Denton Guyer field goal with one second left sinks Byron Nelson — PHOTOS
Trophy Club Byron Nelson was eager to face longtime playoff rival Denton Guyer in Friday’s Class 6A Division II regional semifinal.
The Bobcats had only been able to beat the Wildcats twice in eight previous meetings, with the last win coming in 2018.
On a rainy night, Byron Nelson carried a lead into the second half, but Guyer kicked a 31-yard field goal with one second left to pull out a 24-21 victory at Northwest ISD Stadium.
Heartbreak was evident everywhere for the Bobcats (10-3) as their season came to a close.
“Our goal this entire season was to play in a way that brought honor to this community that had rallied around us so well and brought glory to God,” Byron Nelson head coach Zach Woodward said. “I told them that in victory or in defeat, we needed to be thankful for what we were a part of, and they played like it.”
Guyer (11-2) advances to face the winner of Friday’s late game between Southlake Carroll and Prosper at a time, date and location to be determined.
Friday was quite the back-and-forth affair, as the Bobcats started off their first drive by throwing an interception to Guyer senior Jaylon Sterling, one of three Wildcat takeaways on the night.
However, that interception led to only a missed field goal, and the Bobcats scored the first points of the game six minutes in when quarterback Parker Alamanza connected with Wake Forest commit Mahamadou Siby for a 28-yard touchdown. Siby finished with six catches for 86 yards and the touchdown.
Guyer answered right back, as senior Kaedyn Cobbs punched in one of his two scores on the night, from 2 yards out. The Illinois commit finished with 72 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns.
The final points in the first half came off a fake “tush push,” when instead of rushing up the middle, Alamanza opted to back away from the scrum and ran out wide to his right for an additional 26 yards and Byron Nelson’s second touchdown of the game.
The Bobcats led 14-7 at halftime with help from a defense that came up with big stops, including sacks from seniors Campbell Blair and Matthew Stuckey.
Unfortunately for Byron Nelson, Guyer figured things out in the third quarter.
“Our performance tonight was gutsy,” Guyer head coach Reed Heim said. “Truthfully, it’s a testament to our guys, how hard they work. They keep chopping wood. Things didn’t always go our way tonight, but we found ways to make it work.”
The Wildcats answered with scores on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Cobbs scored his second rushing touchdown, and Tristan Shelton caught his first touchdown of the night on a 31-yard reception.
Within the blink of an eye, the momentum had completely shifted and Guyer led 21-14 with 6:06 left in the third quarter.
In what turned out to be a tense fourth quarter, Alamanza connected with sophomore Nolan Hawkins on a 48-yard touchdown pass, where Hawkins broke two tackles and found his way into the back of the end zone to tie the game at 21.
On the final drive, sophomore quarterback Carter Morgan made the biggest play of the game for the Wildcats. On fourth down with less than 20 seconds remaining, Morgan scrambled for 20 yards and set up a game-winning field goal attempt for junior Andrew Johnson. Morgan finished with 108 yards rushing on 20 attempts.
Johnson missed a kick earlier in the game from about the same distance, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
As the Wildcats cheered and hoisted their trophy, there was a wave of sadness opposite them. Byron Nelson’s unforgettable season had finally come to a close, in what will be a memorable chapter for many in this community.
Woodward was named interim coach over the summer after the death of head coach Travis Pride.
“With the way things went this summer, and all the unknowns coming in, this team needed to know that this season was bigger than all of us,” Woodward said. “What that represented, the Bobcat community, and the people, and the way we do things. I think those guys showed it tonight. We’re going to take this hurt and build on it, so that way next year we won’t feel it.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 12:50 AM.