Quick Notes:
• Jesuit returned to the win column with a 58-31 victory over Berkner on senior night.
• The Rangers were led by senior quarterback Charlie Schmidt, who threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns, and senior Jake Musso, who racked up 12 catches for 284 yards and four touchdowns.
• Jesuit's defense forced three turnovers against the Rams, including interceptions by seniors Roark Holman and Luke Buckner alongside a fumble recovery by senior Bo Jouette.
• Jesuit will return to Ranger Stadium next week for its regular season home final against MacArthur. The kick-off for homecoming is set for 7 p.m.
• The Vikings return home to Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium following a 51-6 loss to Highland Park last week.
• Nimitz is under the first year leadership of head coach Mark Small.
• Nimitz's lone district victory of the season came on Oct. 6, when the Vikings upended Irving, 30-25.
• Quarterback Pedro Maldonado ranks 4th in the area in rushing (719 yards) and 6th in passing (964 yards).
Players to Watch:
Charlie Schmidt: Schmidt's 392-yard performance against Berkner is the most passing yards for a Jesuit Dallas quarterback since Parker Towns, who threw for 433 yards against Longview in 2017. The standing UIL program record is 509 yards, registered by Bo Schneider against Plano West in 2013.
Jake Musso: Recorded the team's highest single-game receiving output since 2011 with 284 yards on 13 receptions against Berkner. Musso currently ranks second in the district with 916 receiving yards this season...needs 84 yards to hit the 100-yard mark.
Blake Miller: Has led the team in tackling for three consecutive games...racked up a season-high 11 tackles against Berkner...leads the team with 46 tackles on the season.
Matty Wagner: Caught his fourth touchdown of the season on Friday against Berkner...averages 10.69 yards per catch.
Luke Buckner: Snagged his first interception of the season against Berkner...enters the week ranked fourth on the team with 30 tackles, and ranks second on the team with 4.0 tackles for loss.
Cameron Martin: Currently second on the team with 306 yards on the season...averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 43.7 yards per game...has only lost eight yards rushing this season, with 97.5 percent of his net yardage gained.
Noah McGough: Recorded his second field goal of 40 yards or more with a 40-yard strike at the halftime buzzer against Berkner. McGough's career-long came on Sept. 9 against J.J. Pearce, and McGough is one of only five kickers to hit a field goal of 40 yards or longer since 2015.
Week Nine by the Numbers:
6 • Jesuit has out-possessed its opponent in six of its seven games this season. The Rangers most recently out-possessed Berkner, 24:22 - 23:21, last Friday. Jesuit's best differential came from the Rangers' loss to Highland Park (29:49 - 18:05).
10 • Jesuit has won 10 straight contests against members of Irving ISD, dating back to the 2014 season. Last season, the Rangers out-scored the three members of Irving ISD (Irving, MacArthur, Nimitz), 127-14.
12 • The Ranger rushing attack has racked up 12 rushing touchdowns over the last three games. Jesuit secured seven rushing touchdowns against Irving (Sept. 23), added two against Highland Park (Sept. 30) and scored three against Berkner.
14 • Although they have only recovered five fumbles this season, Jesuit has forced 14 fumbles during the 2021 season. Most recently, senior Oneal Murray forced a fumble against Berkner.
18 • Jesuit Dallas has pieced together an 18-0 record since 2020 when scoring first. This year, the Rangers are 5-0 when striking first in a ball game, and last year the Blue and Gold went 7-0 when scoring first.
28 • In the red zone, Jesuit Dallas has continued to excel this season. Last Friday, the Rangers scored in 6-of-7 trips in the red zone, scoring three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns.
36 • District opponents have converted 36 percent of third down conversions (22-of-61) against the Rangers. By comparison, Jesuit has converted 46 percent of third downs (31-of-68) in district play.
71 • A 71-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Schmidt to Jake Musso last Friday against Berkner stands as the team's longest touchdown pass of the year. The previous mark was 62-yards, from Musso to Luke Fawcett, against Lake Highlands.
Scouting the Vikings:
Vikings Fall to Scots: Irving Nimitz dropped a 51-6 decision to Highland Park last week, falling to 1-5 in district play. The Vikings' lone score was recorded by quarterback Pedro Maldonado on a 39-yard scamper in the third quarter. Maldonado finished the game completing 17-of-35 passes for 171 yards, adding a team-leading 18 rushes for 85 yards and a score. Nimitz turned the ball over three times and allowed a pair of special teams touchdowns, but forced a Highland Park turnover and held the Scots to 177 yards rushing.
Rally Behind Maldonado: Entering this week's games, Maldonado joins Jesuit Dallas quarterback Charlie Schmidt as the only two quarterbacks who rank in the district passing and rushing top 10 leaderboard. Currently, Maldonado ranks fourth in the rushing standings with 124 carries for 596 yards, averaging 4.81 yards per carry with three rushing touchdowns. Maldonado additionally ranks sixth in the passing leaderboard with 933 passing yards on the season.
On the Horizon: Nimitz will wrap its regular season on Oct. 28, when the Vikings travel to Wildcat-Ram Stadium to take on Berkner. Due to the rotating bye week, Nimitz will not play in week 11 of the regular season.
The Last Time at Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium:
Jesuit Dallas opened up Thursday's showdown against Nimitz with 21 unanswered points, and the defense took over by shutting out the Vikings on the second half en route to a dominant, 49-14 win on Oct. 14, 2021 Joy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. The Rangers enter a homecoming night showdown with Berkner unbeaten in district and 5-1 on the season following a fantastic, all-around performance in all three phases of the game.
