Denton Ryan rolls past district foe Colleyville Heritage and into state semifinals
When Colleyville Heritage and Denton Ryan met in Week 7 in district play, the Panthers stayed in the game until the Raiders pulled away with three late touchdowns.
This time No. 3 Ryan left no doubt.
The Raiders built a big lead early and coasted to a 56-10 win over Heritage in a Class 5A Division I quarterfinal at the Ford Center.
“Our kids didn’t take the cheese and fall into the trap of thinking that just because you beat a team once doesn’t mean you’ll beat them again,” said Ryan coach Dave Henigan. “It’s hard to beat someone twice and that’s a good football team that we dominated, to be honest with you.”
Ryan (14-0) will make its fourth consecutive trip to the state semifinals. The Raiders were derailed the previous three times by eventual champion Highland Park.
Ryan will face another tough opponent this time in top-ranked Frisco Lone Star (14-0). The Raiders and Rangers are set to play at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Eagle Stadium in Allen.
Ryan running back Emani Bailey set the tone early ripping off 60 yards on the Raiders’ first play from scrimmage. Bailey set a school record, according to Dave Henigan, with 275 yards rushing on 20 carries.
The run set up a 14-yard touchdown by Billy Bowman, Jr. on a flip pass from Drew Sanders. Ryan led 7-0 with 8:42 left in the first quarter and never looked back.
Bailey ripped off three long scoring runs of 39, 48 and 22 yards. The senior added a 48-yard TD reception from quarterback Seth Henigan that gave the Raiders a 42-3 lead with 6:05 left in the third quarter.
“I’m very excited,” said Bailey on his record setting performance. “I’m not tired, I’m great and ready to go some more. I do what I can to help win games and I give all my credit to my front line because without them this wouldn’t be possible.”
Sanders, an Alabama commit, accounted for four scores as well. Sanders scored on runs of 3, 1, and 37 yards as well as the flip pass to Bowman.
“They’re probably one of the best teams talent wise I’ve ever played,” said Colleyville Heritage coach Joe Willis. “And the way they played today was at a very high level. I don’t know how that game will go next week, but I think either one of those teams have a good shot at winning a state championship.”
The Ryan defense was stellar.
The Panthers picked up a mere 70 yards of total offense in the first half with the only points coming on a 35-yard Chase Allen field goal that cut the lead to 14-3 with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Heritage’s only touchdown came late in the game on a 6-yard run by running back Braxton Ash, who finished with 86 yards on 18 carries. Ash had 10 carries for 14 yards in the opening two quarters.
“I can’t say enough about our senior leadership and the way these guys continued to work and continued to battle,” said Willis, reflecting on the Panthers’ season. “We beat some district champions and some very good football teams to get here.
“Today wasn’t our day, but we’re going to look back and reflect on it and remember this team for being one of the best teams in Colleyville Heritage history because I think it’s one of four now that has played in the quarterfinal round.”