WICHITA FALLS -- It was obvious Wichita Falls Rider was ready for a shootout for the District 5-4A title, but the Ryan Raiders left their guns in Denton.

A dismal start coupled with three first-half turnovers put Ryan in an early hole in what was supposed to be a showcase for two high-octane offenses. Rider was the only one firing in a 45-7 win Friday at Memorial Stadium.

Rider (8-1, 5-0) clinched a share of the District 5-4A title with the win. It was the worst loss for Ryan (5-4, 4-1) since a 48-7 loss to Colleyville Heritage to open the 2006 season.

“We played a good football team and they were motivated,” said Ryan head coach Joey Florence. “They’re very talented. We turned the ball over. We allowed two big touchdown passes in the first quarter and two turnovers. The game was pretty much over after that, but I want to give enough credit to that team over there and their coaches. He had them ready to play tonight. They took the fight to us a little bit. We turned the ball over and you can’t do that against these type of people.”

Rider was able to take a big first-half lead thanks to three Ryan turnovers and a turnover on downs. After scoring on its opening drive on a 45-yard pass from quarterback Shavodrick Beaver to Eric Ward, Ryan’s offense showed promise, but Austin Axtell fumbled in Rider territory to end the drive.

Rider ran five plays on its next drive, four of them for first downs, and Ward got his second of three scores in the half from 15 yards out.

Down 14-0 after the first, Ryan was already out of the game. Ryan’s offense sputtered through the half and the defense couldn’t keep up with Rider’s speed and athleticism. Rider scored 24 in the second quarter to take a 38-0 halftime lead.

“They’re tremendously talented kids,” Florence said of Rider. “This is a tough loss but at the same time we knew this game wasn’t that significant to us.”

Axtell went 8-for-12 for 68 yards and an interception in the first half. After the break, Jay Catlin played the rest of the game at quarterback, going 6-for-10 for 55 yards and a touchdown. He added 59 rushing yards.

Catlin led Ryan on its only scoring drive. The junior took Ryan 80 yards and after over throwing D.J. Beshears on a fade route in the corner of the end zone on third down, Ryan ran the exact same play on fourth-and-5 and Catlin converted to Beshears for the touchdown – the sixth straight game Beshears has caught a touchdown pass.

Rider’s playmakers had their way all night. Ward didn’t catch a ball in the second half, but got wide open on every passing play in the first half. He caught six balls for 101 yards and three touchdowns.

Beaver went 10-for-14 with three touchdowns. Jurell Thompson led Rider on the ground, rushing eight times for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Things really unraveled for Ryan in the second quarter. Rider opened the quarter with a 53-yard drive capped by a 12- score by Ward.

After that, things fell apart yard quickly for Ryan. Down 21-0, Taylor Lokey seemingly gave Ryan new life with a one-handed grab on fourth down to set Ryan up in Rider territory. But Catlin fumbled a hand off, accidentally kicked it toward the sideline, and Rider linebacker Mason Deerinwater took it 46 yards for a touchdown.

Ryan turned it over on downs on another budding drive, which Rider converted for a field goal. With a short field and just seconds on the clock, Rider was able to sneak one more score in before the half, a 20-yard run by Jurell Thompson.

Ryan has already wrapped up a playoff spot and as the Division I representative and is locked into its playoff seeding regardless of where it places in district.

Next week, Ryan takes on Denton at 7:30 p.m. at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

“We’ll be back,” Florence said. “We’ll come back ready.”

Wichita Falls Rider 45, Denton Ryan 7

(At Memorial Stadium, Wichita Falls)

DR       0            0            7            0            --            7

WFR    14            24            7            0            --            45

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

WFR -- Eric Ward 45 pass from Shavodrick Beaver (Joey Neale kick), 10:20

WFR -- Ward 15 pass from Beaver (Neale kick), 3:34

Second Quarter

WFR -- Ward 12 pass from Beaver (Neale kick), 8:10

WFR -- Mason Deerinwater 46 fumble return (Neale kick), 5:21

WFR -- Neale 35 field goal, 1:58

WFR -- Jurell Thompson 20 run (Neale kick), 0:15

Third Quarter

DR -- D.J. Beshears 5 pass from Jay Catlin (Nick Rinks kick), 5:20

WFR -- Jurell Thompson 7 run (Neale kick), 1:24

            DR            WFR

First downs            12            16           

Rushing yards            33-124            29-182

Passing yards            142            190           

Total yards            266            372

comp-att-int            15-23-1            10-14-0

fumbles-lost            2-2            0-0

Punts-avg            5-28.2            3-35.3

Penalties-yds            3-26            5-40

Individual stats

Rushing: DR – Jay Catlin 11-59, Isaac Walker 9-44, Will Clark 5-18, Will Nelson 2-4, Austin Axtell 6-(-1). WFR – Jurell Thompson 8-100, Damien Washington 10-37, Shavodrick Beaver 3-16, Tim Berardi 3-10, Ryan McDonald 1-10, Jake Awtry 1-7, Eric Ward 1-1, Mason Deerinwater 2-1.

Passing: DR – Austin Axtell 8-12-1-68, Jay Catlin 6-10-0-55, Will Nelson 1-1-0-19. WFR – Shavodrick Beaver 10-14-0-190.

Receiving: DR – Taylor Lokey 5-62, Ryan Salter 4-35, D.J. Beshears 3-26, Antonio Anderson 1-19, Isaac 2-0. WFR – Eric Ward 6-101, Damien Washington 2-64, Chris Edmond 1-17, Tim Carlson 1-8.

JEFF ANDREWS can be reached at 940-566-6873. His e-mail address is jandrews@dentonrc.com.