Aledo’s quest for a third-straight state title is thwarted by Denton Ryan in quarterfinals

The Aledo football team’s quest for a third consecutive state championship and chance to add to its record 12 state titles is over.

Denton Ryan scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to stun the top-ranked Bearcats 31-21 in a rain-soaked Class 5A Division 1 state quarterfinal on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium.

As the Region I champions, Ryan (13-1), No. 3 in the final Dave Campbell’s Class 5A D1 poll, will advance to the state semifinals where the Raiders will meet the Region II champion in No. 4 Highland Park (13-1) at a site and time to be determined. Highland Park defeated No. 8 Frisco Lone Star 41-28 on Friday, Dec. 6.

Aledo had to mount a huge comeback in their first meeting with Ryan, No. 1 in the state at the time, in a District 3-5A Division 1 game on Oct. 4. The Bearcats scored 34 unanswered points to defeat the Raiders in a 42-27 win.

This time Ryan turned the tables. Aledo had just taken a 21-10 lead on a 43-yard scoring pass from Gavin Beard to Blake Burdine, who was open down the left sideline with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

But on the second snap of Ryan’s ensuing series, quarterback Quin Henigan faked a handoff to running back Tre’Vaughn Reynolds and then hit Reynolds running up the seam for an 80-yard touchdown. The play, that cut the lead to 21-17 at the 3:12 mark of the third quarter, provided a spark that shifted the momentum the Raiders’ way for the rest of the game.

Ryan defensive lineman Kha’Ron Freeman-Wade sacked Beard twice on Aledo’s next series that forced the Bearcats to punt. The Raiders took over at the Aledo 37, and four plays later, Nemo Warmate went off right tackle for a 27-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Ryan a 24-21 lead.

“They scored and then our quarterback got sacked a couple of times and we had the big loss,” said Aledo head coach Robby Jones, who leads a program that had made it past the state quarterfinals in 13 of the last 15 years coming into the game. “That put us in a bad situation and gave them a short field and they took advantage of it.”

Aledo couldn’t get anything going offensively in the fourth quarter as the Beacats were forced to punt twice and Ryan defensive backs Byran Simmons and Trae Williams each had interceptions. Braeden Mussett gave the Raiders added to the cushion, taking a pitch pass on a jet sweep around the right end and down the sideline for a 65-yard score.

“They made the plays in the second half and we didn’t have a very good second half,” said Jones, whose team rushed 31 times for 33 yards on the night. “You can’t do that in a fourth-round playoff game. They did a good job running the football on us in the second half and we just didn’t.”

While the duo of Raycine Guillory, Jr. (13 rushes-20 yards) and Kaden Winkfield (10-37) were struggling to find room to run for Aledo, Ryan’s Warmate (19-123) and Reynolds (14-98) were feasting.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half with both teams scoring touchdowns on their opening drives. Ryan got a 29-yard pass play from Henigan to tight end Jose Melendez down to the Aledo 30.

On the ensuing play, Warmate darted up the middle to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter.

Aledo answered, however, with a nine-play, 69-yard scoring drive of its own. Beard found Lincoln Tubbs coming across the middle for a 32-yard gain down to the Ryan one yard line. Beard bulled in off of right guard for the score to tie the game 7-7 with 4:38 left in the opening frame.

Ryan responded with a 27-yard field goal by Daniel Rodriguez to make it 10-7 Raiders just before the end of the first quarter. The teams traded punts before the Bearcats took the lead going into the intermission with a two-yard run by Guillory, a Utah commit, who only ran twice in last week’s romp of Amarillo Tascosa after tweaking an ankle.

“We had a plan coming out of the half and we just didn’t come out and execute it,” said Jones. “Hats off to them because they outplayed us in the second half. We’re disappointed, but we’ll regroup and try to come back next year.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2024 at 6:04 PM.