By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
Friday nights during the Texas high school football season always carry that passion just because it’s Texas high school football.
Then there are those Friday nights when there is that little extra. No. 1 Aledo versus No. 4 Denton Ryan presents that little extra.
This rivalry renews for the seventh time at 7:00 pm Friday at the C.H. Collins Complex in Denton (KTFW 92.1 Hank FM coverage begins at 6:30 pm). This game always captures the attention of the state but more importantly the DFW area. It’s being televised locally by WFAA.
These two programs have combined for 15 state titles. Aledo has a Texas-record 12. Ryan owns three.
To add to the drama is Aledo’s national record district winning streak. It stands at 130 dating back to Oct. 5, 2007. However, it faces one of its toughest challenges in the Raiders to remain active.
These two share the same district in 3-5A. With apologies to the rest of the district members, it’s fair to call this matchup the de facto district championship.
Aledo (5-0) is 3-0 in 3-5A. Ryan (4-0) is 2-0. Just like 2024, chances are high the Bearcats and Raiders will play a second time in the Class 5A Division I postseason in two months.
To be sure, this rivalry is evenly matched. Literally. Each side has won three. Even more striking is the point differential. Aledo has scored 150 points. Ryan has scored 149. The other notable? Aledo has won its three in regular season matchups. Ryan has won its three in playoff matchups.
When Aledo rallied in the second half to beat Ryan at Tim Buchanan Stadium last October, 42-27, head coach Robby Jones told his team in the postgame talk on the field that the Bearcats would see the Raiders again in the playoffs.
They did. The Bearcats and Raiders met in the 5A Division I state quarterfinals last December in Crowley. The Raiders used their own rally in the second half. Down 21-10, they parlayed a series of big plays to win, 31-21.
Indeed, this game has experienced momentum swings and used big scoring plays to flip the fortunes.
In Aledo’s win last year, Adrian Fuller’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown before the end of the first half fueled the Bearcats’ comeback. In Ryan’s win, it used an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quin Henigan to running back Tre Reynolds in the third quarter to kickstart its rally.
This fall, Aledo’s offense started slowly as Jones was still deciding on his starting quarterback between junior Nash McElree and senior Lincoln Tubbs. The Bearcats scored only 39 points between their first two games facing two Class 6A programs, Denton Guyer and Lancaster. While Jones has not named a starter and may not ever, McElree has taken most of the snaps since District 3-5A play started. The offense has broken 50 points in each of the last three games. The opponent caliber has not been at Guyer and Lancaster’s level. However, the Bearcats just needed to build and maintain success.
Ryan is the kind of offense that can lull teams into a false sense of security and then strike quickly. Hennigan, son of Ryan head coach Dave Henigan, has operated this offense for the past two seasons. He knows where to put the football.
While these two defenses will make their presence felt, this game could come to two elements:
>First, Denton Ryan has not committed any turnovers thus far. Should it keep that up, its chances to win improve.
>Second, Aledo’s offense has played better but has tended to fall into stagnant phases. The Bearcats can ill-afford to experience that against a Raiders’ defense that has created eight turnovers.
If history teaches us anything, there should be jubilant highs and crushing lows for these 48 minutes. Whoever navigates through them correctly probably emerges victorious.
Then we wait for the likely sequel in the playoffs to enjoy another round of extra.