When Denton squares off against Ryan at 7 p.m. tonight it is no secret the Broncos are heavily mismatched.

On one sideline there will be a heavily favored Ryan team that boasts one of the best offenses in the country.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Denton defensive backs Daveon Parrish, back, and Nick Carrell will face a monumental task when the Broncos take on Ryan star quarterback Scotty Young and the Raiders’ talented wide receivers.

View larger More photos Photo store

On the other sideline there will be an undersized Denton team that will start six sophomores on defense.

Some may call it David vs. Goliath, or state power vs. underdog, but Denton coach Randy Patzkowski doesn’t think his team is caught up in all the pregame talk.

“High school football players are kids,” he said. “They don’t really get caught up with what people are saying. They are worried about other things. They are worried about if a girl is going to turn them down for a date.”

Well, tonight at C.H. Collins the Broncos have a date with Ryan quarterback Scotty Young and company.

And it might not be pretty.

Young has thrown for 1,495 yards and has 22 touchdown passes during 11 quarters of work in Ryan’s (4-0, 1-0) first four games. Last year the future Texas Tech triggerman torched Denton for 238 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of Ryan’s 58-14 win.

But don’t think the Broncos (1-3, 0-1), who will start three sophomores in the secondary, are intimidated by their rival.

“They aren’t in awe or intimidated or scared of Ryan,” Patzkowski said. “They know Ryan is a very good football team. They know we are mismatched. But our kids have a great swagger. And they have a lot of confidence.”

Just ask them.

Enter sophomore defensive back Daveon Parrish.

“We are young, we are talented,” Parrish said. “[Young] is human. He can be stopped. We have to play fast every play. We can’t take any play off.If you do it will show.”

Teammate Nick Carrell also will have his eyes on Young and Ryan’s arsenal of receivers.

“They are good and will be the best we have seen so far,” he said. “They throw it all over the place. I just have to take care of my zones and flock to the ball.”

Denton’s young defenders understand it will be a tough task to cover all of Ryan’s receivers.

“They have so many role players,” Patzkowski said. “They all are playmakers.”

Young will have many targets to choose from.

Bud Sasser, Michael Cudd and Antonio Anderson all have more than 300 yards receiving this season. Running back Kaylon Alexander is also a big threat out of the backfield.

“Offensively, they may be the best high school team I have witnessed,” Patzkowski said. “They have all of the ingredients. And they execute well. They are going to be hard to stop. And really all you can do is try and slow them down.”

Sasser is the go-to-guy for Young and Parrish will have the task of guarding the future college athlete.

“I will be doing my best at locking him up,” Parrish said. “He is a real good receiver. I am going to have to play my best football I have played all year. If I stop him, I’ll be the first guy to stop him. If I don’t stop him I’ll be like everyone else who is on his hit list. I don’t want to be on anybody’s hit list.”

Carrell said Denton has to forget about the stats Young & Co. has produced.

“He is good and everyone knows that,” Carrell said. “But we can’t worry about what he has done. Our defense just needs to step up and take care of it.”

Ryan coach Joey Florence is well aware of Carrell, Parrish and Denton’s young, aggressive secondary.

“To me, Denton High’s kids in the secondary are going to be the most athletic we’ve faced,” he said. “They’re young, so it’s going to be an interesting matchup for us. But those young kids they’ve got are good players, so I’m anxious to see how we do against them.”

Regardless of the outcome, it will be another learning process for Denton’s young defense.

“This whole season has been a maturation process for them,” Patzkowski said. “I have been pleased. Of course at times they have played like sophomores, but they also have shown me the reason why they are on the varsity.”

MATTHEW MUENCH can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mmuench@dentonrc.com .