The two best teams in Texas in the 5A ranks square off on Friday in a heavily-anticipated matchup.
ALEDO, Texas — The two best 5A football teams in Texas square off on Friday night, as the No. 2 ranked Aledo Bearcats, the two-time defending 5A-Div. I State Champions, host No. 1 Denton Ryan. And you can watch the game live for free on Friday Night Football on WFAA+.
Aledo has not lost a game against a district opponent since Oct. 5, 2007. By the time Friday comes along, that will be a span of 6,209 days. The Bearcats intend to see the streak reach 6,210 days and beyond. Denton Ryan has a chance to make history.
You can watch the game live on our streaming platform WFAA+, which is available on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV. You can also watch the game right here on WFAA.com, or our WFAA YouTube channel.
This is likely the first of two meetings between the state powers. A Regional Final matchup in early December is quite likely. But Friday night is our first chance to get a feel for how these two teams stack up.
Denton Ryan comes in at 4-0 on the year and with an offense that averages 47.3 points per game behind new starting quarterback Quin Henigan. Henigan threw for seven touchdown passes last week against Granbury and has multiple weapons on the outside, led by senior Braeden Mussett. Nemo Warmate and Tre’Vaughn Reynolds are the primary ballcarriers for Ryan, running behind a terrific offensive line. Left tackle Ty Haywood is a five-star prospect committed to Alabama, and his right tackle counterpart Marcus Garcia is a four-star prospect committed to Texas A&M.
They’ll face an Aledo defense that brings back just four starters from last year’s state championship winning squad. But there are still plenty of playmakers for the Bearcats defense, led by defensive end Cooper Cyphers and linebackers Ben McElree and Chase Wilburn. Kamron Hall and Adrian Fuller lead the secondary.
The Bearcats offense is almost an entirely new-look unit, with only three starters back from 2023. But while many familiar faces like Hauss Hejny are gone, there are two big names back this year — wideout Kaydon Finley and running back Raycine Guillory. Finley is the son of former Packers tight end Jermichael Finley. He’s also a superstar in his own right – a four-star prospect with 29 scholarship offers, and the ability to score on any given play. Guillory is the main ballcarrier, already amassing 486 yards and nine touchdowns in just five games this season.
The Ryan defense is stout, giving up just 13.8 points per game this year behind junior defensive end Errol West, defensive tackle Uzziah ‘Cookie’ Warmate, and linebacker Dillon Arkansas. They’ll have the unenviable task of trying to slow down Finley and Guillory.
Our Friday Night Football pregame show will begin at approximately 6:50 p.m., with kickoff to follow at 7 p.m. Join Mike Leslie and Hek’ma Harrison on the call, for Week 6 of the Texas high school football season.
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