DENTON — For a moment, it seemed if Fort Worth Brewer High School had an uncharacteristically stagnant Raider team right where it needed it — 11 points away with half a game left to play.
Thursday night at C.H. Collins Stadium, though, Denton Ryan High School found its stride, ended the Brewer Bears’ season by scoring 28 unanswered points in the third quarter en route to a 42-17 victory and advanced to the second round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs.
“We started out slow in the first half against a good Brewer team,” Radier starting quarterback Spencer Sanders said. “We knew coming into this game they would fight hard and they liked to blitz a lot. We went in at halftime and made some small adjustments and capitalized on their mistakes to come with the ‘W.'”
Charleston Gladden/TexasHSFootball
Denton Ryan (11-0) struck first after Gabriel Douglas (63 yards, TD), a Texas Tech commit, caught a 45-yard strike from Sanders with 5:55 left in the first quarter. Less than three minutes into the second quarter he struck again — this time via a 53-yard punt return through the heart of Brewer’s special teams — and gave the Raiders a slim 14-3 lead going into halftime.
Though Brewer’s offense managed only a first-halfJorge Estrada field goal, its defense, led corner Laurent Swanson, held the Associated Press Class 5A No. 3 team in Texas to only 14 points.
In the second half, however, Sanders went to work, showing why he is the No. 9 ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country. His 42-yard run up the gut to extend the lead to 28-3 with five minutes left in the third quarter was the first salvo from the Raiders’ awakened artillery.
“Our offense started out slow in the first half against a blitz-heavy defense. but at halftime, the coaches went in and settled the team down. We told them to relax and come out and play Raider football,” Denton Ryan Head Coach Dave Henigan said. “We have a few things to clean moving into round two, but we will watch the film tomorrow and get ready for our next opponent.”
Sanders, currently pledged to Oklahoma State, also found wide receiver Christauskie Dove in the end zone — one of his 15 completions on 26 attempts for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 149 yards and a touchdown. Emani Bailey (87 yards, TD) nailed the final nail in the proverbial coffin for Denton Ryan, scoring on a 22-yard scamper to paydirt.
Charleston Gladden/TexasHSFootball
Brewer (6-5) starting quarterback Carson Ingram finished with just 64 yards and no touchdowns. Justin Davis gave Brewer its first touchdown of the game with 6:06 left in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run. Christian Calton, who rushed for 132 yards on 29 carries, scored a late fourth-quarter 1-yard touchdown — the Bears final of the 2017 season.
“We know we started slow, but it’s how we finish the game that counts,” said Dove, who had a bigtime grab over a defender in the third quarter for a 24-yard score.
@RHSRaiders @RyanRaiderFB @CodeRedSS @SpenceSanders@Tauskie88 throws up the X after a jumpball for a TD
Ryan 21
Brewer 3
8:25 3rd qtr#FNGsports @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/38t2nNNdbl— On Da Marc Sports🏈 (@Marchen44) November 17, 2017
In the area round, Denton Ryan will face the winner of the Fort Worth South Hills-Birdville High School matchup that will be decided Friday night. A location for the second round game had not been announced by publish time.
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