Quarterback Ryder Norton leads undefeated Justin Northwest football past Hurst L.D. Bell

Quarterback Ryder Norton passed for two touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores as the Justin Northwest Texans (5-0, 3-0), returning from a bye week, cruised past the Hurst L.D. Bell Blue Raiders, 42-7, in a District 4-6A high school football matchup on Oct. 3 at Northwest ISD Stadium.

Justin Northwest took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 12 plays that culminated in a seven-yard Nate Jean touchdown scamper. A pair of fourth-down conversions kept the drive alive.

Norton, a senior, connected with Wide Receiver Kobey Wall for a 16-yard completion -- on a fourth-and-eight -- at the Blue Raiders 36. Jean, on a fourth-and-one at the 11, gained four yards and on the next snap, found the end zone to finish off a 4:41 scoring drive.

A 29-yard TD run by Jean with 1:18 left in the first period opened up a 14-0 Texans advantage.

Norton really caught fire in the second quarter. Less than 90 seconds into the period, Norton hit Wall on a short pass, who then sprinted 85 yards for a TD. “The pass from Ryder was right there,” said Wall. “I made one guy miss, saw an opening and headed downfield.”

“We practiced that formation this week,” added Norton. “It worked. Called it at the right time, and Kobey did a great job.”

A Brendon Gleim 17-yard TD run on the ensuing possession got Hurst L.D. Bell on the board.

The Texans responded on the its next series. On a third-and-one, Norton raced 61 yards for a TD. After the Texans defense held on the following Blue Raiders possession, Norton tossed a 28-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Tyler Singer with 4:00 left before halftime.

The Texans held a 35-7 cushion at the break, notching six-pointers on its first five possessions and racking up 335 yards total offense in the first half.

After a scoreless third quarter, Norton scored on a 14-yard keeper with 8:20 left in the final stanza.

Norton totaled 225 passing yards, completing 13 of 19 passes with no interceptions, and added 85 rushing on just four carries.

“Ryder has really put in the time with this team,” said head coach Bill Poe. “He has put in the effort. Such a heady player, and leader.”

Jean had a game-high 99 rushing yards on 17 attempts to pace the ground game.

“We had a good balance of running and passing,” said Coach Poe. “That is something we strive to do.” The Texans churned out 231 yards rushing and had 243 passing yards in the game.

Wall grabbed five passes for 124 yards, all in the first half.

“It was great to get back out there after the bye week,” said Wall. “We came together as a team. Time to get ready for next week.”

Justin Northwest, No. 7 in the Star-Telegram are current 6A area rankings, has won each of six games by 17 or more points.

Coach Poe, in his 10th season leading the Texans football program, was pleased with his team’s performance coming off the bye.

“I am awfully proud of our team,” said Poe, “We had great continuity in getting the ball down field. We stay humble and hungry.”

Coach Poe guided Northwest to a 10-3 record last season, tying the most wins in a season in team history. The 2018 team (10-3) and 2016 (10-2) each recorded double digit wins. The 2023 and 2018 teams reached the third round of the playoffs for the deepest post-season runs in team history.

This year, Justin Northwest is off to its best start since 2016 when it was 8-0 enroute to that 10-2 season. Justin Northwest moved up to 6A this season from 5A D1. This was the first gridiron meeting between the two teams since 2009.

Brendon Gleim led Hurst L.D. Bell, rushing for 92 yards on 20 carries, and the lone Blue Raiders score.

Also for L.D. Bell, Quarterback Cameron Johnson registered 166 yards passing (19 of 27 with no interceptions), while Delvechio Ellis hauled in a game-leading nine receptions for 121 yards.

L.D. Bell, which opened the season with a 23-21 win over Weatherford, lost its fifth straight game.

Justin Northwest will face Keller Central 7 pm next Thursday night in a district contest at Keller ISD Athletic Complex.

The Texans then face arguably the top three teams in the district in consecutive weeks -- Southlake Carroll, Trophy Club Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity -- and finish the regular season versus Keller Timber Creek in a matchup that could decide the fourth and final district playoff spot.

Hurst L. D. Bell (1-5, 0-4) has a bye week then returns on Friday October 18 hosting Keller Central in a district matchup with a 7 pm slated kickoff at Pennington Field.