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Guyer focusing on JT’s speed

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Guyer defensive end Thomas Ferguson (17) celebrates with linebacker Terence Belton (24) after sacking the Birdville quarterback on Saturday at Dragon Stadium in Southlake. This week, the Guyer defense must prepare for one of the fastest offensive units its seen all year. (David Minton/Denton Record-Chronicle)

There are several key matchups and aspects of Friday’s state semifinal game between Guyer (12-2) and Tyler John Tyler (13-1), but the biggest, most broad one has to be the contrast of the teams’ style of play.

Guyer, as always, is huge up front on the offensive line, averaging well over 260 pounds per guy on the offensive line. John Tyler, as typical for an East Texas team, is speedy all over the field, particularly on offense. They’re a passing offense but QB Greg Ward basically just throws 5-10 yard passes and lets his receivers break tackles and go to the house.

Message board talk suggests Guyer is in trouble because of the way the Wildcats played against Cedar Hill in the season opener and because John Tyler beat Guyer, 42-7, in a 7-on-7 game this summer.

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Stewart, Walsh earn Big 12 accolades

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Oklahoma State receiver Josh Stewart, right, dives in for a touchdown against West Virginia on Nov. 10, in Stillwater, Okla. Stewart, a former Guyer standout, scored three touchdowns in the Cowboys' 55-34 win. (Brody Schmidt/Associated Press)

Things are going pretty for Guyer High School football right now, as the Wildcats are in the Class 4A Division I regional final on Saturday and two of the program’s more successful alumni were honored on Big 12 all-conference teams on Wednesday.

Oklahoma State sophomore Josh Stewart was named to the first team of the Associated Press Big 12 team after finishing in the top-10 nationally in receptions (96) and top-20 nationally in receiving yards with 1,154 while adding seven touchdown receptions during the regular season.

His former, and current teammate J.W. Walsh was named the Big 12′s Offensive Freshman of the Year (not a raunchy joke-telling freshman) on the Big 12 coaches’ team after leading the conference in pass efficiency, throwing for 11 touchdowns and three interceptions while finishing third on the team in rushing and scoring seven times on the ground in nine games this season.

Walsh took over for an injured Wes Lunt against Louisiana-Lafayette and lit up the Cajuns before making three straight starts. His starting run came to an end when he broke his leg against Iowa State but still managed to throw for 400 yards and finish the game.

Local fans will be able to see Stewart and Walsh in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which will be played at the Cotton Bowl against Purdue on New Year’s Day at 11 a.m.

 

Weekend recap: Last Team Standing

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Guyer wide receiver Ellis Jefferson escapes a tackle from an Aledo defender last week at Northwest I.S.D. Stadium. The Arizona State pledge has stepped up his game in a big way this postseason, thanks in large part to the fact he's actually starting to get the ball now that games are closer and more hotly contested. (MIKE MEZEUL II/SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR )

After losing to Argyle for the last two years, the Gilmer Buckeyes finally figured out how to stop Argyle from kicking Gilmer out of the playoffs like a guest that had overstayed their welcome.

And out in Midland, Guyer kept its grand hopes of winning a state title alive after beating the  Amarillo Sandies (Solid nickname) at Grande Communications Stadium. Here’s the recap by Adam Boedeker and I.

Class 4A Division I regional semifinal

Guyer 38, Amarillo 30

Adam Boedeker: I’ll tell you what, I was thoroughly impressed with both of these teams. It was a clean game with minimal penalties and only one turnover. That turnover, in fact, was a pretty key that I totally forgot to mention in my game story. Amarillo fumbled on the game’s first offensive snap and Domenic Pickering recovered giving Guyer a short field to take an easy 7-0 lead right off the bat. At that point, it seemed the expected rout was on. Boy, was I and a lot of other people wrong. Amarillo came to play, and did everything they had to do to give themselves a chance, except finish drives.

The Sandies came away with three field goals after dominating Guyer in time of possession (which was their goal). They out-gained Guyer and had more first downs. But Guyer came up big when it counted and got huge games from D.J. Breedlove, Jerrod Heard and Ellis Jefferson. On the defensive end, Guyer was gassed at times and struggled at times, but Terence Belton was a man out there.

Ben Baby: If you’re going to beat a team as strong as Guyer, you’re going to need to score a few touchdowns in order to hang with one of 4A’s best teams.

Stalling out inside the red zone isn’t going to help matters. At all.

Let’s see: Amarillo had three drives ending inside the Guyer 15-yard line and came away with short field goals on all three trips. That won’t cut it.

Amarillo only had one turnover, only punted the ball once and had more total yards than Guyer. But the Wildcats, behind QB Jerrod Heard’s 155 rushing yards, strolled to the victory.

