Denton Ryan downs Richland to set up rematch with Aledo — PHOTOS

For the fourth time in the past two seasons, the Richland Royals and Denton Ryan Raiders squared off, as the pair of recent district foes met again in a Class 5A Division I Region I semifinal.

Just as in the three clashes in less than two years, Richland could not conquer perennial powerhouse Ryan. This time the Royals fell 41-10 to the Raiders at Buddy Echols Field on Friday.

Denton Ryan (12-1), which has made 25 playoff trips in the past 26 years, advances to square off against Aledo (13-0) next week in the regional final at a date, time and location to be determined. Aledo edged Ryan 15-14 earlier this season in a District 3-5A Division I clash. Aledo throttled Fort Worth Arlington Heights 55-0 on Friday to reach the regional final.

Ryan exploded out of the gates against Richland (9-4), as Arizona pledge Xaier Hiler returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown.

The Ryan defense forced three-and-outs on Richland’s first two offensive possessions, and turned both into scores.

Tre’Vaughn Reynolds scored on a 19-yard burst to cap a 59-yard drive in six plays, then Quin Henigan connected with Jose Melendez on an 8-yard scoring toss to wrap up an eight-play, 44-yard march. That left Richland with a 20-0 deficit in less than nine minutes to start the contest.

“We put ourselves in a big hole right at the start,” Richland head coach Ged Kates said. “You can’t do that against a great team like Ryan.”

The Royals settled down in the second quarter.

Beck Spivey booted a 26-yard field goal less than a minute into the second stanza to get Richland on the scoreboard.

Richland’s Jayshon Gibson’s 4-yard scoring run with 1:07 before halftime finished off a 69-yard drive in eight plays that sliced the Ryan lead to 20-10 at intermission.

“So proud of the kids the way they battled back,” Kates said. “They fought hard. Did not quit.”

Ryan regained control in the third quarter, as Henigan drilled a 36-yard scoring toss to Connelly Cunningham for a TD.

And the heralded Raiders defense was relentless. Errol West, a Sam Houston State commit, tackled Richland quarterback Brett Kates in the end zone for a safety.

Working with a short field, at the Richland 31, thanks to a subsequent short kickoff and an added 15-yard penalty, Henigan hurled a 4-yard TD pass to Cunningham, leaving Richland with a 34-10 deficit, as Ryan botched its third PAT conversion in the game.

“I thought at halftime we were in good shape,” Ged Kates said. “We were getting the ball to start the second half. We had weathered the storm of the first quarter. But give Ryan credit. They are a great team, and they made the plays, and we didn’t.”

The second half was played in a steady, sometimes heavy rain, and with 11 seconds remaining in the third period, a weather delay forced the teams off the field. The delay lasted 63 minutes.

Rontavian Brown added a 2-yard TD run for Ryan with 3:20 left in the game to round out the scoring.

Gibson was very much a focal point for the Royals, as he had been a workhorse all season. He totaled 42 rushing yards on 18 carries, as the Ryan defense stacked the box and contained the star running back all game long.

“Ryan obviously keyed on him,” Ged Kates said. “But so has every team we’ve played this year. That is a great Ryan defense. They got the job done tonight.”

With multiple Division I college offers, Gibson had rushed for 2,241 yards and 40 TDs, including 10 games with 100-plus yards entering Friday, breaking the school record for rushing yards and TDs in a season.

Brett Kates, a junior, registered 149 passing yards, completing 14 of 32 passes without an interception, while rushing for 24 yards on eight carries.

Wideouts Benjamin Sanders and Aaron Brooks contributed six and five catches, respectively. Sanders had 72 receiving yards, while Brooks added 61.

Henigan turned in a stellar performance for Denton Ryan. The senior threw for 208 yards, completing 18 of 24 without a pick, and three scores. He had tossed six TDs in the area round in a 59-0 rout of Abilene.

Cunningham notched seven catches for 66 yards, while Melendez grabbed six passes for 92 yards. Brown racked up 105 of his game-leading 114 rushing yards in the second half, totaling 13 carries, while Reynolds added 82 on 12 attempts.

Richland dropped a 30-21 decision to Ryan earlier this season. And the Royals were swept a year ago by the Raiders — 44-19 in the regular season and 48-35 in the playoffs. Richland is now 0-7 against Ryan since 2004.

The 21 points scored by Richland against Ryan during the regular season were the most the Raiders had allowed in any game this year. The Royals were the only team to score more than two TDs in a game against the Raiders.

Richland reached the regional semifinals for the third consecutive season. The aforementioned 48-35 loss to Ryan ended the Royals’ season a year ago. A 61-40 third-round defeat to Forney in 2023 spoiled an unblemished record as Richland finished 12-1, establishing a school record for wins in a season.

Denton Ryan upended 12-time state champion Aledo 31-21 in last year’s 5A Division I Region I final, then fell to six-time state champion Highland Park in the state semifinals. Last year was the sixth time in the past nine years, and the 11th time in program history, that Ryan reached at least the state semis.

A three-time state champion, Ryan has won 12 or more games in nine of the past 11 seasons.

This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 10:47 PM.