A dominant season capped off by a dominating win.

Denton Ryan (15-0) ran the table the whole way as the top team in 5A Division I, finally capping off the 2020 season with its third state championship with a 59-14 rout over Cedar Park Friday night inside AT&T Stadium. It’s the Raiders’ first title since 2002.

Against Cedar Park’s (13-1) vaunted passing attack, Denton Ryan trusted its star playmakers on defense.

The Raiders’ stingy secondary and forceful pass rush forced Cedar Park quarterback Ryder Hernandez into two interceptions after only throwing two all season.

Ryan, a team that came up short last year against Shadow Creek and three times before in the semifinals against Highland Park, finally hoisted the elusive hardware.

“This medal looks and feels so much better than a silver one,” senior Billy Bowman Jr. said. “My four years here, all the years I’ve been on varsity, we’ve came up so short.”

The Raiders jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves quickly answered with a smooth touchdown drive of their own led by Hernandez. However, after that response, the Raiders’ playmakers hit another level and cashed in big play after big play starting with quarterback Seth Henigan’s 52-yard touchdown dime to Keagan Cunningham.

On Cedar Park’s next possession, Ty Marsh forced Hernandez into his first interception of the night, which led to another Henigan touchdown pass. The next Cedar Park drive, Hernandez tossed his second pick to Garyreon Robinson. Unfortunately, it was that kind of night for the Timberwolves.

“We’ve been in a lot of tight ball games,” Denton Ryan head coach Dave Henigan said. “We’ve been in a grinder just to get to this point against a bunch of really good football teams. Our kids’ composure, poise during those moments are one of the things that carried us to victory.

“These things are hard to win.”

Ryan’s front four sacked Hernandez three times and held Cedar Park to just 12 rushing yards. The Timberwolves worked down the field just before halftime. Ryan held a 31-8 lead, but Cedar Park was in position to take a positive swing into the locker room before Marsh flexed his ball-hawking skill again and ripped a fumble at the six-yard line to rob Cedar Park of a crucial scoring opportunity. Marsh finished as the game’s Defensive MVP with 5.5 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and recovery and three pass breakups.

“We had some uncharacteristic mistakes and whatnot, but it doesn’t diminish what our kids accomplished this year going through probably the most difficult football season in history,” Cedar Park head coach Carl Abseck said.

Seth Henigan was named Offensive MVP following his 264 yards through the air and four touchdowns.

“Seth has played his tail off for three years,” Dave Henigan said. “And coaches’ kids like him and Billy (Bowman) often times get an unfair shake. When you play quarterback at Denton Ryan there’s always high expectations. When you play quarterback at Denton Ryan and you’re the coach’s son, it’s even higher expectations and a lot more unfair criticism.”

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