Our second game of the evening features one of the top teams in the nation in Denton Ryan High School. The Cedar Park Timberwolves would hope to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year by taking down the No. 9 ranked Raiders. Both teams came into the night an undefeated 14-0, but only one could raise the trophy at the end. Despite being one of the best teams in Texas for the past few seasons, a State Title has seemingly been running from coach Henigan and the Raiders.
The Timberwolves would attempt to do the same after catching the Denton Ryan defense sleeping. A huge tackle for loss by Mason Davis would stop the Wolves momentum though. They would be forced to punt the ball on their first drive of the night.
Ke’ori Hicks would get the ball on the first carries of the drive, breaking multiple tackles to help them reach midfield. After a laser of a pass from future Memphis Tiger, Seth Henigan, the Raiders would score the first touchdown of the night. Hicks would finish off an impressive drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Tristan Hervey would make two impressive plays in a row to quickly move the ball for the Timberwolves. Bear Alexander would clog things up for Cedar Park though. He would come up with a big tackle in the backfield to stall Cedar Parks drive. With the ball deep into Raider territory, coach Abseck decided to go for it on fourth down. Denton Ryan’s defense wouldn’t allow a single yard, and force the turnover on downs.
Fortunately for the Wolves, Denton Ryan would go three and out off the turnover. Ryder Hernandez would make some fantastic plays to keep Cedar Park alive. Scrambling outside the pocket he would connect with Jack Hestera for a 13-yard touchdown. Cedar Park would complete their two-point attempt, and cut the Raider lead to just two points. With nine minutes left in the half we have a 10-8 ball game.
Not for long though. In less than a minute the Raiders would score a touchdown on a wild 3rd and 9 play. Seth Henigan would throw his first touchdown of the night to Keagan Cunningham, which would go for 47-yards.
Things would start to spiral down hill for Cedar Park. In their attempt to retaliate, Ryder Hernandez would be pressured and intercepted by Ty Marsh. Seth Henigan would then find Billy Bowman on a 35-yard touchdown grab. Ryder’s very next pass would lead to another interception, this time by No. 7, who would take the ball all the way inside the Timberwolves 20-yard line. Hill Jr would punch in the two-yard touchdown run a few plays later. Suddenly the game was 31-8, with 3:51 left in the half.
With two-minutes left in the first half, it looked like Cedar Park was about to cut into the Raider lead. Ty Marsh wouldn’t let that happen though, stripping the ball from Josh Cameron as he fought to get into the end zone. That would give Marsh two turnovers in the first half. Denton Ryan would run the clock out to end the half with a 31-8 lead.
The Timberwolves would try to get some momentum going in the second half. Denton Ryan’s defense would continue to apply pressure and make life rough for Hernandez. Anthony Hill Jr would come up with a wild strip-sack and the ball would be recovered by Marquice Hill for a touchdown.
Denton Ryan was able to wrap this game up with continuous pressure to Hernandez and the Timberwolves offense. They simply could not find any offensive momentum, and could not find a way to stop this lethal Raider offense. The final score would end up reading 59-14 in a complete domination from Denton Ryan.
Seth Henigan would finish the night with over 300-yards passing and three touchdowns in his final game as a Raider. Ty Marsh led the defense with a forced fumble, and an interception. Bear Alexander looked ready to become the leader of this Raiders unit after causing havoc all night. Denton Ryan finally gets the State Title that has dodged them for so many years. Congratulations to Denton Ryan High School on the 5A-II State Title, and a completely dominating season.
