Denton RC High School

In no way am I saying Guyer's program is anywhere near the prestige of Cedar Hill's, which has won a state title.

But there is an interesting dynamic entering Monday's Labor Day extravaganza at Cowboys Stadium, and what many folks are calling the day's best game (that says a lot considering the quality of the other three games).

Cedar Hill enters the game with an 0-1 record after letting one slip away last week against Allen in a game in which the Longhorns had a few too many turnovers to hang on to a lead. Make no mistake about it, Cedar Hill isn't used to losing, and doesn't like being 0-1. And you can be sure of this: Cedar Hill certainly isn't used to going 0-2. I couldn't even tell you the last time that happened.

First off, let me just say that I'm really, really, really glad that this game is at C.H. Collins. No hate on Sulphur Springs, but it'll be nice to go see a football game this week sans the two-hour, gridlocked commute.

As for Ryan, I'd imagine they're pretty glad to be home too. Last week was a pretty solid test for a season-opener on the road. But hey, anytime you can make strides towards establishing your early-season identity and still come out with a win, its a good day. This week, things won't get that much easier against Newman Smith who, last season, finished 11-3 and made it all the way to the 4A Division I regional semis before getting bounced by Longview 28-25.

I just got in from covering my first Ryan volleyball match and, oh boy, you have to feel bad for the Lady Raiders on this one. Facing an talented Liberty Christian squad that has already proven its ability to beat much larger schools after sweeping Denton a few weeks ago, things just didn't pan out for the Lady Raiders in a 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 loss.

Ryan looked a tad confused and out-of-sync for much of the match, falling behind early in the first two set before mounting furious rallies -- only to fall short in the end again. In the third set, they roared out to a quick six point lead only to give up a 12-1 run and drop the final set. Must of that lack of cohesiveness probably came from the loss of senior Halee Clark, who actually showed a ton of grit by hanging in for most of the match despite battling some sort of painful looking illness. She left once in the first set, only to return later and leave again midway through the third. Honestly, she looked absolutely miserable out there but you couldn't help but be impressed by her resiliency.

In all, tough loss for Ryan against a talent Lady Warriors squad that looks to be one of the best teams in its district as the season rolls on. The Lady Raiders, meanwhile, have a week to forget about this one before district play kicks off on Sept. 10 against Wichita Falls. They'll have two more chances to tune up -- against Denison on Friday and Sagniaw Boswell next week.

It was a good Friday for football in Argyle, that's for sure.

Liberty Christian pulled in a nice mid-season honor today after being named the Army Strong Team of the Week by Dave Campbell's Texas Football on the heels of its 50-35 upset win over defending Class 2A state champion Pilot Point. This, of course, comes the same week that Argyle opened its season with 17-14 upset of preseason No. 2 Lovejoy at home. Not bad for a single Friday night.

In doing the Liberty preview for this year's tab, I had a sinking feeling that these guys were going to be pretty good -- even after moving up to TAPPS Division I this season and getting stuck in a district with the top four teams in the state. Jared Lawson and Brett Metzler look like they'll have no problems carrying the load this year after teaming up for 335 yards (221 for Lawson, 114 for Metzler) and five TDs on the ground.

What may make the difference, though, is the playmaking ability of a defense that returned just one full-time starter. The Warriors held Pilot Point scoreless for close to two quarters and added a score of its own when Brad Horton took a Bearcat fumble the other way in his first-ever varsity start.

A representative from the Army will be by later this week to present the award.

Well, with Week Zero (is it Week Zero or Zero Week?) in the books, I thought we'd talk about some of the highlights of the weekend.

1. What was your biggest surprise?? Some of mine include Guyer's easy-as-pie dismantling of Waxahachie, a team picked to win its district that went to the state quarterfinals a year ago. Also, Argyle physically beating up No. 2 Lovejoy. The Leopards entered the season as what I call a "paper champion". They had all the skins on the wall on paper you could ask for as far as returning starters, success last year, etc., but it's a lot different when you have the target on your back, and Argyle showed them why.

2. What was the biggest disappointment? First thing that comes to mind is Pilot Point getting its wheels blown off by Liberty Christian. Sure, it's just the first game, and it's the first game without Jarman Johnson, but it still raises a bit of a red flag for the Bearcats early on. We'll see if they can turn it around Friday against Iowa Park and new head coach (and former WF Rider head coach) Scott Ponder.