We’ll see how good both Guyer and Birdville are when they play next week. Winner plays Tyler John Tyler in the state semifinals.

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Argyle vs. Gilmer, Part III

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Argyle will look to continue the streak Austin Aune (2) started two years ago and top Gilmer for the third straight year. (David Minton/Denton Record-Chronicle)

It’s almost that time of year again. You know, the time of year when we start figuring who’s holiday gifts we’re going to return, who is going to have to put up with “those” in-laws and what resolutions we plan on breaking in 2013.

Oh, and it’s also time for Argyle and Gilmer to play some postseason football. This year, that might be one of the best presents anybody could ask for.

The two teams meet for the third straight year, and this year has the chance to produce the best game of the three meetings. And the hype has been around for more than a week, producing a heated 22-page forum thread (click at your own peril).

So, I feel it’s only fitting to recap the first two meetings for any newcomers to what’s becoming one of the state’s best 3A rivalries.

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Guyer gets another “season-definer”

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Guyer wide receiver Quint Gardener (5) celebrates with teammates as he hugged by quarterback J.W. Walsh after catching the game-winning touchdown in the final 17 seconds of the Class 5A Division II state semifinal game between Guyer and Longview at SMU's Ford Stadium in Dallas on Dec. 11, 2010. Denton Guyer defeated Longview 28-27. (Brendan Sullivan/The Dallas Morning News)

As Guyer prepares to face Amarillo in a Class 4A Division I Region I semifinal (say that three times fast), the Wildcats can’t continue to ride high on the momentum they created for themselves last weekend by knocking off three-time defending 4A Division II state champion Aledo and ending the Bearcats’ 19-game playoff win streak.

But since I don’t have to prepare for Amarillo, I can.

No one expected Guyer to manhandle Aledo like it did. Though the final score only showed a 12-point difference, the feel of the game was that of a four- or five-touchdown game. It was supposed to be a game that could’ve been for the state championship but one of those games that would be unfortunate to have a loser, especially that early in the playoffs. But after Friday’s game, there was no feeling sorry for Aledo and second-guessing the way the bracket set up. Guyer was hands down the better team.

What will that win do for Guyer’s confidence moving forward, with four more wins needed to claim a 4A Division I state championship? Just ask Guyer head coach John Walsh, who’s seen these types of games before.

“I think these kind of games propel you to bigger things,” Walsh said after the win on Friday. “I think in those three years we made deep runs [2008-2010] we always had to beat a Cedar Hill or a Flower Mound Marcus. There’s always someone we had to beat, and those games just give you great momentum. I’m really proud of how our coaches and our whole program handled it today.”

So I thought I’d look back on those three seasons when Guyer went to two 4A state semifinals and one 5A state title game and see where the marquee, “season-defining” wins came.

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Weekend recap: Argyle and Guyer advance, Ryan and LD ousted

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Ryan quarterback Mitchell Bridges throws against L.D. Bell in a bi-district playoff football action at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Nov. 17. (Brad Loper/The Dallas Morning News)

After two rounds of the playoffs, Argyle and Guyer remain as the lone area teams left in the state football playoffs. Ryan and Lake Dallas were knocked out of the postseason after two thrilling games. Adam Boedeker and I break down what happened this weekend.

Cedar Hill 48, Ryan 35

BB: Those Ryan Raiders have had a knack all year of proving me and just about everybody else wrong.

And they were about 13 points away from shocking just about everybody and defeating a strong Cedar Hill squad with one of the most talented offenses in the area.

I had originally thought this game wouldn’t be close, that Cedar Hill would overpower Ryan early on and run away with the win. That didn’t happen.

Instead, Ryan (6-5) countered the Longhorns after every touchdown and when the Raiders trailed by 21 at halftime, they didn’t collapse. Ryan outscored Cedar Hill in the second half, but Ryan’s first half was just too much to overcome.

An onside kick by Cedar Hill after its first touchdown, and a Ryan fumble on a kickoff late the second quarter gave Cedar Hill the ball at the Ryan 14 and they scored in two plays.

Conventional wisdom says if Cedar Hill doesn’t score those two TDs, Ryan ends up tied with Cedar Hill in the fourth quarter. But Cedar Hill’s offense was just too good.

AB: First off, big-time kudos to Joey Florence and the Ryan Raiders for a season that not many saw coming. This Ryan team just seemed to bond really well together and play with great chemistry and genuine love for one another, something that might not have exactly been the case last year.

