Apparently, Ryan just needed a little time to settle back in to its old home.

After a starting slow and falling behind by two scores Friday, the Raiders reeled off six unanswered touchdowns and put on a defensive exhibition on their way to a 42-17 win over Carrollton Newman Smith at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

“We weren’t ready to play,” Ryan head coach Joey Florence said. “They outcoached us and outplayed us in the first half. The good part of it is that, after that we calmed down, the coaches made some adjustments and the defense just kind of took over.”

Not before it gave up 10 points to open the game to a traditionally run-centric Newman Smith (0-2) squad that came out throwing early.

The Trojans were a picture of efficiency on their first drive, marching down the field on Ryan (2-0) and its vaunted defense. Newman Smith threw for 44 yards on its opening drive and got two big scrambles from quarterback Jose Martinez to open the scoring less than five minutes into the game.

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans pounced on a Ryan fumble and used the solid field position to convert a 20-yard field goal to take a quick two-score lead.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Ryan senior defensive end Ty Hook said. “They were just more ready than we were. They just ate us up with those passes.”

Then the tide turned.

Ryan answered on its first full possession with a 6-yard run by Jacoby Lawson and then, a few possessions later, took the lead after Cedric Harris jumped on a wobbly pass by Martinez and took it 24 yards to the house.

“I thought that was big,” Florence said of Harris’ interception. “He’d just missed a slant on the previous play and came back and made up for it. Our secondary really stepped up and played well for us tonight.”

The two quick scores were indicative of things to come, as Ryan proceeded to reel off four more touchdowns while clamping down on Newman Smith’s offense.

Over the next two quarters, the Raiders would get two more touchdown passes from quarterback Nash Knight — one a 46-yarder to Kaylon Alexander and the other a 32-yarder to Michael Cudd — another run by Lawson and an 8-yard run by Jerrick Harvey.

On defense, meanwhile, the Raiders smothered the Trojans’ previously potent attack. Newman Smith managed just 165 yards of total offense on the night while completing less than 50 percent of its passes after its first drive.

Ryan’s much-hyped defensive front had a phenomenal game, holding the Trojans to just 72 yards on 35 carries. Mario Edwards came up with two sacks on the night, while Hook added another and recovered a fumble deep in Trojan territory that set up Knight’s touchdown pass to Cudd on the next play.

“When they came out like that, it kind of gets you mad,” Hook said. “They just moved down there pretty easily. We just had to come out and make up for it.”

Florence, however, didn’t seem too impressed by the numbers on the scoreboard.

“The positive thing is that we were able to handle the adversity and go out there and get the win,” he said. “I’m happy about that. But we just have to stop making mistakes. We have to be prepared better, and that one is on me. Its mine and the coaches’ job to get these kids prepared, and we just didn’t do it.”

MARSHALL MOORE can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mmoore@dentonrc.com.

Ryan 42, Newman Smith 17

Newman Smith                10           0              0              7              --             17

Ryan      7              14           7              14           --             42

Scoring summary

First quarter

NS – Baxton Bearden fumble recovery (Edward Valadez kick), 7:14

NS – Edward Valadez 20 field goal, 5:26

R – Jacoby Lawson 6 run (Colten Gutierrez kick), 2:24

Second quarter

R – Cedric Harris 24 interception return (Gutierrez kick), 10:06

R – Kaylon Alexander 46 pass from Nash Knight (Gutierrez kick), 1:17

Third quarter

R – Lawson 3 run (Gutierrez kick), :09

Fourth Quarter

R – Michael Cudd 32 pass from Knight (Gutierrez kick), 11:14

R – Jerrick Harvey 8 run (Gutierrez kick), 6:37

NS – D-Jay Jones 1 run (Valadez kick), 4:10

Team Statistics

                NS          R

First downs        12           18

Rushing yards    35-72     34-152

Passing yards     93           173

Total yards                                                              165    325

Passing 11-28-1 13-21-0

Fumbles-lost     4-1          3-3

Punts-avg.          5-29.0    3-27.0

Penalties-yads  6-60       8-80

Individual Statistics

Rushing: NS – D-Jay Jones 16-25, Jose Martinez 12-20, Trai Pickney 1-17, Jerome Akintunde 2-3, Braxton Bearden 2-(minus-1), Tripp Abbott 2-(minus-2). R – Jerrick Harvey 7-59, Kaylon Alexander 11-52, Devante Traylor 3-23, Craig Moore 1-18, Jacoby Lawson 3-11, Hunter Wakefield 2-6, Kamrun Bowen 2-4, Ty Hook 1-0, Nash Knight 4-(minus-21).

Passing: NS – Jose Martinez 10-27-1-90, Tripp Abbott 1-1-0-3. R – Nash Knight 13-21-0-173.

Receiving: NS – Braxton Bearden 5-39, Shawn Holmes 2-20, Brandon English 1-17, D.C. Dye 1-6, Ed Williams 1-6, Trai Pickney 1-5. R – Michael Cudd 4-61, Kaylon Alexander 2-57, Sam Johnson 1-15, Dominic Thompson 2-14, Craig Moore 1-14, Jacoby Lawson 2-11, Jerrick Harvey 1-1.