Football Recap: Omar Penaloza and Skyler Maldonado Pace Denton Defense + How To Watch

If Denton was feeling good fresh off their 28-0 takedown of Eastern Hills last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Broncos took a 49-38 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Richland Royals on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Broncos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 466th, while the Royals are ranked 138th).

When it comes to explaining why Denton lost, don't look at Terrance Lopez. Despite the final result, he threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 55 yards and one TD on only seven carries. Rodney Rayson helped out on the ground, rushing for 118 yards.

Denton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Omar Penaloza and Skyler Maldonado.

Richland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jayshon Gibson, who rushed for 290 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 12.1 yards per carry. Those 290 rushing yards gave Gibson a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brett Kates, who threw for 297 yards and five TDs.

Denton dropped their record down to 1-2 with the defeat, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Richland, they now have a winning record of 2-1.

Denton has already played their next match, a 35-23 victory against Azle on the 19th. As for Richland, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, a 42-14 win against Brewer on the 19th.