Jesuit Dallas Game Notes
Jesuit Off to Best Start Since 2015: Jesuit Dallas opened the district season with a convincing, 47-21 win over Pearce on Friday at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. Senior Robert Fitzgerald secured three turnovers in the game, recovering a fumble and snagging a pair of interceptions. With 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Fitzgerald recorded the second pick-six of his career, an electrifying, 38-yard return that put Jesuit up 21-0. Fitzgerald finished second on the team with eight tackles, adding a tackle for loss and pass breakup. Senior Austin Graham led the team with nine stops while senior David Long and sophomore Logan Thompson added six tackles each.
Senior Hunter Krepp kept his streak alive, scoring in his fourth consecutive game with a 32-yard touchdown reception on the third play from scrimmage. Roy would finish the game 7-of-11 from the field with 157 yards and two touchdowns. Jesuit's run game racked up 202 yards and four touchdowns against Pearce, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Junior Cameron Martin led the way with 12 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Martin also led the Rangers in receiving yards, catching the ball three times for 57 yards, including a big 48-yard reception in the third quarter. Junior Charlie Schmidt found pay dirt, finishing the game with five rushes for 41 yards. Roy scored his first rushing touchdown of the year on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter while Fitzgerald tacked on a four-yard run in the opening stanza.
Home Cooking: The Rangers have won six straight regular season home games dating back to the 2020 season. Over those six games, Jesuit has outscored opponents, 46.7 points to 17.3 points per game. The Rangers snapped a two-game losing streak to Lake Highlands at Postell Stadium in 2017 with a 59-35 win during the 2016-18 UIL Alignment.
Go With the Flow: Jesuit Dallas scored a season-high four rushing touchdowns against J.J. Pearce last week, adding a season-best 202 rushing yards. The Rangers have scored two or more passing touchdowns in each of the team's first four games, and nearly doubled their rushing touchdown total on the year on Friday, as the Ranger offense has 10 rushing scores on the year following the win over Pearce.
Fourth-Down Warriors: The Rangers continued their excellence on fourth down attempts, as Jesuit is now 8-of-11 in fourth-down conversion attempts following a pair of successful conversions against J.J. Pearce.
Up Next: Jesuit will return to Postell Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, when the Blue and Gold will welcome MacArthur for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Scouting the Wildcats
Wildcats Remain Unbeaten Against Cardinals: Lake Highlands continued to surge through the early district schedule, easily dispatching MacArthur, 56-10 on Friday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. The Wildcats trailed the Cardinals early, 3-0, after Caden Dotson threw an interception on their first drive, but Lake Highlands scored 28 unanswered points to take control of the game, adding another 28 unanswered points in the second half for the final total. The Lake Highlands defense forced four turnovers while pushing the pace of the game with 30 rushes for 242 yards, averaging 8.07 yards per rush.
The Last Noelle: Senior running back Noelle Whitehead currently leads the district with 71 carries for 736 yards and nine touchdowns, a total that ranks eighth in the area. Whitehead has scored at least one touchdown in four of the Wildcats' five games this season, and rushed for a season-high 241 yards in the team's non-district finale against Plano East on Sept. 3.
Defensive Dominance: Heading into Friday's matchup, Lake Highlands has caused one or more turnover in every game this season. The Wildcats have excelled in district play, as Lake Highlands has forced four turnovers in each of its first two league games of the year. Lake Highlands additionally leads the league in points allowed (13.6 ppg).
Up Next: Lake Highlands will close a two-game road trip against J.J. Pearce, facing the Mustangs on Oct. 7 at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. Last season, the Wildcats upended the Mustangs, 56-42, on Nov. 6.
