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Waxahachie Fends Off Denton Guyer To Remain Unbeaten In Matchup Of 6A Contenders: Texas High School Football

Indians get a late defensive touchdown to seal a 44-30 road win
Buck Ringgold|
Waxahachie quarterback Jerry Meyer III
Waxahachie quarterback Jerry Meyer III | Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News

A key matchup between two Texas University Interscholastic League 6A title contenders was truly a Thursday night special.

In a game pitting two teams ranked in the latest High School On SI Top 25 Texas high school football poll, Waxahachie rallied from a halftime deficit to take the lead; then iced the game with a defensive touchdown in the final seconds to outlast Guyer High School, 44-30, in Denton.

Waxahachie, which jumped six spots to No. 8 in the latest state rankings, moved to 3-0 while Guyer - which moved up from No. 19 to No. 15 - dropped to 2-1.

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Down 17-14 at halftime, the Indians went in front early in the second half on a TD run from Taylen Strange, who rushed for 192 yards and three TDs. His last TD gave Waxahachie a 14-point lead, 37-23, with less than eight minutes remaining.

Guyer then scored a TD to make it a seven-point game, and later got the ball in Waxahachie territory. However, Renard Jennings forced a fumble and teammate Jayvon Moore scooped it up and took it 80 yards to the house with 1:24 left to put the game away.

Waxahachie racked up 411 yards of total offense - 270 of that on the ground. Quarterback Jerry Meyer III, a South Carolina commit, was 16-of-21 passing for 141 yards.

The Wildcats finished with 377 total yards - 246 of that coming through the air, all from Carter Morgan. DJ Reese caught seven passes for 147 yards.

Guyer was also hurt by penalties, committing 19 infractions for 119 yards, along with turning the ball over twice.

Follow High School On SI correspondent Buck Ringgold (@Bucks_Ballpark) for all of the live updates and scoring from Denton.

Scroll down for live score and game updates from kickoff to the postgame. Refresh this page for the latest.

WAXAHACHIE 44, DENTON GUYER 30 FINAL

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POSTGAME

- Waxahachie rallies from a halftime deficit and gets some huge plays on both sides of the ball to remain undefeated. Indians go to 3-0 while Guyer drops to 2-1.

FOURTH QUARTER

- Looks like Waxahachie held on defense, and the Indians are going to get out of Denton with a win to move to 3-0.

- SCOOP AND SCORE TOUCHDOWN WAXAHACHIE. WOW, WHAT A MOMENTUM SHIFT. Guyer was driving, but on a third-and-goal, Renard Jennings forces a fumble and Jayvon Moore returns it 80 yards to the house, and the PAT is good. (Waxahachie, 44-30 | 1:24, 4th)

- Guyer has a first-and-goal at the Waxahachie 8 as we have reached the two-minute timeout.

- Guyer's defense forces Waxahachie to punt deep in its own territory, and gets great field positon on a solid return. Wildcats have the ball at the Indians' 20 with more than two minutes left.

- Waxahachie went for it again on fourth down in its territory and gets denied once more. But Guyer can't take advantage and punts it. But the ball is downed at the 1-yard line, where the Indians will take over with less than a minute to go.

- TOUCHDOWN DENTON GUYER. Wildcats not going away, and they cut the Indians' lead to seven on a 6-yard TD run from Tristan Shelton. (Waxahachie, 37-30 | 6:43, 4th)

- TOUCHDOWN AND 2-POINT CONVERSION WAXAHACHIE. Indians now up by 14 as Taylen Strange scores again, the latest from a yard out. Then the Indians get two more on a pass from Jerry Meyer III to Jashawn Crayton. (Waxahachie, 37-23 | 7:38, 4th)

- Still anyone's ballgame as we are now in the final period of play.

THIRD QUARTER

- FIELD GOAL GUYER. Wildcats make it a one-score game as Andrew Johnson hits a 27-yard field goal late in the third. (Waxahachie, 29-23 | :35, 3rd)

- TOUCHDOWN AND 2-POINT CONVERSION WAXAHACHIE. Wow, what a response from the Indians. Jordan Smith returns the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to the house; then Demier Zamora adds a two-point run as they extend their lead to two scores. (Waxahachie, 29-20 | 5:16, 3rd)

- FIELD GOAL GUYER. Play has resumed, and Guyer has kicked a 45-yard field goal. It's a one-point game. (Waxahachie, 21-20 | 5:34, 3rd)

- We have an injury time out in Denton. A Waxahachie player is shaken up and he's being helped off the field.

