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Denton Guyer quarterback J.W. Walsh, ESPNDallas.com's Class 5A MVP after leading the Wildcats to the Division II state final, has enrolled at Oklahoma State and will take part in spring drills with the Cowboys.

Plano West offensive lineman Travis Cross is also enrolled at Stillwater to get an early start on his college career.

Walsh and Cross are among five mid-year scholarship additions for Oklahoma State, which lost just 12 seniors from an 11-2 team.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

Class 5A: J.W. Walsh, Denton Guyer, QB

When his team fell short of the Class 5A Division II state championship game, J.W. Walsh apologized to teammates.

2010 FOOTBALL AWARDS
ESPNDallas.com recognizes the top Class 4A and 5A performances from the 2010 football season: Two-Way Players of the Year » Coaches of the Year » Games of the Year » Newcomers of the Year » Best of the Rest » Defensive Players of the Year » Offensive Players of the Year » Most Valuable Players »

A late-game Walsh interception (only his sixth in 303 attempts) allowed Cibolo Steele to hold off a late Guyer threat, 24-21.

But realistically, how close to 13 wins or the state title game would Guyer have gotten without Walsh’s amazing season? The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Oklahoma State commit completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,188 yards and 35 touchdowns.

As a runner, the durable Walsh led the Wildcats with 1,423 yards and 16 touchdowns. Combined, he generated over 4,611 yards of offense and 51 touchdowns in a 16-game season, leading the five-year-old school to its first state title appearance.

Walsh threw for a season-high 345 yards in a season-opening win over Waxahachie and rushed for a season-best 202 yards the following week in a loss to Cedar Hill.

Perhaps just as important as his statistics was his value to the team as a leader.

Class 4A: Jay Ajayi, Frisco Liberty, RB

The 6-foot, 200-pound tackle-breaking Ajayi helped put five-year-old Liberty on the football map in a memorable 12-1 season.

The senior, bound for Boise State, rushed for 2,219 yards and 35 touchdowns on 225 carries. He twice reached a game-high total of 292 yards, against Frisco Centennial in midseason and against South Oak Cliff in a bi-district playoff win.

In sparing use as a receiver, Ajayi had seven catches for 67 yards and one touchdown.

With Ajayi leading the way, Liberty stormed through an unbeaten regular season and two rounds of the playoffs before losing, 38-24, to Bastrop in the Class 4A Division II Region II semifinals.

But even in defeat, Ajayi didn’t go down quietly, rushing for 193 yards and a touchdowns.

Although far from a one-man team, Ajayi’s value to his team was on display in every week of Liberty’s season.

Saturday's Class 5A Division II championship game features unbelievable offensive talent and perhaps a taste into a rivalry that could carry over into the Big 12.

QB J.W. Walsh, a four-star recruit committed to Oklahoma State, and Denton Guyer face Malcolm Brown, the No. 2-rated running back in the 2011 class and Texas commit, and Cibolo Steele.

STATE FINALS
Watch ESPNDallas.com's Travis L. Brown, Jeff Andrews and Randy Jennings break down the state finals of the UIL football playoffs. Class 4A   Class 5A  Interviews: Denton Ryan's Dan Kottman » Aledo's Johnathan Gray » Aledo's Matthew Bishop » Denton Ryan's Kaylon Alexander » Denton Guyer's Ty Hook » Brackets: All 4A/5A » 4A DI | 4A DII | 5A DI | 5A DII Others (from UIL website) »

Walsh has thrown for 3,079 yards and 35 touchdowns. He's also rushed for 1,300 yards and six touchdowns for the Wildcats this year. Guyer is playing in its first Class 5A title game.

Brown is ESPN's No. 7 overall player in this year's recruiting class and is the top rushing prospect in the state. He had 20 scholarships offers before deciding to attend Texas next year.

The game will be Guyer's third trip to Cowboys Stadium this season. The Wildcats (13-2) were 1-1 in the previous games, both against Cedar Hill -- most recently in the area round of the playoffs and also in the Kirk Herbstriet Classic on Labor Day.

Guyer looks to complete a mini story-book ending to its season after advancing to the state championship game by blocking a punt and scoring with just seconds left in the semifinal against Longview.

Despite a successful season with huge wins, head coach John Walsh said Guyer's season won't be complete without achieving the ultimate goal.

