Denton RC High School

I've pondered that question after watching his team get gutted by Ryan on Friday. What do you tell those kids to keep them going?

We all know what happened to this team. A consistent playoff threat turned into a doormat (in more sports than just football) when Guyer opened. Transfers were allowed. Most of them went from Denton to Guyer. Denton's numbers plummeted in athletics and Guyer's ballooned to 5A numbers (Shh! Don't tell!)

The good news is this is probably the worst year the Broncos will have to endure. The freshman team has been competitive. The current senior class was the last group allowed to transfer. Couple that with new zoning and Denton should start to rebound.

But without a serious influx of new students, rebounding means rebounding to maybe a 5-5 record. Denton's numbers will slowly build back up, but who knows when they'll get back to normal and what that will actually mean on the field for the Broncos.

There wasn't a whole lot of action in Week 5 as the six-team districts typically take their byes in Week 5, but it's only the calm before the storm as we have plenty of good matches up coming in the next two weeks.

Ryan 58, Denton 14
The second half of this game featured seven drives, one being a one-play drive where Denton scored on the first play. Why were there so few drives? Because both teams were trying to end the game before it got out of hand, because this was an embarrassing mismatch. That's not the way it's suppose to be in a three-high school district.

Wichita Falls Rider 31, Guyer 28
Guyer again showed some grit by making this game after falling behind in third quarter. I'm not trying to take anything away from Guyer, because this was another example of the Wildcats being a legitimate playoff contender, but at what point do we start considering Rider overrated? That was suppose to roll through this district, and they have two wins all season by a combined six points.

Lake Dallas 42, Wichita Falls 21
Speaking of overrated Wichita Falls teams, the Coyotes were suppose to be an easy pick to make the playoffs. Now they're a team that takes its frustrations out on poor Denton. As for Lake Dallas, we'll find out a lot about the Falcons in the next two weeks as it hosts Ryan on Friday and then takes on Guyer.

Aubrey 35, Fort Worth Southwest Christian 14
The Chaps were up-and-down in nondistrict play, but after this thumping of Southwest, Aubrey enters 10-2A play with a 3-2 record. This was clever scheduling on Daryl Hellman's part as it gives the Chaps some confidence heading into district. The best thing to come out of nondistrict for Aubrey: Chase Bray. The Chaps have a quarterback. That will take them a long way.

In my Lake Dallas-Old High gamer that will be in the morning paper... Wichita Falls scored its final touchdown with three seconds left against the Falcons' second-teamers. I can admit, I'd doubted Lake Dallas' defense all season thus far, but tonight they were ready to go.

With that said, the Coyotes were without their starting quarterback, which made them a severely one-dimensional team, along with their best wide receiver, who missed the entire second half and a bit of the second quarter. Now, I'm not saying the Coyotes would've won the game with those players -- they wouldn't have stood a chance. But we'll see how far the Falcons' defense has come next week when they face Ryan. That game should be a shootout of epic proportions.

Again, sorry for the spacing issues, but you get the picture. I can tell you this much: I can't wait for C.H. Collins in two weeks when Guyer and Lake Dallas face off.

District Overall
W-L W-L PF PA
Lake Dallas 2-0 4-1 218 157
Wichita Falls Rider 2-0 2-3 133 144
Ryan 1-1 4-1 277 156
Guyer 1-1 4-1 136 112
The Colony 1-1 4-1 169 95
Wichita Falls 1-1 2-3 157 163
Denton 0-2 0-5 69 250
Little Elm 0-2 0-5 68 233

0:03 4Q: Anderson just scored from a yard out to make the score 42-21. Game over.

5:07 4Q: Michael Murray just boomed a 63-yard punt, Lake Dallas' first of the night, down to the 1-yard line.

7:11 4Q: Caleb Cade just picked off a pass and Lake Dallas has the ball at the WF 47-yard line. The backups are in now. Franklin is out, Beggs is out and most of hte starting WRs.

8:08 4Q: The Falcons just scored on a 9-play drive, capped off by a James Franklin pass to a wide-open Joey Knight. Knight ran a short little post.

11:52 4Q: Falcons get the stop and the ball at their own 24-yard line.

12:00 4Q: To start the fourth quarter, WF has the ball on the LD 23-yard line facing 3rd-5. This would be a key stop for the LD defense's confidence.

Third quarter

Offensive backups are in for Ryan.

6:57
With Ryan Salter and Maurice Young paving the way, Ryan drove the field and set up a Christihan Guifarro 23-yard field goal.

Looks like we got defensive backups for Ryan, too.

1:24
Denton just had long drive end with another turnover on downs. Denzell King paved the way, but three straight incompletions ended it for the Broncos.

Fourth quarter

8:38
Broncos are on the board! Charles Poe caught a pretty 47-yard bomb from Hunter Dozier. A big cheer went up in the press box as it happened.

5:12
A bad punt set up Denton with a short field. The Broncos scored on their first play of the drive, a 33-yard pass from Dozier to Daniel Castro.

