With kickoff more than two hours away, fans of the Ryan and Guyer high school football teams were lined up Saturday morning for their chance to witness the crosstown rivalry play out on the field of C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

DRC/David Minton

Guyer High School football fans celebrate during the closing seconds of the Wildcats’ 28-25 playoff victory over Ryan Saturday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

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As they chatted — in some cases, with teeth chattering — and stood around in the below-50-degree weather, fans were eager to get inside.

“We haven’t missed a game yet,” said Jeannie Jones, whose daughter is an athletic trainer for Guyer. “This is so awesome that they got this far.”

Jones, originally from California, was amazed by the support the community showed for both teams.

“The school spirit and support is unbelievable,” she said. “It’s a community project, not just ‘one school’ or ‘that school.’”

Jones has older children who played football at Southern California high schools, and she said they “never had support for the kids like this.”

A teacher for many years, Jones said community support makes a difference in the classroom as well as on the field.

Stephen Simmons, a Guyer senior, said students at the school feel the community support and it makes them want to support the school, too. He said it’s nice being part of “a pretty good rivalry.”

“It could be one for the ages,” he said.

A little after noon, the gates were opened and fans began filing in with their blankets, seat cushions, signs, foam fingers, banners and noisemakers.

DRC/David Minton

The Ryan High School football team takes the field before its playoff game against Guyer on Saturday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

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The Ryan side of the stadium was a sea of red shirts, jackets and red-painted faces. The numbers on the Ryan side seemed to eclipse those on the Guyer side. Friends caught up with each other, discussing Ryan’s chances of victory and even talking about their split allegiances due to family members at different schools. One fan referenced being “a Raider fan today.”

Chris Harberson, a lifelong Denton resident, said the Denton school district wins either way.

“Having a facility like this helps,” he said as he enjoyed a serving of chili-cheese chips.

Harberson said there’s a lot of excitement for the rivalry, even though it’s fairly new.

“Our rivalry was Denton and Odessa Permian,” Harberson recalled from his high school days.

“It’s going to get loud in here,” he said. “It gonna be like a mini Texas-OU game.”

And it was. Guyer survived a 28-25 thriller to advance to the state semifinals.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com.