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Denton Ryan offense cruises in 56-33 over Plano East

By STEVE GAMEL / Denton Record-Chronicle

DENTON -- Denton Ryan surrendered more points and yards Friday than it had in any game this season, but with its offense moving the chains at will, and Plano East consistently shooting itself in the foot, it was hardly a cause for concern.

Spencer Sanders threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns, Tyreke Davis added two more scores on 144 rushing yards, and the Raiders' defense stiffened when it needed to on its way to forcing two crucial turnovers in a 56-33 win in a Class 6A Division I Region I bi-district game at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

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Ryan (11-0) will play South Grand Prairie (7-4) at 5:30 p.m. next Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

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"It's like I told the guys, we won differently tonight," Ryan coach Dave Henigan said. "We've been winning all these low-scoring games, but they [Plano East] have a good offense and so do we. We kept moving the ball, and we put up a lot of points tonight."

Both teams combined for 916 yards, but Plano East (7-4) found itself chasing points in a first half where it failed on two 2-point conversion attempts and had an extra point kick blocked. Then there were turnovers - a fumble with 10:40 left before halftime and an interception returned for a touchdown less than a minute into the third quarter.

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That allowed Ryan to extend its two-point lead early in the second quarter to 35-18 in the third.

Plano East quarterback Miklo Smalls threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with seven different receivers. He also rushed for 52 yards. The Panthers pulled to within 10 of tying with 9:52 left in the third quarter, but were outscored 21-8 the rest of the way.

"We started slow, but we quickly picked up the momentum," Davis said. "Our offensive line did a heck of a job blocking for us tonight. They created some huge holes all night."

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A turning point in the game came just after Ryan scored on a 40-yard pass from Sanders to Gabriel Douglas to extend its lead to 21-12 with 10:59 left in the first half. Plano East again moved the ball deep into Ryan territory, but fumbled the ball away when Smalls completed a pass down to the 18-yard line.

Ryan drove down the field in 14 plays and capped the drive when Tauskie Dove hauled in a tipped ball in the end zone. On the play, Davis received a direct snap and pitched the ball to Douglas, who was initially looking to throw the ball to Sanders. Instead, the ball was thrown toward the middle of the end zone and was nearly intercepted before Dove snared it for the 28-12 lead.

Plano East trailed by 10 to start the second half when Davis stepped in front of a pass from Smalls at the 23-yard line and returned it for another score. That score gave Ryan a 35-18 lead.

Davis scored again, this time on a two-yard run, with 6:14 left in the same frame. Dove then followed suit when he hauled in a 30-yard pass from Sanders with 56 seconds left in the third for a 49-25 lead.