"We're tired of winning gold balls," Walsh said. "We want a ring on our finger."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- Denton Guyer had little reason for hope.

The Wildcats trailed by six with 25 seconds left in the game. They had gotten pushed around by Longview for the third straight year. All Longview needed was a good punt to put the game away.

Enter defensive tackle Dan Kottman, who led a furious Guyer rush to block Longview's punt. One play later, quarterback J.W. Walsh hit Quint Gardener on a 15-yard fade pass to the end zone to give Guyer an improbable 28-27 win Saturday at SMU's Ford Stadium.

Guyer (13-2) advances to the Class 5A Division II state title game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cowboys Stadium against Cibolo Steele.

"It's definitely the biggest play I've ever made," Kottman said. "I knew we had to make a play and do something big. I took a run for it and made the stop."

The win finally gets Guyer past Longview, which defeated Guyer each of the past two years in the Class 4A state semifinals.

"Before the game I said it [Longview] wasn't a hurdle, but it was a hurdle," Guyer head coach John Walsh said. "At 17-0 at half, I just couldn't get rid of them. They find ways to hurt you. That's a great program."

Leading 27-21, Longview (10-5) got the ball at its own 5-yard line with 5:51 left in the game. The Lobos appeared well on their way to ending the game with an 11-play drive that took the ball to midfield before stalling with 25 seconds left in the game.

Guyer's defensive front immediately broke through the line after the ball was snapped on the punt attempt. The punter hesitated with the kick before a host of Guyer defenders reached him. Kamrhan Jones recovered the ball at the Longview 15-yard line. Gardener's game-winning touchdown reception came on the ensuing play with just 10 seconds left on the clock.

"When I saw them block that punt, I knew we were going to win," J.W. Walsh said. "From that moment I knew because when we get inside the 20 we have a money man, and that money man is Quintavia Gardener."

The blocked punt redeemed Guyer after an absymal first half when it turned the ball over on all five of its possessions, leading to a 17-0 halftime deficit. In the second half, Guyer scored touchdowns on all four of its possessions.

"We just couldn't hold onto the stinking ball," John Walsh said. "You just can't fumble."

J.W. Walsh, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half, rebounded nicely by accounting for all four Guyer touchdowns in the second half. He finished with 206 passing yards and 79 on the ground.

His first came on Guyer's opening possession of the second half. He danced through the middle of Longview's defense before bouncing outside for a 26-yard touchdown run to cut Longview's lead to 17-7.

From that point on, Guyer nibbled into Longview's lead. Walsh hit Josh Stewart on a 32-yard touchdown pass after a Longview field goal. Gardener, who caught three balls for 77 yards and two touchdowns, caught his first touchdown from 16 yards out to cut Longview's lead to 27-21 late in the fourth quarter.

Denton Guyer quarterback and Oklahoma State recruit J.W. Walsh talks to ESPNDallas.com's Travis L. Brown after leading the Wildcats past Southlake Carroll and into the Class 5A Division II state semifinals.

Southlake Carroll's home win streak of over 40 games was snapped at the hands of J.W. Walsh and Denton Guyer almost a month ago.

REGIONAL FINALS
Watch ESPNDallas.com's Travis L. Brown, Randy Jennings and Jeff Andrews break down the regional finls of the UIL football playoffs. Class 4A   Class 5A  Interviews: Denton Guyer's Josh Stewart » Denton Ryan's Jonny Paramore » Wylie's Nico Ramirez » Southlake Carroll's Kenny Hill » Brackets/scores: 4A DI | 4A DII | 5A DI | 5A DII Others (from UIL website) »

A banner that read "47-1" was left in an end zone after the game at Dragon Stadium and added fuel to an already raging fire.

Fast forward to Saturday when Southlake Carroll and Denton Guyer will face off again, this time in the regional final of the Class 5A Division II state playoffs.

"Of course we were disappointed," Southlake head coach Hal Wasson said of his team's 28-14 loss to Guyer in early November, "but we know we have a tremendous challenge right now, and we've got to stay focused and locked in on the things that we can do best to try and win a football game."

One area the Dragons have excelled of late is at quarterback behind Kenny Hill.



"He's very blessed with the 'it' factor," Wasson said. "The thing we first noticed about Kenny was he is very calm and collected even under pressure, under duress. That's a mature thing about him. I think our football team feeds off of it. In fact, he's kind of symbolic of our team."