- TOUCHDOWN WAXAHACHIE. Indians go in front for the first time tonight, wrapping up a 90-yard drive with Taylen Strange going in from 4 yards out. PAT is good. (Waxahachie, 21-17 | 7:46, 3rd)

- The second half is now under way.

HALFTIME

- Waxahachie had 217 yards of total offense in the first half (97 rushing, 120 passing), while Guyer had 201 total yards (75 rushing, 126 passing). Wildcats also committed 13 penalties for 80 yards.

SECOND QUARTER

- Guyer misses a 45-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds of the half. But the Wildcats will have the lead at the break.

- Guyer driving in Waxahachie territory with less than two minutes to go in the half.

- TOUCHDOWN WAXAHACHIE. Indians get back into the game, as Taylen Strange scores from a yard out to cap a TD drive. (Denton Guyer, 17-14 | 4:28, 2nd)

- FIELD GOAL DENTON GUYER. Wildcats unable to get it into the end zone after stopping Waxahachie on downs inside its own 20. But they are able to get three more points on the board. (Denton Guyer, 17-7 | 7:25, 2nd)

- Waxahachie faces a fourth-and-1 at its own 19 and decides to go for it. But Guyer's defense is there to push the Indians away, and the Wildcats have a very short field to work with in an attempt to boost its advantage.

- We are under way in the second quarter following a wild finish to the opening stanza.

FIRST QUARTER

- TOUCHDOWN DENTON GUYER. It didn't take long for the Wildcats to break the tie, as Jayden Thomas darts in from 60 yards out with nine seconds to go in the quarter. (Denton Guyer, 14-7 | :09, 1st)

- TOUCHDOWN WAXAHACHIE. Indians finish off a long drive with a 1-yard sneak from Micah Lewis. The PAT is good, and we are tied. (7-7 | :57, 1st)

- Waxahachie knocking on the door, putting together a lengthy drive. Indians are now inside the Guyer 10.

- Waxahachie able to dig itself out of the hole, and the Indians get the ball out near midfield.

- Waxahachie's defense holds, forcing Guyer to punt it away for the third time. The Wildcats are able to down it inside the 5, so the Indians are pinned deep with five minutes to go in the period.

- FUMBLE RECOVERY DENTON GUYER. Waxahachie fumbles the ball away again, right after giving it away for Guyer's opening TD. Guyer with the ball near the Indians' 40. It appeared that Khyren Haywood knocked the ball out, and Logan Lokey recovered it.

- SCOOP N SCORE TOUCHDOWN DENTON GUYER. Waxahachie forced Guyer to punt it away again, but on the very next play, the Indians fumble. The Wildcats' Bam Moss is there to grab it and he goes in from 34 yards out for the touchdown. PAT is good. (Denton Guyer, 7-0 | 7:09, 1st)

- Waxahachie reaches the red zone before going backward, and the Indians end up quick-kicking it away. Both teams punt on its opening possessions.

- Guyer fields the opening kickoff and picks up one first down before the drive bogs down, and the Wildcats punt it away. Waxahachie to take over for its initial series.

- We are now under way in Denton.

PREGAME

- Live from Denton, it’s a compelling non-district matchup between two UIL 6A title contenders as Waxahachie takes on Denton Guyer.

ABOUT WAXAHACHIE

The Indians got past Coppell, 27-24, last week to win their second straight game to start the season. Waxahachie waxed Ennis, 72-14, to begin the year on a high note.

Behind an offense led by quarterback and South Carolina commit Jerry Meyer III, the Indians are averaging nearly 460 yards of total offense.

ABOUT DENTON GUYER

The Wildcats traveled to the northern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex last week and came away with a 27-9 win against a solid Melissa squad. In their opener, they posted a 45-20 win against Rockwall-Heath.

Waxahachie’s potent offense will be tested by an equally aggressive Guyer defense. Headed up by players such as Oregon commit Zane Rowe, the Wildcats have held opponents to  an average of 44 yards through two contests.

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Buck Ringgold
BUCK RINGGOLD

Buck Ringgold is a veteran high school sportswriter with extensive experience covering sports in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. He is a longtime contributor to High School On SI.

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