With a final score that more resembled a basketball game, Jesuit remained undefeated in district play, triumphing over Richardson J.J. Pearce’s Mustangs 74-52 on Senior Night.
Jesuit (4-3 overall, 4-0 district) held off a hard-charging J.J. Pearce (2-5, 1-3) attack in an offensive showcase that featured 11 lead changes, with the two teams combining for 1184 yards and 126 points. The Rangers’ ground game again led the way, gaining 408 yards and 7 touchdowns, while averaging an impressive 9.3 yards per carry. Senior halfback Evan Jackson led the charge with 4 touchdowns on 170 rushing yards, and added a fifth on a reception. Quarterback Jacob Palisch ’17 also finished with 257 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while rushing for another 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ranger offense started quickly, driving 58 yards in just under two minutes as Evan Jackson ’17 ran for a 5-yard touchdown and Palisch scrambled for a two-point conversion. The Mustangs didn’t hesitate to show they were up for a fight, returning the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to move to within a point. Pearce then recovered a fumble on the Jesuit return to regain possession in Ranger territory before a 42-yard touchdown pass gave them the lead, 14-8.
Jesuit got back to work on offense, putting together a 68-yard, 11-play drive that culminated with a Palisch completion to Fletcher Rosenbleeth ’18, who then eluded multiple defenders en route to the end zone.
The teams continued to trade points, as Pearce quarterback Gray Rodgers took control of the next drive, completing three passes and rushing for a 24-yard touchdown to retake the lead before Evan Jackson caught a 7-yard touchdown pass to end the quarter ahead 22-21.
Neither team showed any signs of slowing, as the second quarter began with a Pearce 59-yard touchdown pass before Rosenbleeth caught his second touchdown of the game, a 63-yard catch-and-run. The Mustangs continued to attack through the air, completing 5-7 passes for 72 yards on the way to another score. Jesuit again responded, as John Wunderlick ’17 broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run.
The Ranger defense held Pearce to a field goal on the next possession, setting up the offense to take a 6-point lead into halftime as Evan Jackson punched in a 3-yard score. Another defensive stop gave the Rangers the ball back with :47 left on the clock, but they were unable to move into field goal range before time expired in the half.
Halftime gameplan adjustments proved successful, as the Rangers forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, and after the offense tacked on a field goal, they held Pearce to one first down on the next possession. Wunderlick and Palisch then split six rushes, including a 10-yard score, gave the Rangers a three-score lead.
Pearce responded, however, scoring and forcing a three-and-out to keep the game competitive. After a well-placed punt by Palisch to down Pearce at their six-yard line, Pierce Strong ’19 picked off a pass at the Pearce 45 to end the third. The teams traded three-and-outs before Palisch dashed 45 yards for his second rushing touchdown. Pearce answered with two big plays, a 27-yard rush and 43-yard completion by Rodgers to score, making it 67-52 with 5:52 to play.
Evan Jackson broke off a 42-yard touchdown run, the team’s 7th rushing touchdown, on the third play of the ensuing drive, to put the Rangers up by 3 scores, before the defense halted Pearce’s final effort with two sacks to seal the victory, 74-52.
Defensive lineman Andrew Miskell ’17 (3 sacks) remarked on the defensive challenge early in the game, saying, “Pearce came out with something we had not planned for in practice, so we had to change up our scheme. After halftime, we had a new gameplan, and we shut them down after making the adjustments.”
Head Coach Brandon Hickman echoed this sentiment: “Our coaches made some great adjustments at halftime,” he said. “I thought in the second half, we came out and took over the game, and forced some turnovers, and kept clicking offensively.”
On the positive takeaways from the game, Hickman said, “It was nice to see our kids handle the adversity in the first half and not panic. That will help us down the road,” he continued, because “sometimes things don’t always go according to plan and you have to adapt and overcome. I thought our guys did a great job in that area, which as a staff, we are very proud of.”
“This game as a whole was probably one of the biggest games this season,” said defensive lineman and captain Jack Metz ’17 (7 tackles, 3.5 for loss). “Even though we have played teams like Desoto and Lake Travis, we never truly faced much adversity in those games.” Against Pearce, he said, “we came out slow in the first half, and they got after us, but in the end we overcame the adversity and came out on top. This was a huge win for us.”
Offensive lineman Dalton Allen ’17, also a captain, remarked on the team’s focus moving forward: “Even though both offense and defense did some really good things out there in order for us to get the win there are still some things both sides of the ball can improve on. The most basic and most important thing that we can improve on as a team is our energy level and physicality going out there on Friday nights against every team we play.”
“I think the lesson we learned is to never underestimate the opponent, and we have to start better in games,” Hickman said. “We had a couple of shifts in momentum that kept them alive in the first half. The good thing is, in football you play 4 quarters and in the second half, our guys took over the game and executed.”
“The competitiveness of this game gave us a wake up call,” said Miskell ’17. “We have a target on our back so we have to come out with intensity and energy every game.”
Rosenbleeth, who finished with 4 receptions for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns, commented on the effect of the offensive performance: “This kind of high scoring game definitely gives our offense momentum moving into the next game.” He concluded, “we learned [from this game] never to take a team lightly, despite their record, treat each game like it’s State, and view every team as an obstacle in our way to [winning] district, and then State.”
The Rangers play the first of two consecutive road games on Friday night, taking on Lake Highlands at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.