This is a tough one to watch. Denton is completely overmatched. Ryan has scored on all six of its drives and scored on a fumble return and a punt return. Denton hasn't scored. The Broncos have 27 players suited up after Phillips' ejection.

I wouldn't expect any offensive starters to play in the second half, maybe on the first drive. Joey Florence isn't one to run up the score, so this will end up being Ryan's second team offense against Denton's starters.

Here are some stats:

Ryan
Scotty Young, 10-for-13, 235 yards, five touchdowns
James Johnson, 4 receptions, 136 yards, two touchdowns
Jay Catlin, 34 rushing yards, one reception, 45 yards

Denton
Hunter Dozier, 3-for-9, one INT, 47 yards
Denzell King, 12 carries, 51 yards
James Taylor, 24 yards, 4 carries
Kevin Harris, 2 receptions, 40 yards

Don't drink the water here in Wichita Falls, if you do, you might be out of commission for a considerable amount of time.

First off, news came down today that Rider QB Shavodrick Beaver, who's committed to Michigan, separated his shoulder and tore cartilage in last night's narrow escape over Guyer. He's set for surgery on Monday morning and will miss 4-6 weeks.

Tonight, WF QB Ben Henderson disappeared after two series, apparently with a separated shoulder. To add insult to injury, the Coyotes lost their most explosive player, wide receiver Antwone Moore, to some kind of leg injury. At first, it looked like cramps but he came off the field not putting weight on either leg. I heard a rumor it might be his AC joint, which I believe is what likely ended Terry Glenn's NFL career.

The Falcons lead 28-7 at the half, but it could be much worse. The Falcons got two fumble recoveries in WF territory but gave the ball right back both times on rare James Franklin mistakes -- interceptions.

This game is the Falcons' to take from this point on. My score prediction is looking somewhat possible although I might've sold the Falcons a little short.

Let's take a look at the halftime stats:

0:00 2Q: Lake Dallas held WF again and the Coyotes got a 56-yard punt from their backup QB down to the LD 1-yard line with 19 seconds left. Franklin ran up the middle and the clock ran out to halftime.

2:07 2Q: Franklin just scored on an identical run to his first touchdown, this time from 5 yards out to make it a 28-7 game. Things aren't looking good for the Coyotes injury-wise, or scoreboard-wise. The TD was set up by a beautiful one-handed grab by fullback Kameron Espinoza on a 29-yard gain down to the WF 4.

4:21 2Q: WF went for it on fourth and failed, but they're in bad shape now. Antwone Moore, the Coyotes' best offensive player came off the field without putting any weight on either leg.

Here we go! Battle for whatever a Volt is! Get that Volt!

Also, folks, my Waxahachie Indians are playing Zach Harrell's Ennis Lions. I need updates, please.

First quarter

11:24
Denton had a mix up receiving the kickoff. No Broncos touched the ball and Ryan recovered. Ryan scored on a 3-yard pass from Scotty Young to D.J. Beshears.

9:17
Denton got a nice first down on a 23-yard pass from Hunter Dozier to Kevin Harris, but went three-and-out after that. Ryan is driving.

8:06
Ryan just scored on a 62-yard pass from Young to James Johnson. Johnson showed some nice vision to get to the end zone.

6:03
Denton was pinned on its own 1-yard line. It tried to trick Ryan by punting on third down. The punt went 20 yards. Two plays later, Young found Bud Sasser in the end zone. This was is getting ugly already.

OK, so we all know Ryan is heavily favored against Denton, but what would it take for the Broncos to pull the biggest upset of the year?

First of all, Ryan would have to play just awful. The Raiders turned it over seven times against a state-title contender in Wichita Falls Rider last week and still only lost by three. To give away a game against Denton, Ryan would have to not only have to turn it over a bunch, but miss tackles, be disengaged with the game and be freakishly overconfident.

On the flip side, Denton would have to play out of its mind. I'd say a successful game plan against an offense like Ryan would need to be similar to the Giants' plan against the Pats in the Super Bowl. The Broncos need to be conservative on offense, not make mistakes and capitalize on their chances when they get them.

Unfortunately, I am. Nothing's worse as a sports writer than covering a game that features not much defense because before you can write something down and digest what happened, something else happens. I get the feeling that's what tonight's game between Lake Dallas and Wichita Falls will resemble.

The Falcons, ranked No. 9 in The Dallas Morning News' Class 4A area poll, sport the Metroplex's fourth best offense at the 4A level, averaging 457.6 points per game led by James Franklin. The Falcons' dual-threat QB has already surpassed the 1,000-yard mark through four games and has tossed 10 touchdown passes, six of which were to his favorite target Joey Knight, former member of NKOTB.

The Coyotes (2-2, 1-0) hung 76 points on Denton last week. I'm not sure what that tells us, but they do have a history of having some offense in the past. They're led by QB Ben Henderson and receiver Antwone Moore.

Here's how I see this game playing out: Neither team excels on defense, but the Falcons' offense is much more potent. I think we're looking at about a 48-21 Lake Dallas win,which would be like heaven compared to last night's 65-64 Denison win over McKinney. I'm just glad I didn't have to cover that.