Wasson said Hill's transition from a "work in progress" mirrors the Dragons' turnaround from early-season adversity to a team making a deeper playoff run this season than last. He said as Hill developed, the team developed.

Part of Guyer's success against Southlake in the first matchup was Walsh's ability to throw the deep pass over the top of the Southlake secondary. Walsh threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard strike to Connor Crane.

Walsh, who has committed to Oklahoma State, drew high praise from Wasson, who said his team would have to find a way to control him to have success in the rematch.

"J.W. Walsh is a very special player, kind of one of those once-in-a-lifetime players," Wasson said. "He exposes a lot of teams. We've got to do a really great job of controlling their offense. You don't go into it saying we're going to cold stone stop them, because I don't know if that's realistic. We've got to do the best we can to manage him and try and get a foothold in this game."

One thing has become evident about Southlake this season -- its ability to overcome adversity. The Dragons head into Saturday's game in an unfamiliar role as an underdog, but it's a label the team appears to embrace, Wasson said.

"Yes, there's no secret, we went through great adversity," Wasson said. "Was it fair we had to go through that, was it a fair thing? Well I have my own opinion about that, but we had to deal with it and go through with it. Fortunately, the character of this football team really shone at that time, and they chose through their mindset to make it make us stronger and focus on what we could control and not focus on things he said, she said."

Abilene Cooper and Denton Guyer likely thought they’d seen the last of each other when the two schools moved up from Class 4A to 5A in the biennial reclassification earlier this year.

But no. Guyer (10-2) and Cooper (11-1) will face off in a third-round playoff game for the third straight year. Only the classification has changed.

The Class 5A Division II regional playoff is the first of a triple-header Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Watch ESPNDallas.com's Travis L. Brown, Randy Jennings and Jeff Andrews break down the third round of the UIL football playoffs. Class 4A   Class 5A  Interviews: SL Carroll RB Paul Stevenson » Coppell QB Joe Minden » Denton Guyer QB J.W. Walsh » Brackets/scores: 4A DI | 4A DII | 5A DI | 5A DII Others (from UIL website) »

The winner will advance to the Region I final to play the winner of the Southlake Carroll-Abilene regional playoff that will be Game 2 Saturday at Cowboys Stadium.

Cooper will be hoping the third time around is a charm because the first two didn’t turn out too well for the Cougars -- a 57-34 loss to Guyer last year preceded by a 28-7 defeat in 2008.

Led by the passing and running of Oklahoma State commit J.W. Walsh, Guyer is riding a seven-game win streak. The 6-2, 185-pound senior has thrown for 2,540 yards and 28 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 989 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Running back Treavon Walton went over 1,000 yards last week and has scored 15 touchdowns for the Wildcats. Josh Stewart, a Texas A&M pledge, and Connor Crane are the top receiving threats.

Guyer avenged one of its losses with last week’s 48-35 area playoff victory over Cedar Hill. Undefeated Coppell dealt Guyer its only other defeat in what turned out to be the District 7-5A championship game.

Cooper, picked fourth in District 3-5A, surprised the experts by finishing in a three-way tie with Abilene and Midland for the title. Midland defeated the Cougars, 42-35, in the final regular-season game in Midland.

The Cougars are averaging 43 points a game with a sophomore quarterback and a pair of juniors leading the team in rushing and receiving.

Quarterback Clayton Nicholas has thrown for 2,949 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Davon Riddick has rushed for 1,444 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Kloe Jackson has 59 receptions for 919 yards and six touchdowns.

Cooper, however, will be missing three unidentified players Saturday.

After last week’s 36-17 area playoff win over Amarillo Tascosa in Lubbock, three Cougars were discharged for violations of team and school rules. The identities of the players were not revealed.

Denton Guyer quarterback and Oklahoma State recruit J.W. Walsh talks to ESPNDallas.com's Travis L. Brown on Saturday after the Wildcats beat Cedar Hill, 48-35, at Cowboys Stadium in the Class 5A Division II area round.

Prime playoff seeding is at stake Friday as Southlake Carroll hosts Denton Guyer in a regular-season finale that will determine who finishes second in District 7-5A.

