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FRISCO — In a matchup between two of the state’s top offenses, it came down to defensive stops to determine which would earn a trip to the regional final.
Denton Guyer was able to get them, Trophy Club Byron Nelson was not.
Guyer (13-0) defeated Byron Nelson (11-2) in a back-and-forth offensive battle in which 100 total points were scored. Guyer used a dominant run game and a few key stops at critical moments to advance to the Class 6A Division II Region I final game for the fourth consecutive year with a 59-41 victory.
“It’s such a special time for me to coach such a special group, and they just battled their tails off,” Guyer coach Reed Heim said. “They’re doing what they are built to do.”
Guyer’s offense totaled 520 yards, 358 of which came on the ground. It scored seven rushing touchdowns among three players. It put up points on nine of its 12 possessions.
“If you’re going to be jelling in an area, man, you want to be jelling the offensive line this time of year,” Heim said. “For us to be successful, you can’t be one-dimensional. You have to be able to run, and you have to be able to throw. And honestly, that may have been the difference in this game is that we were able to run the ball a little bit better than they were.”
In a game that featured two of the area’s top quarterbacks, Byron Nelson’s Jake Wilson had the more eye-catching performance, throwing for 386 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Oklahoma commit Jackson Arnold still threw for 162 yards, while rushing for 154 more and three scores.
Byron Nelson’s Gavin McCurley led all receivers with 123 yards and two touchdowns, though Kurt Ippolito wasn’t far behind with 100 yards and a pair of scores as well. Trey Joyner rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns for Guyer.
Heim’s team started strong and was able to force a three-and-out on Byron Nelson’s opening drive and scored a touchdown before the offense even took the field. Byron Nelson learned why teams don’t punt to Peyton Bowen, as the Notre Dame commit returned the punt 60 yards for the early score.
Guyer extended its lead to 14-0 after Joyner weaved through defenders for 36 yards before punching it in two plays later.
Byron Nelson was eventually able to get on the board, but its defense couldn’t contain Joyner, who scored his second touchdown of the day to open the second quarter.
While Byron Nelson’s offense was able to keep up, its defense allowed Guyer to score on its first four drives, which prevented it from closing the gap. It also couldn’t get off the field on third down, including on third-and-17 and third-and-26.
Following a third-and-26 completion — which was a 52-yarder to Landon Sides — Nelson was able to stop Guyer for the first time all day on a fourth-and-6 attempt. It got the ball back with 2:27 in the half and had a chance to reduce the deficit. But it couldn’t capitalize, as it missed a 40-yard field goal to end the half still down 28-21.
Byron Nelson opened the second half with another stop, but Guyer still came up with the field goal before Wilson and McCurley marched downfield and capped off their first drive of the half with a 31-yard touchdown to cut the Guyer lead to 31-28.
In a game where the Byron Nelson offense couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, it gave up a big one at the end of the third quarter. Byron Nelson fumbled the snap, and Guyer’s Blade Carver recovered it at the Byron Nelson 42. Ahmed Yussuf punched it in a few plays later, as Guyer took the 45-28 lead with less than a quarter to play.
Leo Almanza made it a two-score game after forcing, recovering and returning an Arnold fumble 76 yards for the touchdown. The high-scoring affair saw three total touchdowns — two from Guyer and one from Byron Nelson — in the final six minutes.
Byron Nelson fell in the third round to Guyer for the second straight season but put together its best season in program history with an offense that caused trouble for every opponent it played, including some of the state’s best.
For the second week in a row, Guyer’s offense showed it can outrun the best, and its defense can do enough to maintain a comfortable lead down the stretch. While its last two opponents have been able to keep it close through the first 24 minutes, Guyer has outlasted them in the second half.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Heim said to his team postgame. “It’s gonna be this way every week. This bracket makes men out of people.”
Heim’s team advances to the regional final yet again where it will face Southlake Carroll, its toughest opponent of the season, with the hopes of getting one step closer to returning to the state title game for the second consecutive season.
“It’s trench warfare this time of year,” Heim said. “It’s a great opportunity for these guys to keep battling.”
Twitter: @Lassimak
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