Week Eight Recap: After opening the game with 21 unanswered points, the Jesuit defense took over by shutting out the Vikings on the second half en route to a dominant, 49-14 win at Joy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. Senior
Gage Roy completed 19-of-25 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, including 10 receptions that found their way to senior
Hunter Krepp, two of which resulted in touchdowns. Senior
Robert Fitzgerald scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season, rushing for 130 yards on 11 attempts.
Defensively, senior David Long recorded Jesuit's first 15-tackle game since 2019 with four solo stops and 11 assisted tackles. Long would assist on two sacks with fellow senior Lucas Hernandez, who finished the game with a sack and two tackles for loss. Senior Austin Graham finished the contest with nine tackles as junior Grant Peters picked up seven stops on the night. Sophomore Dylan Drennan made his varsity debut as the team's kicker, averaging 54.3 yards per kickoff on seven attempts and going 6-for-6 in point after attempts.
Scouting the Rams:
Berkner Hopes to Keep Momentum Following Bye: The Rams moved their traditional week four bye to last Friday, as Berkner battled Lake Highlands on Sept. 17 instead of their original competition date of Oct. 14. Berkner dropped that matchup, 52-0 to the high-powered Wildcat offense, but have rattled off a trio of impressive wins to put themselves into the playoff picture in District 7-6A. Most recently, Berkner upended Richardson, 47-28. In that matchup, Berkner caused three turnovers, scored four rushing touchdowns, and saw quarterback Thomas Landry complete 11-of-16 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Taking Over The Throne: Trey Bryant III has sparked the Rans during his first season at the helm of the Berkner football program. Bryant was named the head coach at Berkner on Mar. 29 following the retirement of Jim Ledford, who was the head coach at Berkner for 21 seasons. Bryant's football journey began at Berkner, where he was defensive standout who eventually signed with Baylor University. After graduating from Baylor, Bryant signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent before playing for the Kansas City Command of the Arena Football League. Bryant's coaching resume includes a stop at Plano West as the special teams coordinator for the Wolves before his most recent posting as the defensive coordinator at McKinney H.S.
On the Horizon: Berkner faces a tough final three games of the season as the Rams will follow its matchup against Jesuit with battles against MacArthur and Nimitz. The Rams are looking to secure their first playoff berth since 2011 this season, and currently need two wins over their final three games to be assured of their spot in the postseason.
The Last Time They Met...Jesuit earned its first shutout since 2018, 51-0, over Berkner on Nov. 20, 2020 at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Jesuit's defense held Berkner to 142 total yards, including 41 yards through the air and 101 yards on the ground. A complete team effort, four members of the Jesuit defense recorded five or more tackles, led by junior David Long's 10 stops. Senior captains Jack Judson and Peter Melle recorded seven tackles apiece, Judson added a team-leading 1.5 tackles for loss while Melle complimented his tackle total with a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries.
Senior Pierce Jackson recorded five tackles with a tackle for loss, followed by four tackles from junior Robert Fitzgerald and three tackles apiece from seniors Graham Bowers, Grayson Coke, Cooper Manning, juniors Lucas Hernandez and Charlie Freeman. Tackles for loss were recorded by Bowers, Freeman, Hernandez, seniors Chase Jackson, Sy Mendenhall, Ryan Graham and junior Ryan Allred. Senior Parker Brown made a huge impact on special teams, recording touchbacks in five of his eight kickoffs while adding a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Gage Roy continued to excel behind center, completing 14-of-19 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Roy connected with junior Hunter Krepp for two touchdowns as the junior racked up 54 yards on four catches. With his two-touchdown performance, Krepp becomes the first Ranger since 2017 to secure eight receiving touchdowns in a single season.
The Last Time They Met at Postell Stadium...In front of an inspired homecoming crowd and using a game ball delivered via helicopter by professional golfer Jordan Spieth '11, the Jesuit Dallas football team closed their second consecutive unbeaten district season with a 51-26 victory over Berkner on Nov. 4, 2016 at Postell Stadium.
The Ranger run game paid dividends, combining for six total touchdowns. Jesuit was led offensively by senior John Wunderlick, who scored three times while racking up 198 yards. Fellow fourth year Evan Jackson hit the 1,000-yard mark for rushing yards this season with 79 yards on Friday, finding pay dirt twice. Senior quarterback Jacob Palisch scored Jesuit's final rushing touchdown, adding 244 yards through the air on 18-of-26 passing.
Jesuit's defense forced three Berkner turnovers, including fumble recoveries by seniors Jack Lynch and Luke Nolan and an interception by Ranger fourth year John Guzman. Senior Matt Eubanks led the team with 10 tackles, followed by nine tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage and a forced fumble, for fourth year Michael Schoettmer. Damien Cunningham also forced a Berkner Fumble, posting two solo tackles.
