Jesuit Dallas vs. Lake Highlands
Friday, Sept. 15 • 7 p.m. • Ranger Stadium

Game Notes: Jesuit Dallas

• Jesuit opened district play with a dramatic, 41-39 win over J.J. Pearce last Thursday. The Rangers withstood a rally from Pearce as junior Noah McGough hit a 27-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in regulation.

• The Rangers enter the matchup with the area's No. 10-ranked offense, according to the Dallas Morning News. Jesuit averages 459.0 yards per game.

• Junior Quarterback Charlie Peters currently leads the area in rushing with 976 yards. Senior wide receiver Cooper Cutler ranks fourth with 376 receiving yards. and junior Zane Williams leads the area in scoring with 50 points.

• Jesuit has won 15 straight regular season home games, dating back to a 55-34 win over Pearce on Oct. 23, 2020.

Quick Notes: Lake Highlands

• The Wildcats upset state-ranked Highland Park, 51-41, last Saturday. The Wildcats secured their first win over the Scots since 1989, fueled by a historic performance by senior running back Deonte Dean.

• Dean currently leads the area with 800 yards on 78 carries, and has scored eight touchdowns on the year.

• Lake Highlands has taken a strong first step to continuing an impressive streak, as the Wildcats have secured 13 straight playoff berths heading into the 2023 season.

• The Wildcats currently own the area's ninth-ranked offense with 465.3 yards per game.

Week Four Players to Watch

Charlie Peters: Currently leads the area with 976 passing yards...holds a completion rate of 69.8 percent (90-of-129), averaging 325.3 yards per game and throwing for 10 touchdown passes this year...threw for a career-high 370 yards and six touchdowns against Rockwall on Sept. 1.

Cooper Cutler: Logged a second straight 100-yard receiving performance on Sept. 7, securing seven passes for 135 yards and a touchdown against J.J. Pearce...currently leads the district in receiving yards with 397 yards on the year, and is tied for the team lead with three receiving touchdowns.

Grayson Wombacher: Secured Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention honors with 14 tackles, adding four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks...currently ranks second on the team with 30 tackles, and is tied for the team lead with four tackles for loss.

Zane Williams: Currently leads the team with 168 rushing yards, and ranks atop the team with 50 points on the year...has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season, including a two-touchdown performance last week against J.J. Pearce.

Quentin Williams: Has secured 12 catches for 126 yards over the last two weeks...secured a season-long, 29 yard reception last week against Pearce...added four consecutive catches on the Rangers' game-winning drive.

Noah McGough: Improved his career clip in field goal attempts to nine made on 12 attempts...converted field goals of 22 and 27 yards for the Rangers, with the later winning the game for the Rangers from 27 yards out with four seconds remaining.

Tristen Bird: Leads the team with 27 tackles...has two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery to his credit alongside four tackles for loss and two sacks...followed his first double-digit performance of the season (12 tackles vs. Rockwall) with a season-high 13 stops against Pearce.

Week Four by the Numbers

2 • Friday's game signals the final meeting of Jesuit and Lake Highlands in the two-year rotation of District 7-6A's most recent configuration. In January, Jesuit Dallas will learn of its new district and opponents for the 2024 and 2025 season. Currently, District 7-6A consists of Jesuit Dallas, Highland Park, Irving ISD and Richardson ISD.

6 • With Jesuit's win over Pearce, the Rangers have won six straight district openers dating back to the 2017 season. For the second straight realignment, the Rangers swept J.J. Pearce, securing a 55-34 win in 2020, a 47-21 win in 2021 and a 40-13 win in 2022 before last Thursday's dramatic, two-point win.

7 • Over the last three seasons, the total point differential in games between Jesuit Dallas and Lake Highlands is seven points. Lake Highlands defeated Jesuit, 34-31, in 2020, before the Rangers secured a pair of wins in 2021 (48-45) and 2022 (32-31).

15 • Jesuit has scored on 15 of its 17 trips into the red zone during the 2023 season. The Rangers have scored 11 touchdowns (six rush, five pass) and have converted four field goals during the early portion of the current campaign.

26 • The legendary Jack Fitzsimmons '76 will return to the airwaves for a special guest appearance on Jesuit Dallas football radio, currently in its 26th season. The Rangers can be heard on 770 KAAM this season, with the team of Fitzsimmons, Tom Walsh, Chris Martinez '78 and Bryan Montgomery calling the action live.

29 • On September 29, Jesuit Dallas and Highland Park will square off in a highly anticipated district matchup. The game will take place at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of SMU, and will be simulcast by WFAA+.

56 • Jesuit Dallas alum Branson Hickman '20, who wore No. 56 during his time donning the Blue and Gold, was named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Rimington Trophy, an award used to recognize the best center in NCAA Division I College Football. Hickman is slated to be the starting center for SMU this season.