3. What were some of the best performances from the weekend? Well, I saw two games, and Argyle's Layton Lowry is ready to be a featured back. He bears some resemblance to Emmitt Smith running the ball, and he even wears No. 22. Also, Argyle safety Storm Griffin had a huge game in the upset of Lovejoy, including the game-sealing interception. Then there's the J.W. Walsh-Quint Gardener connection in the Guyer-Waxahachie game. Walsh finished the night 15-of-20 passing for 340 yards and four scores. Gardener had two of them on five grabs for 145 yards.

Let's hear your thoughts...

Alright. After making it home from East Texas (and filing my story from an Arby's in a gas station at a table coated with roast beef shreddings due to its proximity to the only power outlet in the joint) and taking some time to decompress, I figured I'd say a few more words about Ryan's season-opening 28-14 win over Sulphur Springs.

In summary, it was a solid win. Of course, any win is a solid win, but Ryan went a long way towards answering some of the lingering questions that surrounded it during preseason practices. After the jump, I'll take a shot at breaking down the performance by position to see just where the Raiders shined...and where they could improve.

Wow. That about sums it up.

I'm not sure what to really think of today's game against Waxahachie. Is Guyer that good? Is Waxahachie that bad? Is it a little of both? It's hard to tell right now.

Even J.W. Walsh told me after the game that he didn't expect to have such an easy time picking apart a defense that was a furious Longview rally away from playing Guyer in the state semifinals last year.

The Indians return six starters, including the state's top overall recruit, WR/DB LaDarius Brown, and are picked by DCTF to win their district, so one would've thought they'd give Guyer a hard-fought, great game.

Um, yeah. Not so much, to all of our surprises. Just look at the score predictions in my pregame post from various media superstars. This was a surprise.

Looks like this one is over. Oh the suspense. Our guy at the game, Adam Boedeker seems to be having a few technological issues out there, so he'll be on to follow up later I'm sure. In the meantime, here's the final.

0:00 3Q: Once again, Guyer is on the board on a pretty fade route from Walsh to Gardener -- Gardener's second score of the day and Walsh's fourth scoring toss. Walsh is 15-20 now for 340 yards.

4:54 3Q: The internet comes and goes every second. But I'm fitting this in. Hachie just scored on a 30-yard pass to Ray Tunson.

6:26 3Q: Guyer scores again on a 38-yard catch and run to Josh Stewart. Walsh is 10-13 for almost 300 yards and three scores. Internet is still very shoddy.

We're still at halftime and the internet keeps crapping out, so pardon the delays and downright blog absence should that happen.

Guyer appears to have this in the bag. I'll post updates as often as I can, and when I get home and have reliable internet I'll post some postgame stuff.

0:08 2Q: Guyer takes over at its 32 after another three-and-out. A 14-yard run from Sebastian Williams closed the half. Guyer is in full control of this.

1:03 2Q: Had some blog/internet issues, but back up now, at least temporarily. Guyer just scored again on a 1-yard run from Treavon Walton. It was Guyer's longest drive (9 plays) and it covered 92 yards.

4:08 2Q: Guyer's defense held on 4th-2 from their own 10, stopping Hachie for no gain and now has the ball at the Wildcat 8.

6:28 2Q: Hachie is responding now and has basically abandoned the running game on this drive. Brown just caught his second pass of the game to get the Indians to the Guyer 16 and the Wildcats called a timeout.

Well folks, the season is here for the Guyer Wildcats and the opener will be a good test moving forward as they start their 5A term.

Both teams look pretty good in warm-ups with temperatures pushing 100 degrees and the temps on the turf sure to be nearing 120.

For Guyer to win this game today, their first order of business is going to be containing LaDarius Brown, and as one kind commenter pointed out, it does take more than Josh Stewart, for sure. Guyer has to create a pass rush, which I don't believe should be a big concern with Blake Terry and Jimmy Bean on the ends and a speedy, physical tackle in Dan Kottman.

But make no mistake, Waxahachie is a running team even though its best player is a receiver. And Guyer has long been known for its good run defense, which shouldn't change this season but could, especially with the departure of world-class run stuffer Taylor Bible.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Solid win for Ryan, despite a slow start on offense. In all, I think it showed a serious glimpse of promise for the weeks ahead. Nash Knight played about as well as you could ask for in his first start -- Florence called him a "stud" after the game. The running game started slow, but picked up steam in the second half and helped the Raiders grind out the clock on their final drive. The defense helped to force three turnovers and kept Sulphur Springs scoreless on their first couple of very promising drives.

Remember, this was a team that picked up 7 votes in the preseason 4A AP polls. They're a top-20 team. Not bad for a season opening win.

Also, I'd like to give eternal thanks to one of our esteemed readers, who corrected my mistake in the first half. Despite my efforts to confirm this in the pressbox, the commenter was indeed correct. The second touchdown pass was from Daniel Martin to Mario Edwards, not from Knight to Mohair. My vantage point wasn't so hot on that one, so I missed it. Fortunately, I've got you guys to help me through the learning process, right? In short, my fault. I owe you a beverage of your choice.

