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Sports

Bus breakdown appears to slow, but can't stop Denton Guyer in 56-30 win over WF Rider

WICHITA FALLS — For the first time in five seasons, the Denton Guyer football team made a trip up north to Wichita Falls’ Memorial Stadium, and it didn’t go as planned.

After the team buses broke down, the Wildcats were only able to go through about half of their pregame warm-ups before taking on Wichita Falls Rider in what essentially amounted to a District 5-4A title game.

Throughout the first quarter, it appeared the Wildcats were still stretching their legs out as Rider piled up a 10-point lead thanks to its big-play offense and a lackluster offensive performance from Guyer. Then, everything changed, as Guyer scored 28 points in the second quarter on its way to a 56-30 win over the Raiders, giving the No. 6 Wildcats the inside track to the District 5-4A title.

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“Not to make an excuse, but when your buses break down and you miss half your pregame, that’ll give you a slow start,” Guyer coach John Walsh said. “I don’t think it affected their intensity, but it definitely was a distraction.”

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After Rider (6-2, 4-1) took a 10-0 lead near the end of the first quarter, Guyer (6-2, 5-0) ended its offensive slumber and got some huge plays from its defense.

None were bigger than middle linebacker Marcel Thomas’ interception of Rider quarterback Chase London. Guyer defensive tackle Carl Thompson tipped the ball at the line, and Thomas made the interception at the Rider 22-yard line with two minutes left in the half. London was again intercepted later by DeMarcus Owens after Thompson hit him just before the throw.

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A pass from Guyer quarterback Jerrod Heard to Anthony Taylor gave the Wildcats their first points of the night.

“We came out slow, and we had to get rolling,” said Taylor, a junior running back. “When I caught that pass I kind of gave us a spark and got everyone pumped. Everyone started rolling after that.”

While the Wildcats went on a scoring spree, the Raiders, who received two votes in the Associated Press Class 4A poll, were also making big plays.

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They were led by senior wide receiver Davon Allison, who caught seven passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns for his third 200-yard receiving game of the season.

Guyer matched Rider’s big plays through the air with its signature ground attack, led by Heard’s 194 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yarder that extended a four-point Guyer lead to 11 points near the end of the third quarter. Heard also threw two touchdown passes — one to Taylor and a 28-yarder to tight end Jonathan Pershall.

“There was a lot to blame [the slow start] on, but it was just one of those things,” Heard said. “We didn’t come out right. They got out on top and that was our fault, then the offense started clicking and pushed all that aside and just came out and played our game.”