98 • Jesuit Dallas football head coach Brandon Hickman currently has 98 head coaching victories, and will target his 100th career victory this season. Additional information can be found on page 10.

Scouting the Wildcats:

• The Wildcats beat Highland Park for the first time since 1989, upending the Scots, 51-41, during a two-day, weather-delayed affair that began on Friday and concluded on Saturday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Lake Highlands was fueled by a historic performance from senior Deonte Dean, who set a program record with 376 yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns. Dean currently leads the area in rushing with 78 carries for 800 yards and eight touchdowns, and averages 10.26 yards per carry over the first three games of the 2023 season.

• Last season, Lake Highlands finished third in District 7-6A, and entered the postseason as the district's top seed in the Division I-6A State Tournament. The Wildcats saw a six-game streak to end the regular season snapped in the bi-district round with a 31-27 loss to South Grand Prairie. Lake Highlands advanced to the area round in 2021, upending South Grand Prairie,29-24 in the opening round before dropping a 49-24 decision to Allen in the area round.

• Lake Highlands is under the leadership of first year head coach Cory Campbell, who was promoted to the head football coach role in mid-May following the departure of Lonnie Jordan, who was named the athletic director at Highland Park ISD. Campbell has been a mainstay on the Wildcats' coaching staff, serving as an assistant coach since the 2010 season while aiding the Lake Highlands to 13 consecutive playoff berths. Prior to his arrival at Lake Highlands, Campbell made stops at Denton, Lake Dallas, McKinney, A&M Consolidated and Sealy. In 2019, Campbell was named the Richardson ISD Assistant Coach of the Year.

Week Three Recap

• Highland Park fell to Lake Highlands, 51-41, despite five rushing touchdowns from quarterback Warren Peck. Finishing the contest with 201 yards on the ground and 121 yards through the air, Peck paced the Scots' offense, but a pair of Highland Park turnovers combined with a historic performance by Dean resulted in Highland Park's first loss to Lake Highlands since 1989.

• Berkner opened district play with a 46-21 win over Richardson at Eagle-Mustang Stadium. The Rams were anchored by running back Jamary Williams, who carried the rock 14 times for 173 yards and found the end zone three times. Quarterback Cornell McGee IV completed 5-of-10 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, hitting wide receiver Jayden Hernandez for a 24-yard touchdown completion. The Eagles were led by quarterback Cole Cage, who threw for 83 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Jaden Pope rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown.

• MacArthur scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:38 remaining, withstanding a second half surge from Nimitz to upend the Vikings, 27-24. Quarterback Tyler Littleton threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns, while Nimitz quarterback Pedro Maldonado threw for 97 yards while tacking on a team-high 138 rushing yards.

The Last Time They Met:

The rivalry between Jesuit Dallas and Lake Highlands has seen several unforgettable classics unfold throughout the years, and the 2022 iteration at Wildcat-Ram Stadium was no exception. In a game filled with big plays and unforgettable performances, a 25-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Noah McGough and a key defensive stop was the difference as Jesuit Dallas upended Lake Highlands, 32-31 on Sept. 16, 2022.

Senior Charlie Schmidt completed 14-of-26 passes for 248 yards, a touchdown and interception, adding a team-best 19 carries for 30 yards and a score. On the first play from scrimmage, Schmidt tossed the ball out to senior Jake Musso, who threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to senior Luke Fawcett to give Jesuit an early 6-0 lead. Schmidt then completed a two-point conversion to Musso, giving Jesuit a critical, one-point lead that would prove circumstantial down the stretch.

Musso would finish an all-around stellar evening with seven receptions for 94 yards and an electric diving touchdown catch, adding six rushes for 18 yards and the touchdown pass. Junior Cooper Cutler racked up a season-high 108 yards, including a career-best 78 yard reception on Jesuit's second offensive scrimmage, while Fawcett tacked on two catches for 67 yards.

Senior Luke Buckner scored his first career defensive touchdown on a 69-yard fumble recovery, collecting the loose ball at the Jesuit 31-yard line and racing into the end zone to give Jesuit an eight point lead early in the second quarter. Senior Roark Holman and junior Fredrick Lucky each secured the first interceptions of their career, with Holman's coming in the end zone late in the second quarter and Lucky's following in the third quarter. Buckner would lead the team with eight tackles on the night, followed by senior Grant Peters and junior Grayson Wombacher, who each recorded six tackles. Seniors Blake Miller, Jameson Kemp and junior Chris Simington made four stops apiece.

Jesuit's defense made two critical stops late in the fourth to preserve the win. Lake Highlands took over possession at its own 28-yard line with three minutes remaining in the fourth. A trio of incomplete passes, including one that was broken up by junior Logan Thompson, gave the ball back to the Rangers. Jesuit had to make one final stop with 2:06 remaining in the game, and forced an incompletion on a fourth-and-12 that clinched the win for the Blue and Gold.