Ranger Rival Report
Irving Nimitz 27, Richardson 0: Irving Nimitz quarterback Pedro Maldonado put up 164 total yards and two touchdowns, while the defense added a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 27-0 victory over Richardson in the District 7-6A opener for both schools on Thursday night at Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium. Irving Nimitz (2-2, 1-0) had firm control of the contest from the opening quarter, taking a 6-0 lead on a 28-yard touchdown catch by Jeremy Reyes from Maldonado. Maldonado pushed the lead to 13-0 midway through the second quarter with a 34-yard scoring run, with Damian Salas capping the first half scoring with the aforementioned interception return late in the first half. The Nimitz defense allowed just 166 total yards, including a trio of fourth down stops and two forced turnovers. Nimitz tailback Eric Williams, who rushed for a game-high 118 yards, capped the game's scoring with a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter. Richardson (1-3, 0-1) was led by tailback Kaden Alcorn with 73 yards rushing on 17 carries.
Lake Highlands 56, MacArthur 10: Caden Dotson threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns to help lead Lake Highlands (5-0, 2-0 District 7-6A) to a 56-10 victory over Irving MacArthur Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Irving MacArthur came out with some fight and was driving early in the second quarter, but a failed fourth-down attempt deep in Lake Highlands territory followed by a methodical touchdown drive by Lake Highlands changed the momentum of the game. In the end, the Lake Highlands offense proved too strong and the only thing that kept it from scoring on every possession was a pair of turnovers. Running back Noelle Whitehead finished with 149 rushing yards and a touchdown, Jeremiah Richards tallied 147 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Deonte Dean racked up 83 total yards with both a rushing and receiving touchdown. Irving MacArthur's offense was lead by the dual running back attack of Darelle Smith (106 rushing yards and a touchdown) and Jerbrandin Henderson (94 rushing yards) while wide out Bryler Nitcholas hauled in 43 receiving yards.
Berkner 34, Irving 7: Jamaal Saine found multiple ways to make an impact by catching eight passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns as well as punting for just under 100 yards as Richardson Berkner defeated Irving (1-3) to open up district play with a 34-7 at Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium. Berkner (1-4) went into the half up 17-7 and scored 17 unanswered in the second half to solidify their win as quarterback Tom Landry threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Berkner found consistency from multiple levels, including their kicker. Thomas Sylae converted all four extra points and went two for two on his field goal attempts. Berkner running back Omarion Barnes made his impact on the ground, scoring on a 69-yard run a minute into the third quarter. Rashan Daniel ran for 45 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts for Irving.
Recaps Provided by Dallas Morning News
The Last Time They Met...
Jesuit fell one possession shy of toppling unbeaten Lake Highlands as the Wildcats defeated Jesuit, 34-31, on Oct. 30, 2020 at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Junior Gage Roy completed 33-of-46 passes and connected with seven different receivers for his impressive yardage total. Senior Charlie Cook caught the ball 10 times for 161 yards and a touchdown while junior Hunter Krepp added a pair of touchdowns and 123 yards. Senior Jake Taylor caught his first touchdown reception of the year while Kyle Heckel caught four passes for 54 yards.
Junior Robert Fitzgerald racked up 11 tackles, while seniors Pierce Jackson and Peter Melle picked up eight stops each. Jesuit racked up six tackles for loss as Melle joined senior Jack Judson, Major Kent, Graham Bowers, Cooper Manning and junior Kyle Nolan as members of the Blue and Gold that made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
The Last Time at Postell Stadium...
Jesuit Dallas cruised to a 59-35 win over Lake Highlands on Oct. 27, 2017 at Postell Stadium. Senior Fletcher Rosenbleeth recorded the most reception yards since 2013 with a 235-yard, three-touchdown performance, junior Parker Towns excelled behind center, finishing the contest with his fifth 300-yard game by completing 17 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
Sophomore EJ Smith rushed for a career-high 177 yards and four all-purpose touchdowns, contributing to a total offensive effort that finished with 601 yards. Senior Kevin Tabet and junior Andrew Gregory recovered fumbles that led to a touchdowns, while sophomore Christian Allocco snagged a third-quarter interception to shut down the Wildcats' first opening drive of the second half.
