DeSoto rides fast start, shuts down Denton Guyer during blowout win

DENTON — A game that was supposed to be the tale of the tape quickly turned in favor of DeSoto as it was able to handily beat the Denton Guyer 42-13 Thursday night inside C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

The game initially started out as a sign of good fortune for Guyer (1-1) against the defending 6A DII state champions as DeSoto fumbled the ball on the opening drive and Guyer recovered on the DeSoto 28.

With a short field to work with, playmaking quarterback Luke Stillwell conducted a 5-play scoring drive capped by a 20-yard pass to tight end Josh Nicholson. It gave the Wildcats an early 6-0 lead.

Head coach Todd Peterman’s message to his offense after the turnover and the early deficit was simple yet effective: “Don’t lose focus.”

The Eagles wasted no time as they quickly picked up the pace and saw their receivers go to work and their passing game come to life as receiver Jamal Brown began a big night.

Set up by a 51-yard kick return by wide receiver La’Vontae Shenault, starting quarterback Courtney Douglas rolled out the pocket and threw up a looping laser to Brown for the first of three touchdowns of the night. His score gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead at the 7:07 mark in the first quarter.

It was the spark DeSoto (2-0) needed to put its foot on the accelerator. The game, too, turned for the worst for Guyer, as they lost quarterback Luke Stillwell early in the first quarter to an injury and could not find their groove. Running back Harrison Bohannon assumed quarterback responsibilities the rest of the night.

The DeSoto defense put their stamp on the game as cornerback Gemon Green read Bohannon’s pass and intercepted the ball for a 35-yard score that put DeSoto up 21-6 to begin the second quarter. The Eagles would add another score later near the end of the first half to make it 28-6 at the break. Simply put, it was DeSoto’s night to shine.

Douglas was 10 for 12 with 214 passing yards and four touchdowns with three of those coming from Brown on scores from 28, 56 and 24. Brown finished with 119 yards on five receptions and La’Vontae Shenault finished with 26 receiving yards and a touchdown.

“ [Shenault] and [Brown] both had big games last week,” Peterman said about his receivers. “They’re playmakers, so we just got them the ball and let them do what they do.”

The Eagles extended their lead 35-6 on Brown’s third touchdown of the night and quarterback Shun’darion Ward putting the exclamation point on the night with a 13-yard rushing touchdown.

Guyer, though, was able to score before the final whistle. Bohannon punched it in from a yard out to give the Wildcats only their second touchdown of the game.

“Overall we got a very long way to go but we’ve made great improvements from week one to week two, Peterman said, “If we can just continue to do that, we are going to be tough to play in November.”

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