The Rangers dropped their home opener Friday night at Ranger Stadium, falling 51-28 to Rockwall despite a career performance from Running Back Ty Daboub ’27, who rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
This was also a night steeped in history for the Rangers: this marked the first meeting between Jesuit and Rockwall since the 2023 matchup, a game remembered as one of the program’s signature wins, a 60-59 overtime thriller with Charlie Peters at quarterback. Friday’s rematch didn’t produce the same magic as the Yellowjackets pulled away late instead.
Early Wins
The Rangers hung tough through three quarters, closing to within 30-28 midway through the third on an 18-yard touchdown run from Daboub. But Rockwall closed the game on a 21-0 run over the final stretch to secure the win.
“I was proud with the way they played. We played really hard. Nobody gave up… There’s some things we could patch up and get better at but proud of [the team’s] fight” – Head Coach Hickman
Daboub was the engine for the Jesuit offense all night, scoring on runs of seven, 11 and 18 yards. Quarterback JP Livingstone ’28 added 118 yards through the air and a touchdown, connecting with Joseph Konings ’27 on a 10-yard scoring strike in the first quarter that gave the Rangers an early 7-6 lead.
Rockwall Pulls Away
Rockwall answered behind Quarterback Collins Jones, who was responsible for all six of the Yellowjackets’ touchdowns, throwing for 210 yards and five scores while adding 54 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Cayden Castro chipped in 168 rushing yards as well.
“This week showed real progress. The challenge now is stringing that together for all four quarters.”
– WR Kendall Goosetree ’27
On defense, Mack Murphy ’27 led the Rangers with 14 tackles, and Jud Harris ’27 added 10 tackles and a tackle for loss.
Post Game Notes
The loss dropped the Rangers to 0-2 on the season. In some ways it was a tougher outing than last week’s 52-24 defeat at Sachse. Jesuit’s total offense dipped from 346 yards to 293, and its production couldn’t keep pace with a Rockwall attack that racked up 562 yards, including 352 on the ground.
For the second straight week, Jesuit also battled cramping issues, with key players on both sides of the ball forced to deal with them in the second half. It’s a problem that has now affected the Rangers in each of their first two games this season.
What’s Next?
The result leaves Jesuit searching for answers through two weeks of the season. The Rangers have now been outscored 103-52 in their first two games, and both losses have come against teams that leaned heavily on their rushing attacks in the second half, a trend the coaching staff will need to address heading into district play. The new defensive coordinating tandem of Coach Wagnoor and Coach Meeks will look to shore up a unit that has allowed over 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back weeks.
On the other side of the ball, Daboub’s emergence as a workhorse back gives Jesuit a foundation to build around, and the Rangers will need that production to continue if they hope to turn the season around.
Jesuit gets a chance to right the ship at home against Forney (0-2) on Friday, September 11, in a matchup of two winless teams looking for their first victory of the year. Kickoff at Ranger Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
“We know Forney won’t be easy. If we keep trusting each other and playing together, we’ll be ready.”
– LB Jud Harris ’27
Tune into The Roundup for next week’s coverage against Forney!
