A couple of early miscues put Jesuit Dallas in a hole on Friday, and Lake Highlands never extended a lifeline.
The Wildcats pulled away for a 52-21 victory in a showdown between unbeaten rivals in District 7-6A at Ranger Stadium.
Chuck Smith threw five first-half touchdown passes as Lake Highlands capitalized on consistently favorable field position in a game the Wildcats (5-1, 3-0) never trailed.
The Rangers (2-4, 2-1) turned the ball over on downs in their own territory due to errant punt snaps on each of their first two possessions. Lake Highlands took advantage, reaching the end zone four times on its first nine offensive plays.
“Anytime you play a good team, you can’t have mistakes,” said Jesuit head coach Brandon Hickman. “We knew we were going to have to play really well to beat this team. They’re very talented and have really good athletes. But I was proud of the way the kids fought. There’s a lot to build from.”
After the Wildcats went ahead 14-0 midway through the first quarter, Jesuit answered immediately with a 77-yard touchdown strike from Beck Berry to Shane Parker.
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However, on the very next play, the Wildcats stretched the margin to 21-6 on a 63-yard scoring scamper by Christian Rhodes.
Such was the pattern that prevented a Jesuit comeback — every time the Rangers threatened to close the gap, it seemed the Wildcats had a response.
Jesuit mounted an impressive 20-play, 83-yard drive — featuring a trio of fourth-down conversions, including a fake punt — that consumed almost eight minutes and culminated in a scoring plunge by Berry early in the second quarter.
But again, the Wildcats struck quickly. After a failed onside kick attempt by Jesuit, Smith connected with Rhodes for a 52-yard touchdown.
The Rangers added a touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Berry to Cade Kirby on third-and-long just before halftime. Berry finished 13-of-26 passing for 197 yards.
It turned out to be their final score of the night, although Ben Phillips provided a defensive highlight with a late fumble recovery.
“We kind of settled into the game. I was pleased with the way we did that,” Hickman said. “The second half, we couldn’t really muster up anything, and we had trouble stopping them.”
Lake Highlands controlled the tempo after the break with a ball-control attack that simply ran out the clock and extended its winning streak to five games.
Smith, a Highland Park transfer with 20 touchdown passes already this season, completed 19 of 28 throws for 262 yards, doing almost all of his damage before halftime. The same is true of Rhodes, an SMU commit who ran for 102 yards on just nine carries.
Franklon Evans added three touchdowns for the Wildcats (two receiving, one rushing), while Mason Spangler tallied a game-high six receptions for 82 yards and a score.
The loss keeps the Rangers squarely in postseason contention as they face a short week of preparation for a Thursday game at Irving MacArthur.
“We’ve got to move on. We’ve got four games left and have to take them one at a time,” Hickman said. “We control our own destiny.”
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