High school football: No. 17 Ryan runs past No. 29 Guyer 23-20 in Texas rivalry

Billy Bowman scores twice, Ke'ori Hicks rushes for 170 yards as Raiders defense hangs on late.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Mitch Stephens

By Mitch Stephens

Oct 2, 2020, 8:30pm

Denton Ryan's (TX) 5-star athlete Ja'Tavion Sanders shows why he is one of the top rated players in the country with this one-handed pick-six he takes back to the house from 70 yards.

Texas commit Ja'Tavion Sanders with one-handed pick-six for Denton Ryan 695 views 0:42

The MaxPreps high school football Game of the Week took place in Texas for the second straight week, and once again the game lived up to its top billing. In the end, No. 17 Ryan (Denton, Texas) got two touchdowns from University of Texas commit Billy Bowman and 170 yards rushing from Ke'ori Hicks to pull out a 23-20 win over No. 29 and crosstown rival Guyer (Denton, Texas).

Ryan (2-0) dominated play and the clock, piling up 452 total yards — 343 on the ground — to Guyer's 223 total yards. The Raiders also had more than three times as many first downs (23-7) as the Wildcats.

But 144 yards rushing and two scores by junior BJ Phillips, plus two big turnovers, kept Guyer (1-1) close in the first meeting between the two rivals since 2015, which Ryan won 31-28. Friday's win gives the Raiders a 5-3 series edge.

Ryan's Billy Bowman showed off his vast all-around skills on Friday, including a 60-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the second half.

Photo by Robbie Rakestraw

Bowman, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior, rushed for a 9-yard touchdown to give Ryan a 16-13 halftime lead. He extended the margin to 10, hauling in a beautiful 60-yard touchdown bomb from Seth Henigan on the first play of the second half.

Phillips and Guyer cut the lead to 23-20 with 7:25 left in the third on a 1-yard touchdown. But Ryan controlled the clock from there, thanks largely to Hicks, who carried the ball 28 times and scored a 27-yard touchdown in the first half.

Ryan's defense was stout, holding Texas A&M-bound quarterback Eli Stowers to 67 total yards, including 39 through the air. Denton had one last chance, taking over on its own 20 with 2:18 to play, but the Raiders' Mason Davis recorded his second sack of the night on third down to seal the victory.

The Raiders were the biggest mover in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings last week, jumping four spots after a 47-24 win over Arlington Martin (Texas). The Wildcats came in with a lot of momentum, piling up 526 yards in a 56-33 opening win over Hebron (Carrollton). Ryan held Guyer to 293 yards less than that Friday night.