After seeing Cedar Hill trounce Guyer and an inexperienced defense still trying to find its way early in the season, I knew the firepower the Longhorns had offensively, but having seen them four times in three years, I also know they can fail to show up at times in big games, which I figured would have to happen for Ryan to have a shot. Turns out, Ryan had a shot just playing them straight up, and though I never saw him play I think Mitchell Bridges could be one of my favorite players in our area. Dude seems like an awfully gritty guy that can also hold his own at the quarterback position. Continue reading →

Saturday morning thoughts: Ryan-Cedar Hill

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Brandon Harris, left, and Laquivonte Gonzalez look to lead the Cedar Hill Longhorns past the Ryan Raiders on Saturday afternoon. (Steve Hamm/Special Contributor)

We’re a few hours away from kick-off, so that must mean it’s time to dissect today’s Class 5A Division II area match-up between Ryan and Cedar Hill at Southlake’s Dragon Stadium at 2 p.m.

Let’s go ahead and preface this abridged preview with something Ryan ehad coach Florence said earlier in the week. When he asked how daunting a task it will be to face Cedar Hill (7-4), Florence responded by saying,

“We’re going to have to play a perfect ballgame. There’s no doubt.”

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Lake Dallas, Krum in playoff action tonight

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Lake Dallas and Krum will get a jump on the remainder of Denton-area playoff teams tonight when both will be in action.

Lake Dallas takes on Saginaw Boswell at 7 p.m. in a Class 4A bi-district clash at Justin-Northwest. Krum meets Celina at 7:30 p.m. at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

Lake Dallas (6-4) will be meeting a Saginaw Boswell team that is 8-2 and the District 6-4A runnerup.  Tonight’s winner will move on the face the winner between Waco and Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt next week in the area round.

Krum is 9-1 for the season after suffering a heart-breaking 20-19 loss to Gainesville two weeks ago that decided the 9-3A championship. Celina is 8-2 for the season and is coming off a 45-7 loss to Argyle last week in a game that decided the 10-3A title.

The Krum-Celina winner will move on to the area round and will face the winner between Dallas Madison-Bonham next week.

If you can’t attend one of these games, join us here and we will keep you updated on these games.

 

 

 

Thursday’s Playoff Preview

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Graysen Schantz and the Lake Dallas Falcons face Saginaw Boswell tonight, while Krum plays Celina to kick-off the playoffs. (David Minton/Denton Record-Chronicle)

Tonight marks the first batch of playoff games, the first sign that fall is truly here and winter’s soon approaching.

Krum (9-1) plays Celina (8-2) tonight at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex at 7:30 p.m., while Lake Dallas plays Saginaw Boswell at Justin Northwest ISD’s Stadium.

For starters, we’ll be blogging tonight’s Krum-Celina game and keeping tabs on the Lake Dallas contest, so if you can’t find a jacket and don’t feel like bracing the cold, we’ll be on the blog to keep you company.

OK. Let’s dive into the two games we have going on tonight.

Lake Dallas vs. Saginaw Boswell, Class 4A Division II bi-district round

Boswell comes out of an atrocious District 6-4A, where the Pioneers finished second behind Birdville, the only team to beat Boswell in district play.

Boswell’s lead by their quarterback Zach Files, who has thrown for 26 TDs and 7 INTs this season. Files also leads the team in rushing with 453 yards.

Files’ two most used weapons are Jerrell Fisher (42 catches, 713 yrards, 9 TDS) and Scott Moody (34 catches, 696 yards, 10 TDs). Boswell’s offense is averaging 48 points per game and has scored at least 50 points on six different occasions.

Now, things may not be as easy against a Lake Dallas defense that’s allowed 24.9 points per game. That defense is without defensive lineman Luke Medlicott, who tore his ACL midway through the season.

Still, DE Graysen Schantz has piled up 12 sacks and 28 quarterback hurries this season. If Lake Dallas is going to win, Schantz and the rest of the defense has to contain Boswell’s offense in order for the Falcons to have a chance at advancing to face either Waco or Fort Worth Wyatt.

Krum vs. Celina, Class 3A Division II bi-district round 

Now if you’re in the immediate Denton area and have no plans for tonight, you should be at C.H. Collins tonight. It should be a fun, not just because it has the potential to be a really good game, but because I fully expect both towns to show up in their respective colors for this one.

If you didn’t read the story in today’s paper about the game, go check it out.

In Krum’s loss to Gainesville two weeks ago, Krum’s rushing attack wasn’t near as potent as it was all season. Senior running back Reed Flores was “stifled” for 116 yards and Krum (9-1) scored two defensive touchdowns and no rushing touchdowns. Krum DB Travis White has had a stellar year with eight interceptions through 10 games, so we’ll see if Celina decides to throw the ball in his general vicinity.

Celina (8-2) hasn’t been overly impressive and got pummelled by Argyle 45-7 for the District 10-3A title.

Let the playoffs begin.