Denton Isn't Big Enough for Both

Normally, Denton's C.H. Collins Atheltic Complex (12,000 capacity) has trouble filling up half its seats for Denton ISD football games.

But on Saturday, officials are bring in an extra 1,500 seats to put in the end zone to accomodate what will be the biggest game in the Metroplex -- possibly the state -- this weekend as Denton Guyer and Denton Ryan face off in the Class 4A Division I Region I final, one month to the day after the Raiders beat Guyer, 50-29, in the regular season finale.

That win for Ryan spoiled a bid at a perfect season for Guyer, and earned Ryan a share of the District 5-4A title along with Guyer and Lake Dallas.

So if the old adage proves to be true that it's hard to beat a good team twice in one season, Ryan will have its hands full on Saturday when the teams meet up at 2 p.m. on both teams' home field in a game which will have two teams from the same school district playing later in the postseason than ever before.

In their last meeting, Guyer head coach John Walsh took some blame for the Wildcats' loss and the way they got away from their bread and butter -- the running game, in which they average 326.9 yards per game. And the Wildcats were sloppy on first down, averaging 10.6 yards needed for a first down on second down in the entire game, which is highly uncharacteristic of the Wildcats' highly proficient offense.

The Wildcats are led by junior QB J.W. Walsh, who's accounted for 53 touchdowns running and passing and has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and thrown for more than 2,000 while tossing just three interceptions.

Then there's Ryan QB Scotty Young, who threw for five scores in the teams' last meeting. He's nearly rewritten record books twice now, as he finished last season with 65 TD passes -- two short of tying Graham Harrell's state record of 67. This year, he sits at 60 TD passes and with a win over Guyer would be likely to eclipse the mark in next week's state semifinal.