Byron Nelson offense erupts in second quarter, avenges loss against McKinney Boyd
Last season, McKinney Boyd’s Evan Dennis returned a fumble off a Byron Nelson extra point attempt that gave the Broncos a 28-26 victory in Week 4.
On Thursday, in Week 2, Byron avenged its loss and left no doubt.
Quarterback Jake Wilson threw three touchdowns, all in the second quarter, and the Bobcats rolled past the Broncos, 31-0, at Northwest ISD Stadium.
“We came in and expected it. We had a lot of confidence, especially after our win last week,” said Wilson, who finished the night 22 of 29 for 250 yards.
Byron, which reached the third round for the first time last year, improves to 2-0. The Bobcats beat Plano, 41-13, in Week 1.
It’s Byron’s first shutout since a 50-0 win over Brewer in October 2013, according to the team’s MaxPreps page.
Meanwhile Boyd dropped to 0-2, with a loss to Class 5A Division 1 top-ranked Longview last week.
“I wanted us to come out offensively and finish people,” Byron coach Travis Pride said. “Sometimes you jump out to an early lead and the kids relax, but when your defense keeps them out of the end zone, it takes a little bit of pressure off our offense.”
As if the game wasn’t already out of reach, the Bobcats scored two touchdowns in a 10-second span during the second quarter. Ezegozirim Osondu had his second of three first-half sacks, forcing a Boyd punt.
Wilson hit 3-star Rice commit Landon Ransom-Goelz for 41 yards on third-and-7 that put the ball at the Boyd 20. Four plays later, on fourth-and-2, Wilson connected with Draden Gorman for a 12-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 2:58 left in the first half.
“This was a revenge tour,” Osondu said.
“Our energy has been great. Our offense scores, our defense goes three-and-out. We get them lit. Our whole defense is doing great, even the back ups. It’s just a great environment.”
Boyd fumbled the ensuing kickoff and one play later, Wilson hit Ransom-Goelz for an 18-yard touchdown to push Byron’s lead to 28-0 at the 2:48 mark.
Wilson, who is No. 38 in the Star-Telegram Top 100, was 17 of 21 for 208 yards in the first half. He ended the half with nine straight completions.
He led the area last season with over 3,800 yards passing.
Ransom-Goelz, who committed to Rice in June, also plays cornerback and is No. 30 in the S-T Top 100. Ransom-Goelz, who ranks in the Top 250 of all 2023 players in the state, finished with 89 yards on six catches.
The Bobcats started the game off strong with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Wilson hit Gorman for 23 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Wilson had to come out for a play after his helmet came off and running back Aaron Darden caught a short pass from Thomas Von Grote, cut back and gained 24 yards to the Boyd 1.
Wilson returned and handed it off to Darden for the 1-yard score to make it 7-0 with 8:23 to play in the opening quarter. Darden had 36 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving.
After the next three drives went scoreless, Boyd was forced to punt on Osondu’s first sack of the night. A short punt set Byron up at the Boyd 35 and two plays later, the Bobcats took a 14-0 lead as Wilson threw a 39-yard touchdown down the right sideline to Gavin McCurley, No. 61 in the Top 100, with eight minutes left in the second quarter. McCurley registered 80 yards on four catches
McCurley and Ransom-Goelz combined for over 2,500 yards and 27 touchdowns last season.
“It’s really nice this year,” said Wilson about his receivers, who not only feature McCurley and Ransom-Goelz. “I feel like our receiving core is awesome and I know that if I need to throw it up to them, they’ll go get it.”
Byron kicker Pierce Dahlin booted a 26-yard field goal in the fourth that capped off a 15-play, 8-minute drive.
Along with Osondu’s three sacks, the Byron defense kept Boyd in check, limiting the Broncos to 44 yards rushing and 36 yards passing. Boyd was last shut out by Rockwall-Heath in October 2020.
“One, I think it was match up problems, but two, we have some pretty good athletes on defense that fly around,” Pride said. “Most of them are vets so they know how to work with each other and communicate with each other.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 9:17 PM.