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. Krepp becomes only the third Ranger since 2013 to hit the 200-yard receiving mark, and the first since Fletcher Rosenbleeth '18 racked up 237 yards against Lake Highlands on Oct. 27, 2017. Senior Robert Fitzgerald scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season, rushing for 130 yards on 11 attempts. Senior Ryan Wombacher added his first rushing touchdown of the season, and senior Jake Musso caught a 21-yard strike for his first touchdown of the year.
Defensively, senior David Long recorded Jesuit's first 15-tackle game since 2019 with four solo stops and 11 assisted tackles. The last Ranger to hit that mark was Tommy Roy '20, who recorded seven solo tackles and eight assisted against Plano East on Nov. 8, 2019. 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.
Ranger Rival Report:
Recaps Provided by The Dallas Morning News
Irving MacArthur 45, Irving 7: Darelle Smith rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns to lead Irving MacArthur past Irving 45-7 at Joy & Ralph Ellis Stadium Friday night. Smith's night was highlighted by two long touchdown runs for Irving MacArthur, one for 52 yards and another for 76 yards. Irving MacArthur (4-3, 3-2 District 7-6A) also had a big night through the air with Glendon Willis passing for 319 yards and a passing touchdown to both Jerbrandin Henderson and Tyler Littleton.Irving MacArthur's defense held Irving to 77 total yards and Ke'shawn Ford and Tristyn Hobbs-White both recorded an interception. Irving (1-6, 0-5 District 7-6A) was led on the ground by Aiden Benavidez who rushed for 42 yards. Connor Martin scored a three-yard touchdown run for Irving.
Highland Park 51, Nimitz 6: Beau Lilly scored three touchdowns, including two on kick returns, as Highland Park pulled away for a 51-6 win over Irving Nimitz. Lilly caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Storer in the first half, helping Highland Park (7-0, 5-0 in District 7-6A) build a 28-0 advantage. Then he added two scores in quick succession in a bizarre sequence to open the third quarter. Highland Park scored 16 points in a 32-second span, starting when Lilly returned the second-half kickoff for a score. Highland Park recorded a safety on the ensuing kickoff, then Lilly scored again on the free kick return. Jay Cox scored twice in the first half on a 2-yard run and a 43-yard punt return. Highland Park ran just 13 offensive plays before halftime but averaged 17.5 yards per snap. Nimitz (1-7, 1-5) dominated time of possession but struggled with turnovers and penalties. Pedro Maldonado threw for 171 yards and ran for 85 yards plus a touchdown.
Lake Highlands 45, Richardson 10: Running back Deonte Dean had 181 offensive yards and scored four touchdowns in Lake Highlands (6-2, 4-2 District 7-6A) 45-10 rout of Richardson (2-5, 1-4 District 7-6A) Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Dean rushed for 137 yards and three scores while catching two balls for 44 yards and a score. Quarterback Tripp Holley completed 11 passes on 18 attempts for 211 yards, including a 53 yard screen caught by Ian Moudy, who dragged a defender 10 yards into the end zone. Lake Highlands gained 428 yards of offense. Richardson rushed for 157 yards on 27 attempts, starting the game off strong taking almost eight minutes off the clock with the first drive and taking the lead before Dean and Lake Highlands took over. In the loss, Quarterback Howard Armstrong rushed for 112 yards and threw a touchdown pass.
South Grand Prairie 44, Arlington 30: South Grand Prairie running back AJ Newberry rushed for four touchdowns and defensive back D'Arius Carmouche made big plays on defense and special teams in a 44-30 victory over Arlington on Friday night at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl. Carmouche had three official interceptions, but he also picked off a PAT attempt and returned it for 2 points to give South Grand Prairie (3-5, 3-1 8-6A) a 37-30 lead with 2:48 left in the game. Newberry's final touchdown run of the game with 2:07 left helped put the game away. Newberry finished with 149 yards rushing. South Grand Prairie's offense finished the night with 404 yards of total offense, including a touchdown and 210 total yards from quarterback Jaden Stanley. Despite producing more yards (425 total yards of offense) than South Grand Prairie, Arlington (4-3, 2-1 8-6A) was unable to cash in offensively on multiple failed fourth-down attempts. Quarterback Sam Semi led the Arlington offense throwing for 220 yards and one touchdown, including 30 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Running back Drelon Burton contributed 97 rushing yards.
Arlington Martin 69, Arlington Sam Houston 14: Arlington Martin continued its dominance over Arlington Sam Houston Friday night at Choctaw Stadium with a 69-14 victory. Martin (6-1, 3-0 District 8-6A) was led by junior QB Tristan Bittle, who completed six of 10 passes for 142 yards including a 37-yard touchdown strike to Logan Baresh in the second quarter. Martin led 46-14 at halftime. Mekhi Sanford ran for 103 yards and two scores, also passing for 45 yards and a touchdown in a back-up roll. Bittle was also one of nine Martin players who combined for a total of 310 yards on the ground. Donnavon Williams scored both touchdowns for Sam Houston (0-8, 0-4), and finished with 96 yards on the ground and 50 yards receiving.
Arlington 28, Grand Prairie 21: Robert Brown ran for 149 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 43 seconds left as Arlington Lamar (3-4, 2-1 District 8-6A) avoided the upset against Grand Prairie (0-8, 0-4 8-6A) in a 28-21 win Friday night at Cravens Field. Brown's game-winner came from 6 yards out, capping an 11-play drive after Arlington Lamar recovered a fumble on the punt return for Grand Prairie. Brown had three touchdown runs Friday. Averaging more than four yards per carry, Brown was the focal point of Arlington Lamar's offense with 33 touches. The offense got extra opportunities with its defense creating four turnovers. Offensive linemen Isaiah Robinson, committed to Baylor earlier this year, left the game in the second quarter with a right leg injury. He left the field on his own power but didn't return. Running Back Michael Carter kept Grand Prairie in the game with his 105 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