FINAL: And thats your game folks. Ryan 28, Sulphur Springs 14. I'm headed down to field level to do some interviews, but I'll be back with some final thoughts here shortly.

And thats the half. Ryan 14, Sulphur Springs 0. (And I do apologize if the updates take a while. Internet isn't cooperating quite like I'd like it to).

A bit of a rocky start here for Ryan. Florence was right, Sulphur Springs is quick. What it boils down to, though, is that when the chips have been down the Raiders have capitalized and the Wildcats have not.

Nash Knight looks to be coming along nicely, though. After a slow start and a few drops, the senior threw one touchdown pass and sits at 10-for-16 with 72 yards. The running game, meanwhile, is MIA. Only 26 yards on 13 carries. Yikes. We'll see if anything gets adjustified at halftime.

0:14 Q2: Wow. Ryan drives down to the Sulphur Springs 18 after a fourth and one conversion by Kamrun Bowen. On the very next play, Knight Daniel Martin hits Trey Mohair Mario Edwards in the back of the endzone as he's being blasted for a touchdown. Great throw and catch. PAT good. Ryan 14, Sulphur Springs 0.

Welcome to East Texas, ladies and gentlefolk, home of the mighty 2008 Class 4A champion Sulphur Springs Wildcats. Its been way, way, way too long but yeah, after about seven months of waiting (and about an hour in traffic on I-30 this afternoon, mind you) its finally football time. The teams are warming up right now, roughly 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Sulphur Springs is sporting a snazzy all-blue combination with a white double 's' on the helmet, while Ryan is decked out in its typical all white away combo and blue helmets. No pride stickers -- yet, anyway.

There you have it. He can appeal, but it's unlikely the UIL will repeal the ruling. He will not play for Southlake Carroll this season. Unfortunate situation for the kid, who's dad appears to be your typical "football/baseball dad" that cares more about the spotlight than his kid.

The vote was 4-3 in favor of ineligibility by the District 7-5A executive committee comprised of principals and ADs from the schools and school districts.

But bad things happen to people who break the rules THREE times. It's no accident or misstep in that situation.

Carroll travels to Copperas Cove tonight and will surely have a lot on its mind other than the game at hand.

The Dallas Morning News' Rainer Sabin had the list of people who voted against eligibility, including DISD AD Ken Purcell:

Voted against Garman's eligibility -- Rose Brenner, Justin Northwest High School principal; Ric Canterbury, Saginaw High School principal; Ken Purcell, Denton ISD athletic director; John Crawford, Coppell ISD athletic director.

I finally made it out to Ryan took the tour today, a whopping one day before the season opener at Sulphur Springs. So on top of things, I know. As I'm sure a few of you gathered, anyway, I'm the brand-spanking new Ryan beat writer here at the Record-Chronicle. I'm still getting up to speed on everything and making the rounds, but here are a few impressions I came away with about Friday's season opener at Sulphur Springs:

There will be a football game on Saturday at 4:30 at Standridge Stadium in Carrollton, in case you didn't know.

Guyer will play Waxahachie, as the Wildcats will wait a week to truly start as a 5A program, as Waxahachie is still a 4A team after being one disappointing loss to Longview away from playing Guyer in the state semifinals last year.

There are several intriguing matchups to watch for on Saturday, but there is one that sticks out like a sore thumb. Follow the jump as the suspense builds.

With the college football season getting underway next weekend, two locals will be big players for the Missouri Tigers in their true freshman season.

Just call it the Denton County Connection.

Lake Dallas-ex James Franklin appears to have the backup quarterback gig locked down behind incumbent starter Blaine Gabbert.

Former Ryan stud receiver Bud Sasser is No. 2 on the depth chart at one of the receiver positions, meaning he'll see some time. It will likely take an injury for Franklin to see significant time, but look out Big 12 North, because the Denton County Connection is coming for you.

For the first time since 2006, the DRC is previewing a Class 5A district.

This should be an interesting race, mainly between the top 3 teams, but it just got a whole lot interesting with Tuesday's revelations of the possible coming downfall of Southlake Carroll move-in quarterback Daxx Garman.

I had already slotted the Dragons in third place in the district before Tuesday, but now it's a sure bet, whether Garman stays on the team or not. That could be decided on Friday with a special meeting of the District Executive Committee, where essentially one vote per school in the district (or school district) will be given after all facts and evidence are presented.

Follow for the predicted order of finish. Some of you may be surprised: