LUBBOCK -- The first words out of Sam Alspach’s mouth after Guyer’s thrilling 37-35 win on Saturday told the story.

The Wildcats (12-2) handed Wolfforth Frenship its first loss of the season after Alspach drilled a 24-yard field goal as time expired to give the Wildcats their seventh straight win and the Class 4A Division I Region I title. They will now play Saturday night’s Longview-Waco Midway winner on Saturday at Texas Stadium in the state semifinal.

“I’m a pretty popular guy, all of a sudden,” the smiling senior kicker said after he completed a Guyer comeback following a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter. “A lot of people are coming up to me. It’s crazy.”

Frenship led 35-32 with 3:13 remaining in the game and the Tigers had the ball on their 9-yard line, facing fourth-and-16.

For the Denton Record-Chronicle/Geoffrey McAllister

Guyer kicker Sam Alspach, center, celebrates after kicking the game-winning field goal against Wolfforth Frenship in the Class 4A Division I Region I final on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. Guyer won, 37-35.

View larger More photos Photo store

That’s when Frenship coach Brad Davis decided to have punter Ben Christian take the snap and run out of the back of the end zone to give Guyer the safety and a one-point deficit. Christian averaged 30.2 yards per punt and had one blocked and returned for a touchdown by Guyer safety Antonio Burton midway through the third quarter.

“I felt like we had to take that safety just for field position,” Davis said. “I’d do it again. They made a heck of a drive there at the end, and they have a great field goal kicker and he was on all day. I defend my decision.”

Guyer started its final drive with 3:06 left in the game from its own 33-yard line. The Wildcats needed nine plays to end the game as time expired, and were kept alive by a key third-down conversion when sophomore quarterback J.W. Walsh found Daniel Harkins for a 14-yard gain to midfield.

The Wildcats converted four of 12 third downs on the day, but the four they converted were all at key times and in long-distance situations to keep drives alive in the midst of their comeback.

Walsh finished the game with 243 yards on 17-of-28 passing with a touchdown pass to Harkins and a subsequent two-point conversion toss to Austin Otto. He also added a touchdown run to cap a 99-yard drive in the second quarter to get the Wildcats on the board.

“Measuring quarterbacks is winning, third-down conversions and no turnovers,” Guyer head coach John Walsh said. “He had one turnover, but I thought third-down conversions were great, and he’s still undefeated as a starter, so I like that.”

The Harkins touchdown was set up by a Frenship fumble with 4:44 remaining, when the Tigers had a 35-24 lead. Chris Sortino forced the fumble and Cody Marley recovered at the Frenship 43-yard line.

For a program that went 1-19 in its first two seasons, and now is one game from the state title game, John Walsh said his program finally has its defining victory -- brushing aside earlier wins against Stephenville and Ryan.

“Our halftime goal was to be within one score in the third quarter, and in the fourth we’d tie it up and win,” Walsh said. “I thought the game plan at halftime worked a lot better than our pregame one. This is what I call a program-defining win.”

The first quarter was a disaster for Guyer. The Wildcats fell into a quick 14-0 hole in a matter of seconds as Frenship scored twice in 13 seconds after a Guyer fumble on the kickoff return.

Frenship’s Lance Ratliff had a huge day for the Tigers, as he scored four touchdowns (three receiving, one rushing) and had 155 yards through the air and 76 on the ground, highlighted by a 74-yard double-reverse for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 28-21 lead after the Wildcats fought to tie the game at 21.

Walsh said he knew at halftime that his offense and defense would get on a roll, and both did. The offense outscored Frenship 30-14 in the second half as the Guyer defense pitched five straight three-and-outs and had six straight stops in a stretch from the second to third quarter.

Guyer lost three fumbles, including two inside the Frenship 20, when the score was 21-7 in Frenship’s favor.

“In my pregame speech, it was all about no mistakes and no turnovers, and we gave them what they wanted,” Walsh said. “But I saw our defense step up and dig their heels in the ground, and I knew they wouldn’t score unless they tricked us.

“I knew we’d get rolling offensively. We have too many athletes. If we can’t power you, we’ll option you. If we can’t option you, we’ll throw. I really like where we’re at right now.”

Guyer rushed for just 155 yards, but threw for 273. The receiving effort was led by Luke Russell, who caught eight balls for 113 yards. Daniel Harkins hauled in six catches for 96 yards and a 34-yard scoring strike to pull Guyer within 35-32 with 4:44 remaining.

The Guyer defense got hit quick in the first quarter, but buckled down after that, allowing two more big plays to Ratliff but holding the rest of Frenship’s offense at bay.

The Wildcats held another opponent without a 100-yard rusher after having allowed just two all year, and had a memorable performance from their defensive line against the nation’s top center recruit, Frenship’s Mason Walters, who stands 6-6 and weighs 290 pounds.

The Wildcats’ two leading tacklers were defensive end Garrett Talburt, who finished with eight, and junior defensive tackle Taylor Bible, who went head-to-head with Walters for much of the game after Davis moved Walters to guard to try to contain Bible.

The Guyer junior finished the game with six tackles, including 4 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage, and had 1 1/2 sacks.

Bible was overcome by emotion following the game, unable to get many words out, but he did give his opinion on Walters, who has verbally committed to Texas.

“He’s a really good center -- a really good guard,” Bible said, choking back tears. “He’s good, but I felt like I outperformed him today.”

And while it seemed through two quarters of play that Guyer’s season might end, John Walsh summed up his team’s victory by saying the Wildcats shouldn’t have any doubters left.

“I think we’re officially winners,” Walsh said. “It wasn’t as easy as it’s been the last six weeks, and we just found a way to win. That’s how you advance in the playoffs.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.

Guyer 37, Wolfforth Frenship 35

Guyer   0          7          14        16        --         37

Frenship           21        0          7          7          --         35

Scoring summary

First Quarter

F – Lance Ratliff 6 pass from Tyler Lloyd (Ratliff kick), 5:39

F – Landon Lamb 35 pass from Lloyd (Ratliff kick), 5:26

F – Ratliff 71 pass from Lloyd (Ratliff kick), 2:48

Second Quarter

G – J.W. Walsh 8 run (Sam Alspach kick), 8:21

Third Quarter

G – Antonio Burton 3 blocked punt return (Alspach kick), 7:14

G – Jaimaine Wilhite 3 run (Alspach kick), 2:43

F – Ratliff 74 run (Ratliff kick), 1:16

Fourth Quarter

G – Alspach 29 field goal, 10:41

F – Ratliff 45 pass from Lloyd (Ratliff kick), 9:47

G – Daniel Harkins 34 pass from Walsh (Austin Otto pass from Walsh) 4:44

G – Safety, punter ran out of end zone, 3:13

G – Alspach 24 field goal, 0:00

Team Statistics

            G         F

First downs      23        10

Rushing yards   38-155 34-196

Passing yards    273      190

Total yards                                               428   386

Passes  19-30-0           7-15-0

Fumbles-lost     6-3       2-1

Punts-avg         3-35.7  6-26.8

Penalties-yds    5-25     5-36

Individual Statistics

Rushing: G – Jaimaine Wilhite 18-84, Deandre Wilson 7-32, J.W. Walsh 11-32, Luke Russell 1-7. F – Lance Ratliff 2-76, Bryan Seicks 9-40, Landon Lamb 9-40, Preston Dotson 4-10, Dallas Croyle 2-10, Alec Birchfield 1-7, Cole Martin 1-6, Ben Christian 1-(-10), Tyler Lloyd 5-(-17).

Passing: G – J.W. Walsh 17-28-0-243, Marquis Smith 1-1-0-24, Luke Russell 1-1-0-9. F – Tyler Lloyd 7-15-0-190.

Receiving: G – Luke Russell 8-113, Daniel Harkins 6-96, Deandre Wilson 2-38, Austin Otto 2-20, J.W. Walsh 1-9. F – Lance Ratliff 6-155, Landon Lamb 1-35.