Carroll (7-2, 5-1) regained control of a season that seemed to be spiraling out of control after preseason starting quarterback Daxx Garman was ruled ineligible by the UIL state executive committee. After a few weeks with Drew Ahmuty starting at quarterback, the Dragons found their stride with Kenny Hill, who has thrown for 932 yards and completed more than 74 percent of his passes.

Carroll turned its season in a positive direction after surviving an overtime scare from Richardson Berkner in its third game. The Dragons scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to put the game into the extra frame and then scored the winning touchdown.

Guyer (7-2, 5-1), No. 4 in the ESPNDallas.com Class 5A area rankings, boasts one of the top quarterbacks in the area in Oklahoma State commit J.W. Walsh. Walsh has thrown for 1,968 yards and 21 touchdowns and leads the Wildcats with 794 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Right behind Walsh is running back Treavon Walton, who has run for 669 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The shootout takes place Friday at Southlake’s Dragon Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

COPPELL -- Even with a prized quarterback recruit on the opposing sideline, Coppell quarterback Joe Minden felt no extra motivation for his team’s big District 7-5A clash against Denton Guyer.

“My focus was on what I needed to do,’’ said Minden, a 6-1, 180-pound senior. “We talked about playing at a high level, and tonight we did that.’’

Minden stood tough under Guyer’s pass rush completed 31-of-43 passes for 340 yards and two second-half touchdowns in Coppell’s 31-14 victory Friday night at Buddy Echols Field.

No. 3 Coppell (5-0), improved to 2-0 in District 7-5A.

No. 4 Guyer (3-2, 1-1), led by Oklahoma State quarterback commit J.W. Walsh, rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to take a brief 14-10 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter, but Minden had the hottest hand in the game’s final 15 minutes.

“J.W. is a great player,’’ Minden said. “Hats off to him. But this is a great win for our team.’’

Coppell coach Joe McBride said Minden is the kind of player who has worked hard to be in the position to lead his team as a senior.

“He’s been in the program four years and really started developing as a junior,’’ McBride said.

“Trust’’ is the word that both coach and quarterback use when talking about the other.

With Coppell nursing a 17-14 lead on fourth-and-goal at the Guyer 5, McBride called for a play-action pass. Minden delivered a perfect throw to Brandon Mullins in the left corner of the end zone for the clinching score.

“I have to make a call I can sleep with when I go home,’’ McBride said. “I called our kids over and told them I was going to put my trust in them.’’

Minden said that trust is a two-way street: “We just trust him.’’

Walsh led two second-half scoring drives, the first points allowed by the Coppell defense in the second half this season. It ended the Cowboys' streak of eight consecutive scoreless quarters.

Guyer rattled off two touchdowns in three minutes to turn a 10-0 halftime deficit into a 14-10 lead.

Fullback Dominic Ramacher capped an 83-yard, 12-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown run midway though the third period to cut the lead to 10-7. Only two passes were called on the drive.

Guyer took a 14-10 lead on Walsh’s 27-yard run at 3:46 of the third period.

Coppell had a championship type of response, going 70 yards in 12 plays to retake the lead, 17-14, on Minden’s 9-yard scoring pass on third down to Kyle Echerd.

The pass appeared to be tipped once before it got to Echerd and then the receiver tipped it into his own arms before falling to the turf.

Mullins followed his late touchdown catch with a 60-yard interception return with seven seconds on the clock, giving him two touchdowns within a span of 38 seconds.

It helped McBride forget about two false start penalties earlier in the game.

“He went from the outhouse to the penthouse,’’ McBride said.

Through four games, it’s hard for Coppell coach Joe McBride to find something that isn’t working.

The stats tell the story of No. 3 Coppell’s (4-0, 1-0 in District 7-5A) dominance:

* The Cowboys lead the Dallas-Fort Worth area in scoring defense, averaging a microscopic 6.8 points per game.

* Coppell has been remarkably productive for a run-first offense as it’s one of just five 5A teams averaging 500 yards per game.

* The Cowboys are beating teams by an average of 34 points.

But Coppell likely won’t have such an easy time at home against Denton Guyer on Friday. Guyer (3-1, 1-0 in 7-5A) has been equally brilliant in its first season at the 5A level.