Ranger Rival Report
MacArthur 48, Irving 26: Jerbrandin Henderson rushed for 129 yards and four touchdowns to lead Irving MacArthur (2-5, 1-3 in District 7-6A) past Irving at Joy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. Glendon Willis passed for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Henderson scored on runs of 7, 5, 1 and 49 yards. Willis completed touchdown throws of 9 yards to Cam Marzell, 15 yards to Tyler Littleton and 18 yards to Kylale Flye. MacArthur took advantage of four Irving fumbles, converting each of them into touchdowns. Irving (2-5, 1-3) scored four touchdowns in a seven-minute span to take a brief 26-21 lead in the second quarter. Austin Williams recovered a fumble, and returned it 43 yards, Jose Diaz returned an interception 20 yards, and Adrian Medina completed 57 and 67-yard scoring tosses to Kyle Sampson.
JJ Pearce 52, Richardson 13: Daiquan Landon rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns as Richardson Pearce posted its first win of the season, 52-13, against crosstown rival Richardson. Landon posted 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half before bouncing off a tackler at the line of scrimmage and scampering 69 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the second half to stretch Pearce's lead to 31-7 with 7:30 remaining in the third. Hayden Hawthorne returned from a three-week absence to pass for 241 yards and two touchdowns, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Oliver Crawford. Pearce (1-6, 1-3 District 7-6A) controlled the game with five scoring drives of 12 plays or more. Richardson (1-6, 0-4) turned the ball over twice in the first half inside Pearce's 30-yard line. Howard Armstrong led Richardson with 93 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Arlington Martin 68, Arlington Bowie 14: Zaire Barrow scored three of Arlington Martin's eight first-half touchdowns in a 68-14 win over Arlington Bowie (1-5, 0-3) Friday night. After forcing an Arlington Bowie punt, Cydd Ford connected with Barrow on an 18-yard pass on their second play from scrimmage. On their next possession, Javien Toviano scored on a 44-yard touchdown run. Ford and Barrow connected again on their next possession on a 28-yard screen pass. Barrow completed the first-half scoring on a 12-yard halfback pass from Tristan Battle. Battle led Arlington Martin with 141 rushing yards and two touchdowns, in addition to throwing two touchdowns. Arlington Martin (6-2, 4-0) scored on eight of their nine first-half possessions and amassed 260 rushing yards in the first half. Dominick Battle led Arlington Bowie with 150 rushing yards, including a 70-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Grand Prairie 25, Arlington Lamar 20: Quarterback Savion Red broke loose for three big runs in the second half as Grand Prairie (5-3, 4-0) defeated Arlington Lamar (1-6, 1-2) 25-20 to stay undefeated in district play. Red had touchdown runs of 69, 63 and 51 in the second half alone. He finished the night with 268 yards rushing and four scores. Running back Drew Damper added another 189 yards on the ground. Grand Prairie finished with 482 rushing yards total. For Lamar, quarterback Jaden Morris went 14-of-22 for 211 yards and a touchdown. Running back Laron Hulet tallied 80 yards rushing and a score. Receiver Branden Bias caught six passes for 84 yards.
South Grand Prairie 42, Sam Houston 21: Quarterback Michael Stallworth threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another as South Grand Prairie (5-3, 2-2 in 8-6A) coasted past Arlington Sam Houston (3-4, 0-3) 42-21 Thursday night at Wilemon Field in Arlington Junior running back AJ Newberry added 117 yards rushing and a score as SGP broke a two-game losing streak and strengthened its playoff hopes. Sam Houston, which lost its third game in a row after starting the season 3-1, had jumped on top with a quick score on its first drive to go up 7-0. But South Grand Prairie got two big plays on special teams to quickly turn the game around. An 86-yard kickoff return by Jayden Stanley tied the game before a fumble on the ensuing kickoff set up a 5-yard TD pass from Stallworth to Matthew Ramirez to put South up for good. In the second quarter, a 58-yard touchdown run by Stallworth and a 13-yard pass from Stallworth to Duncan Kantenberger helped to give SGP a 28-14 lead at intermission. The South Grand Prairie defense played a large part in the win as well. After allowing a score on Sam Houston's opening drive, the South defense held Sam Houston to only one other score until late in the game. Senior quarterback Justin Tone threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD as well in the loss for Sam Houston.
Next Week...Jesuit Dallas will face another shortened week, as the Blue and Gold will return to Joy and Ralph Ellis Stadium in Irving for a 7 p.m. matchup against Irving on Nov. 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. as the Rangers will begin a two-game road trip to conclude the regular season. Last year, Jesuit defeated Irving, 53-0 on Nov. 25 at Postell Stadium, but the Tigers have shown a spark this season, snapping a long losing streak with a 35-34 win over Dallas Molina in week two before securing a district victory over Richardson.
The Rangers will finish the regular season on Nov. 4 against Richardson. The Rangers will clinch a playoff berth with a win against Berkner on Friday, and will have the opportunity to clinch their first district championship since 2016 with a win over the Rams this week followed by a victory over the Tigers next Thursday.
