Nov. 6 before squaring off with district rival and stadium co-habitant Berkner on Nov. 13.
RANGER RIVAL REPORT
Recaps Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News
Berkner 21, Irving 10: Devin Joshua rushed for 206 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Richardson Berkner (2-2, 1-0) over Irving (0-3, 0-1) in a District 7-6A game at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Joshua scored on runs of 4, 33 and 11-yards. His final two scores came in the fourth quarter, and erased a 10-7 deficit. Shane Anderson led Irving's attack with 70 yards rushing, including a 44-yard touchdown, while Caden Horne added 66 yards on the ground. Berkner defensive lineman Jeronimo Montenegro was a defensive standout and helped limit Irving to 211 yards of offense.
Richardson 21, Irving Nimitz 12: Quarterback Aaron Bertrand rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns to lead Richardson (2-2, 1-0 District 7-6A) to a 21-12 victory against Irving Nimitz. In the middle of the third, Eric Williams scored a touchdown to bring Nimitz (1-2, 0-1) within two, 14-12. But Bertrand scored his third and final rushing touchdown at the end of the third quarter to help Richardson extend the lead and secure the district win. Nimitz's Anddy Molina kicked a pair of field goals in the opening half, but Richardson responded with two second-quarter touchdowns to take a 14-6 lead and rode a strong defensive effort the rest of the way.
Lake Highlands 44, MacArthur 19: Noelle Whitehead toted the ball 32 times for 297 yards as Lake Highlands cruised past Irving MacArthur 44-19 for a District 7-6A opening win at Joy and Ralph Ellis Stadium on Friday night. Whitehead scored a pair of touchdowns and averaged over nine yards per rush. The Lake Highlands defense forced four turnovers and safety on their way to pitching a shutout in the second half as Lake Highland scored 23 additional points to pull away. Lake Highlands quarterback Mitch Coulson ran it 14 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns. Irving MacArthur forced three turnovers of their own and a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown from Roland Jackson just before halftime kept them in the game. Lake Highlands moved to 4-0 with the win, while MacArthur fell to 0-3.
Flower Mound Marcus 55, Flower Mound 14: LSU commit Garrett Nussmeier threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns Friday as Marcus downed rival Flower Mound on the road, 55-14, in both team's District 6-6A openers. The win gives Marcus a 12-9 overall lead in the Mound Showdown series and a second consecutive win over its rival. California commit J. Michael Sturdivan paced the receiving effort for Marcus with 10 receptions for 93 yards, while Tyler Schott hauled in six catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus also received multiple defensive scores, including a 15-yard interception return by Mark Vassar in the second quarter en route to a 34-7 halftime advantage and a 21-yard return to the house by Christian Espinoza to open the scoring in the third quarter. For Flower Mound, quarterback Nick Evers threw for 156 yards, including touchdown passes to Landon Weidner and Walker Mulkey.