Guyer QB J.W. Walsh, arguably the best signal-caller in the state, will test a Coppell defense that’s made short work of other dual-threat QBs such as Mesquite Horn’s Collin Strahan and Arlington’s Miles Onyegbule.

Coppell’s front seven -- led by DL Tanner Rice and LBs Brandon Mullins and Cody Marr -- shut down the run and forced Strahan and Onyegbule into third-down passing situations.

“Those three are just priceless,” McBride said. “They do a tremendous job. We always say you get what you emphasize and we really emphasize playing great defense and stopping the run. Those guys take a lot of pride in stopping the run.”

Even Coppell can stop the run against Guyer, it may not result in a stop as Walsh has the ability make big plays out of nothing.

“Every time I turn on video he’s popping big runs,” McBride said. “We have to be physical and be great tacklers. Many times there are people in the right spots but J.W. makes them miss.”

Coppell enjoys a health advantage over Guyer. Five starters won’t play for the Wildcats, including leading receiver Quinton Gardner, whose presence does a lot to free up Guyer’s running game.

If there were any doubts whether Denton Guyer could compete at the 5A level coming into the 2010 season, they’re gone now.

During nondistrict play, the No. 5 Wildcats (2-1) looked like they belonged in a comeback win over Mesquite Horn and in an overtime loss to 5A power Cedar Hill.

QB J.W. Walsh, who has yet to throw an interception this year, led a 71-yard touchdown drive with a little more than a minute left in Guyer’s 34-31 win over Horn, its first victory over a 5A team.

That milestone could have come two weeks earlier against Cedar Hill, but a botched extra point attempt in overtime sealed a 42-41 win for the Longhorns in what may be the best game in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so far this year.

Guyer should contend for the District 7-5A title along with Coppell (3-0) and Southlake Carroll (2-1), but even if the Wildcats fall short of a district crown, they look like a lock to make the playoffs after their performance in nondistrict.

Looking further ahead, the playoff picture could end up being harsh for Guyer. A spot in the Division II bracket is certain, and depending on which teams make the playoffs, an early matchup with Allen or Euless Trinity might loom.

Guyer opens 7-5A play against Justin Northwest on Friday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex in Denton.

• Kirk Herbstreit Classic officials estimated a total of 67,646 fans attended all four sessions of Monday’s event at Cowboys Stadium. The top session with 20,182 in attendance was the first, featuring Euless Trinity and Shiloh Christian. Next was the Cedar Hill vs. Denton Guyer overtime thriller with 18,334 paid attendance, followed by the late Arlington Bowie-Desoto game (15,898) and Dallas Skyline-St. Thomas Aquinas (13,232).

• Monday’s passing top performer was DeSoto’s Ryan Polite, who threw for 313 yards, 43 yards more than second-place finisher Driphus Jackson of Cedar Hill. Polite threw for five touchdowns. St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jacob Rudock was statistically the most efficient, going 10-for-14 and throwing for 230 yards.

• Monday’s top rusher was surprisingly Guyer quarterback J.W. Walsh, who scrambled for 214 yards on 21 carries for five touchdowns. Cedar Hill head coach Joey McGuire said they couldn’t stop Guyer’s play in which the Wildcats slid the halfback over to block for Walsh on the keeper. The top running back on the day was Euless Trinity’s Terrance Tusan, who tallied 128 yards on only eight carries and found the end zone twice. Just behind Tusan in yards was Guyer running back Treavon Walton, who ran for 120 yards on 22 carries.

• The top statistical receiver Monday was Shiloh Christian’s Zann Jones, who gained 166 yards on four catches for two touchdowns. The top Texas school receiver was Arlington Bowie’s Michael Reynolds, who had four catches for 118 yards and one touchdown.

• The State of Oklahoma had a lot to watch Monday with five top players to watch going to either Oklahoma State or Oklahoma next year. The future class of Cowboys includes Guyer’s Walsh and defensive end Jimmy Bean and Bowie free safety Quentin Sargent. Next year’s Sooner squad will include Trinity top receiver Brandon Carter and Skyline safety Shannon Franklin.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cedar Hill quarterback Driphus Jackson welled up with emotion after the Longhorns' 42-41 win over J.W. Walsh and the Denton Guyer Wildcats in game three of the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic on Monday at Cowboys Stadium.