Nick Gholson, famed veteran of the Wichita Falls Times Record News, and veteran of countless Olympic games, including this year's Beijing games, chimed in with his prediction. Lake Dallas 31, Wichita Falls 14.

I just got settled up in the press box of C.H. Collins Athletic Complex for The Battle of the Volt (what's a "Volt"?). The teams are on the field warming up and I'm ready to see my friends from Denton High tonight.

I have a special affection for Denton High because it was my first beat as a professional sports writer when I started at the DR-C in 2006. Broncos head coach Randy Patzkowski helped me immensely when I was a jittery first-timer.

Unfortunately for Denton, I can pretty much tell you what's going to happen tonight. Ryan will go full-throttle for a half, build a 42- to 49-0 lead, and then call off the dogs in the second half.

It's a shame this rivalry has been watered down to that. We all know Denton's numbers are way down in every sport. It hurts the football team the most because it needs the most players. Hopefully with the new zoning boundaries, Denton can rebound and be the proud team it was when Herman Johnson and Anthony Alridge were donning the purple and gold.

Checking in with our old 5-4A friends tonight, I heard this nugget. Denison, which was a team on the rise last year before realignment took them and Sherman to the Frisco/McKinney district, has already whipped Wichita Falls this year and is 5-0 on the season.

The Yellow Jackets' junior running back D.J. Jones, who's only played in four full games this year due to a first-half suspension in the opener and blowouts that took him out of two fourth quarters, had a game tonight that will go down in Texas prep lore.

The speedster led Denison to a 65-64 win over McKinney with 12 carries for 272 yards and four scores -- at halftime. Three of his first five runs went for touchdowns of 70, 77 and 73 yards. He finished the game with...drumroll... 30 carries for 434 yards, 7 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown on a 27-yard screen pass -- his lone reception.

One of the goals tonight was to get the ball in receiver Luke Russell's hands more. The inside receiver is probably Guyer's most dangerous home-run threat on offense. Tonight, he caught four passes for 31 yards and carried the ball seven times for 24 yards, mostly from the quarterback position.

1. John Walsh was really angry with himself after that game. He feels he lost them the game. I tend to think it was a botched punt and a defensive lapse in the third quarter, but he has a point. Assuming everything else was equal, Guyer could've tied the game at the end had they gone for two to make it 31-15 and gotten two more 2-pt conversions.

2. This Guyer team is incredibly scrappy. It appeared it just wasn't their night after Rider went up 31-7 after the Wildcats played toe-to-toe with the Raiders in the first half to a 14-7 deficit, which should've been a 14-7 lead for Guyer.

3. The naysayers need to admit they're wrong. Guyer just battled one of the top teams in all of 4A (despite their record) to the bitter end. Next week's game at Denton is a win, which will have Guyer at 5-1 heading into the matchup with Lake Dallas, which at best will be 5-1.

The onside kick didn't go 10 yards and it's now Rider's ball at the Guyer 47. One kneel and it's over. Great fight from Guyer, as yet again, they owned the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Rider owned the third and they had a key mistake at the end of the first half that was a 14-point swing.

0:06 4Q: From the Rider 15 yard line, Smith found Harkins on a jump ball in the back of the end zone for the score. It's now a 3-point game, but with 6 seconds left they'll need another onside kick and then a miracle.

1:03 4Q: Guyer appeared to pull within 3 when Smith found Russell, who found Daniel Harkins for a 27-yard touchdown. It was called back because of holding and illegal procedure.

1:47 4Q: Guyer got the onside kick and will take possession on the Rider 49. It was a perfect kick and bounced off a Rider defender. It was receovered by Antonio Burton.

That turn of events near the end of the half was a huge misfortune for the Wildcats, but for some reason Rider wasn't calling any of its two timeouts on Guyer's final drive of the half when the Raiders could've gotten the ball around their own 40, more than likely.

It very easily could be 14-7 Guyer right now if not for missing the two wide open passes, but the Wildcats are still very much in this game and have to gain a ton of confidence from that.

I think one thing's for sure, at least 24 minutes into this game, those folks who are still questioning Guyer's legitimacy should be eating their words about now.

Follow the jump to look at some halftime stats.

1:45 2Q: Ouch. That hurts. Guyer just lost a 14-point swing after missing out on a touchdown. Guyer punter Evan Vazquez saw pressure and dropped the ball. He picked it up and attempted to punt it as he was hit by Rider's Mason Deerinwater, who took teh ball 48 yards for a touchdown.

1:56 2Q: Guyer should be leading right now. On 2rd-18, Matt Mose dropped a ball at the 1-yard line. On the next play, Guyer went for it and Marquis Smith slightly overthrew Luke Russell, who was wide open.

2:47 2Q: Guyer just called timeout on the Rider 30. The Wildcats aren't having any success through the air but they're running the ball fairly well. Luke Russell's in at QB again and just scampered on a QB sweep seven yards for a first down on 3rd-6. A halftime lead would do wonders for Guyer's confidence. We'll see if they can get that done.