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| FRISCO - Denton Ryan defended its preseason No. 1 state football ranking when it rolled past fifth-ranked Longview, 40-7, during the inaugural Jerry Jones Classic at the Ford Center in Frisco on Saturday afternoon.
This is the second straight season opener that the Lobos have lost after falling to Temple 40-13 in 2020, and the second straight game that they've lost to Denton Ryan going back to last December's 27-9 Class 5A Division I Region II semifinal defeat. "You don't win because you got Lobos on your chest," said Longview head football coach John King. "You've got to go earn it." "The key thing is how you practice and how you prepare," he said of how his team can get back on track. "Body of work you do during the week. We've got to get to where we practice better as a whole." The first quarter was very competitive, with Denton Ryan scoring on Kalib Hicks' 30-yard touchdown run during the opening drive of the game to go up 6-0 at the 7:34 mark. Hicks finished the game with nine carries for 139 yards and three scores. After the Raiders missed the PAT, Longview responded by taking its only lead of the game at 6:28. The Lobos jumped ahead 7-6 after Jordan Allen's 46-yard touchdown run and their successful extra point kick through the uprights. But, the second quarter drastically changed the momentum of the game. Denton Ryan stormed to 27 unanswered points in the period to take a 33-7 lead at halftime. The Raiders retook the lead at 13-7 on Hicks' 69-yard touchdown run at the 10:52 mark. Then at 9:28, Michael Gee returned a blocked Longview punt for the Denton Ryan defense and scored a touchdown on the same play to put his team up 20-7. The Raiders added Hicks' 18-yard touchdown run at 4:17. Less than two minutes after that, Garyreon Robinson's 49-yard pick six return at the 2:41 mark made it the halftime score. Longview tried to cut into the deficit with a score before halftime, but squandered the opportunity. The Lobos moved all the way to the one-yard line, but Taylor Tatum fumbled the ball into the end zone to give Denton Ryan the ball at its own 20-yard line. There was a lot less scoring in the second half, but that didn't prevent Denton Ryan from tacking on another touchdown before the end of the game. Anthony Hill found a lane in the red zone to record a six-yard touchdown run at the 3:04 mark of the third quarter. The 40-7 score would last until the end of the game, and Hill finished the outing with 10 carries for 62 yards. "Self-inflicted wounds," King said of the difference between his team's fast start and its performance over the final three quarters. "We had a fine start. I still think we can be a good football team." Longview was led by Jordan Allen in the loss. He finished with 84 yards and an interception on 6-of-10 passing, and also recorded 32 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries. |