Part of the emotion came from the obvious joy of winning by a made extra-point attempt in overtime after Guyer's extra point try was blocked on the Wildcats' overtime score. Part of Jackson’s emotion came from winning on his birthday. But the real emotion came from winning for the memory of a fallen friend.

Before the season began, Jackson changed his number to six to honor his a friend who was killed in a car accident over the summer. With that number on his chest, Jackson said he felt his friend was there, carrying him and his team to victory.

“Sporting this number, number 6, for my friend Deion made it probably one of my most emotional games because I knew he was with me,” Jackson said. “I changed my number this year and probably for the rest of my life just because of him. He was one of the most magnificent people I’ve ever been around in my life. ”

Jackson honored the memory of his friend superbly, completing 17-of-25 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns. His longest play of the night set up the game-tying score in the last minutes of the fourth as he hit Lovett Gibson on a 59-yard pass that would end on the Guyer 3-yard line.

The Longhorns' quarterback got the job done on the ground as well, leading the team with 72 yards on nine carries.

“Driphus Jackson has proven that he’s not just an athlete, he’s a quarterback,” Cedar Hill head coach Joey McGuire said.

Guyer’s signal caller, Walsh, also had a huge night, rushing for 214 yards and five touchdowns on 21 carries. He also completed 8-of-16 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown.

“You’ve got two of the best quarterbacks in the state of Texas, and both of them refused to lose. It was one of those deals with whoever had the ball last, and we got it done,” McGuire said.

Cedar Hill had the ball last in the overtime period after Walsh sprinted into the end zone from 9 yards out, putting the Wildcats up by six. However, the Longhorns got a hand on the extra point try.

“We were blessed enough to get a hand on that kick and came out and we just needed a chance,” McGuire said.

That gave No. 6 for Cedar Hill the chance to shine. Jackson began the drive with a 17-yard rush. Andre Anderson ended it with a 9-yard end around that tied the score. Cedar Hill kicker Ryan Sparkman won it with the extra point.

Despite the loss, Guyer moved the ball for 443 total yards. Cedar Hill finished with 423 total yards.

Cedar Hill moves up to 1-1 on the season after dropping another shootout against Allen last weekend at the Tom Landry Classic. Denton Guyer falls to 1-1.

CARROLLTON, Texas -- In its Class 5A debut, Denton Guyer demolished an elite Class 4A team.

Guyer looked like a well-oiled machine on both sides of the ball against Waxahachie on Saturday, crushing the Indians, 45-7, at Standridge Stadium.

Guyer (1-0) spent the offseason dominating the 7-on-7 circuit in preparation for its jump to 5A, losing to Miami Northwestern in the Nike 7On championship game in triple overtime.

The benefits of that experience were obvious against Waxahachie, as the Wildcats avoided the rust and miscues that often plague teams in Zero Week. All but two Guyer drives ended in scores, and they reached third down just four times the entire game.

"I think it's a mixture of what we do 7-on-7 in the summer and a mixture of a lot of senior leadership out there," said Guyer head coach John Walsh.

Quarterback J.W. Walsh, widely considered the best signal-caller in the state, was a model of efficiency, going 15-for-20 for 340 yards and four touchdowns. Quintavia Gardener caught three of those touchdowns on six receptions for 183 yards.

"I think 7-on-7 is good because you get to connect with the quarterback," Gardener said. "You get that trust. It's a big thing. He trusts me to catch it and go score with it. I trust him to throw the ball on the money."

Conversely, Waxahachie (0-1) looked very much like a team that's breaking in a bevy of new starters on both sides of the ball. Poor tackling doomed the Indians defensively, and the quarterback rotation of Brooks Teeter and Don King never got in a rhythm.

Teeter and King combined to go 10-for-21 for 146 yards, and the running game garnered just 61 yards on 35 carries.

Waxahachie's LaDarius Brown, one of the top recruits in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, had four receptions for 56 yards and suffered from the lack of production at quarterback.

"I like where we are defensively," John Walsh said.

Nursing a 7-0 lead, Walsh came alive midway through the first, hitting Gardener for a 59-yard touchdown. On Guyer's next possession, Walsh hit Conner Crane from 10 yards to give Guyer a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Waxahachie found its footing a bit in the second half when King found Ray Tunson in the end zone from 30 yards out to cut Guyer's lead to 35-7, but nothing consistent ever developed for the Indians.