Steady Denton Guyer pulls away from Saginaw

By Randy Sachs

Special to the Star-Telegram

JUSTIN -- Denton Guyer and Saginaw took advantage of each other's turnovers early, but it was Guyer that made the most of the added possessions en route to a 42-14 victory in a Class 4A Division I bi-district playoff game at Northwest ISD Stadium on Friday.

Guyer quarterback Jerrod Heard had the first turnover on a fumble on the opening drive but settled in afterward. He would score the Wildcats' first TD in the first quarter on a 2-yard run.

Guyer (9-2) took advantage of an interception at the Rough Riders' 23, needing just three plays before Nate Maki scored on an 8-yard run.

A fumble thwarted a deep drive by Guyer but pinned Saginaw (8-3) at its 11. Russell Murphy responded with an 89-yard TD run on first down to pull the Rough Riders to within 14-7.

But Guyer came right back with a 73-yard drive to score just before halftime.

The drive included a fourth-and-9 conversion as Heard went 5 for 5 passing on the drive, including a 7-yard scoring strike to Ellis Jefferson to cap the drive.

Saginaw came out in the second half with its best drive of the night, but a fumble gave Guyer the ball at its own 2.

Guyer drove 98 yards on 14 plays, capped by Richard Whitaker's 13-yard run around the left side, for a 28-7 lead.

Heard added a 3-yard TD run early in the final quarter.

Saginaw's Dalton Wachel surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the season on the next drive on a great catch by Cameron Atkinson. Wachel pushed his total to 1,056 after hitting Anthony Malloy with a 34-yard TD pass.

Guyer put the game away when D.J. Breedlove ripped off a 56-yard run to set up his own 12-yard TD run.

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