RANGER FIELD REPORT

Jesuit Shuts Out Richardson to Close Regular Season: Junior Robert Fitzgerald scored a 79-yard touchdown on a first quarter punt return, sending an jolt through the Rangers that helped the Blue and Gold secure a 42-0 win in the regular season finale against Richardson on Wednesday. Jesuit enters the postseason as the top seed in District 7-6A Division II and will host a bi-district round playoff game against Arlington on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.

Jesuit's defense provided yet another stellar performance, recording nine tackles for loss as a team and holding Richardson to only 78 yards of total offense. Senior Pierce Jackson led the team in tackling for the second straight game with eight stops while senior Peter Melle racked up seven tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Senior Sy Mendenhall picked up three tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and interception while classmate Jack Judson forced another fumble and tacked on six tackles. Senior Cooper Manning picked up his second interception of the season, senior Chase Jackson made five tackles, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage, and Fitzgerald added five stops to his all-around effort.

Senior Jake Taylor led the way on offense with three touchdowns on 21 carries, closing out the regular season with 137 yards. Junior Gage Roy was proficient once again behind center, connecting on 15-of-25 pass attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown to junior Cole Younger. Taylor added a team-leading five receptions for 62 yards while junior Hunter Krepp caught two passes for 51 yards. Junior Parker Brown went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, connecting from 26 and 34 yards out while senior Kyle Heckel picked up a blocked extra point attempt and dove into the end zone for a two-point conversion right before halftime.

Historic Defense Earning its Keep: Jesuit Dallas shut out three consecutive opponents for the first time since 2015 after Monday's win over Richardson. During the three-game streak to end the season, Jesuit held opposing offenses to less than 100 yards per game (86.7) held opponents to a 6-of-33 conversion rate on third downs, 0-for-5 on fourth downs and only had to defend its goal in the red zone once, an attempt that proved fruitless for Berkner on Nov. 20. By comparison, the Ranger offense scored on 15 of 16 trip to the red zone and have averaged 48.7 points per game during the final three games of the regular season.

Not Playing Possessed: The Ranger offense has methodically put points on the board during the district season and have done so without the benefit of time of possession. Jesuit was outpossessed by nearly six minutes per game in the first half during the district season, and only held a majority of possession in the dstrict opener against JJ Pearce (Oct. 23).  

Playoff History: Jesuit Dallas has reached the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years, reaching the regional final for the first time in program history last season. The Rangers have won seven straight bi-district round games entering Friday's contest and have picked up 10 wins in the playoffs over the last nine seasons.

Up Next: The winner of Friday's playoff game will play either Denton Guyer or Coppell next week in the UIL Division I Area Round. Time and location have yet to be determined. Denton Guyer and Coppell will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Denton, Texas.

NUMBER OF THE GAME: 167:21

Jesuit Dallas enters the playoffs with a streak of 167 minutes and 21 seconds without allowing a point to end the regular season. The Rangers last surrendered points in the third quarter of their seventh game of the season, scored on a 29-yard touchdown run by Nimitz running back Michael Romero.

SCOUTING THE COLTS

Sims Leading the Colts Following Stellar Regular Season: Senior quarterback Kris Sims heads into the 2020 postseason with 1,376 passing and 478 rushing yards to his credit. Sims, who was a second team all-district pick last year, threw a season-best 258 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-20 passing against Grand Prairie (Oct. 23) and rushed for a season-high 179 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season finale against Arlington Lamar (Nov. 20).

Aiming for a Return Trip: Arlington reached the regional semifinals for the second time in three seasons last year, closing out the season with a 9-4 overall record. The Colts are looking to improve upon that with their seventh straight playoff appearance, and have the potential to reach the regional final for the first time since 2009 while hoping to earn the program's first state semifinal berth since 1994.

Colt Defense Standing Strong: Heading into Friday's game, Louis Alexander currently leads the team's defensive line and linebacker corps in tackles with 78.5 stops on the year. Richard Toney, a three-star Nevada commit, has five interceptions on the season, including a pick-six against Grand Prairie (Oct. 23), and is the overall team leader with 85 stops the year. Junior linebacker EJ Higgins curently leads the team with five sacks while free safety Demarea Turner is second on the squad with 71 tackles.

Well Tested: This season, Arlington has faced two state-ranked teams; first in non-district against Cedar Hill on Oct. 2 and a showdown with district rival Arlington Martin on Oct. 16. The Colts are 0-2 against state-ranked teams this season.

BREAKING DOWN DENTON GUYER VS. COPPELL

Denton Guyer, a state finalist in 2019, returns to the postseason with championship aspirations and begins the playoffs against Coppell. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Denton, Texas.

The Wildcats are led by senior Texas A&M commit Eli Stowers, who has thrown for 10 touchdowns with 1,678 passing yards on the season along with 623 yards nad 13 touchdowns on the ground. Stowers is the No. 5-ranked dual style QB in the nation and the No. 14 overall rated player in the state. Guyer has outscored opponents by nearly 20 points per game this season and have only suffered two losses to state-ranked teams; a 23-20 setback to No. 1-5A Denton Ryan and a 56-38 loss to No. 4-6A Allen.

Coppell finished the season with wins over Plano East (49-26) and Flower Mound (51-28) to earn the last playoff spot for District 6-6A. Quarterback Ryan Walker is currently 10th in the area with 2,050 passing yards while running back Jason Ngwu is eighth in the area with 1,077 rushing yards on the season.