With games like Flower Mound Marcus-Southlake Carroll and Prosper-Celina on tap for this weekend's high school football schedule, it takes a really big game to keep ones like those from being in consideration for the top game of the week.
But this week's Game of the Week isn't even up for debate, it's being played in Corinth between two schools separated by 3.3 miles who absolutely despise each other. Better yet, when Denton Guyer and Lake Dallas hit the field tonight at 7 p.m., there's more than bragging rights on the line as both teams enter the game with a state ranking in the AP Class 4A poll.
Guyer has been a top dog all year long after its run to the Class 4A Division I state semifinal last year. It's No. 2 in the poll after spending a brief time at No. 3 and is receiving first-place votes. Lake Dallas (6-0, 3-0) is the new kid on the block as the Falcons are ranked No. 10 -- the first time the school has cracked the top 10.
The game features two great quarterbacks in Lake Dallas' James Franklin, who accounted for 580 yards and five TDs in last week's top game when he helped knock off then-No. 6 Denton Ryan. Guyer (6-0, 3-0) is led by junior J.W. Walsh, a coach's son who runs the QB zone read game to perfection and is one of the best passers on the run in the state. Franklin is committed to Missouri, and Walsh tops many lists when it comes to top junior QBs in the state.
But this game will be decided defensively. Lake Dallas surprised folks and held Ryan's high octane offense to a season-low 31 points last week, but Guyer's offense is a different animal, averaging 566 yards per game with 372 on the ground. In other words, the Wildcats can run and pass equally well, but they'll run until you can stop them.
Guyer's defense prides itself on stopping the run, allowing just 54 yards per game on the ground. Franklin rushed for 261 last week. Also there's the whole revenge factor Lake Dallas has to contend with after the Falcons embarrassed Guyer on its homefield last year with a 41-15 stomping that propelled Guyer to it's late-season run to the state semis. Walsh didn't play in that game because of injury. He'll play tonight. Prediction: Denton Guyer 41, Lake Dallas 31.
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. Follow the game blow-by-blow on his paper's blog.
