Putting up ridiculous offensive numbers is getting to be ho-hum for the Ryan Raiders.

Quarterback Scotty Young threw for 323 yards and five touchdowns in a little more than two quarters’ worth of work. Receivers D.J. Beshears and Bud Sasser both went over 100 yards receiving as Beshears had three touchdowns and Sasser had one.

On the ground, Ryan was equally impressive as Jay Catlin gained 155 of Ryan’s 284 rushing yards. In all, the Raiders put up 613 yards of total offense in a 58-14 romp of Little Elm (0-7, 0-4) on Thursday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

The win was the first step toward getting Ryan (5-2, 2-2) into the playoffs after the Raiders lost two of their first three District 5-4A games, including a heartbreaking loss to Lake Dallas last week.

“I feel real good offensively,” said Ryan head coach Joey Florence. “We gave up two big pass plays. It was two pretty good throws and catches. We settled down and our kids played well tonight. I’m proud of them for coming back. They played hard last Friday night. I was worried how we’d play tonight.”

The only blemish on an otherwise flawless night for Ryan was a couple of early touchdowns given up in the first quarter, scores that made the game interesting early.

On the third play of the game, Lobo receiver Fred Fowler caught a 74-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darnell Adams where the receiver made a great grab and went untouched into the end zone.

With Ryan leading 14-7 later in the first quarter, Fowler did it again, hauling in a 43-yard touchdown pass after the senior again got behind the Raider secondary.

“We got to quit doing that. I’m not going to lie,” Florence said. “Our kids have to learn we can’t give up those easy touchdowns like that, but I don’t want to take away from Little Elm. Those were two pretty good throws and catches there.”

But Ryan’s offense rendered those scores irrelevant with another outstanding outing. After Little Elm’s opening touchdown, Ryan Salter returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

After a Little Elm three-and-out, Ryan’s offense marched 88 yards on its first possession to take a 14-7 lead on a Beshears’ first touchdown of the game, a 6-yard reception.

After Little Elm’s second touchdown that tied the game at 14, it was all Ryan. The Raiders scored 44 unanswered points, starting with a 63-yard reception by Beshears to put Ryan up 21-14.

“You have to give credit to the offensive line and Jay Catlin,” Florence said of his pass protection, which hardly allowed a Little Elm defender to even touch Young. “Jay does such a good job back there. It’s tough to get to Scotty.”

Before the half was over, Beshears caught a third touchdown pass — a 27-yarder — and Bud Sasser and Antonio Anderson caught one apiece to give the Raiders a 42-14 halftime lead.

At halftime, Scotty Young had 290 yards and five touchdowns, which was a school record entering the year that Young has since broken twice and tied twice more.

Ryan’s starters played most of the third quarter before trickling out in the fourth. The first-team offense stayed in long enough to add 16 more points, including a touchdown runs by Jay Catlin and Maurice Young.

“We’re a really good offensive football team,” Florence said. “Defensively if we come on and play Ryan Raider defense, we have a chance to beat a lot of people. That’s two or three games that we haven’t punted the football. I haven’t been around a team that’s done that.”

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

Denton Ryan 58, Little Elm 14

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

LE – Fred Fowler 74 pass from Darnell Adams (Danny Story kick), 10:51

DR – Ryan Salter 72 kick return (Christihan Guifarro kick), 10:35

DR – D.J. Beshears 6 pass from Scotty Young (Guifarro kick), 5:35

LE – Fowler 43 pass from Adams (Story kick), 3:34

DR – Beshears 63 pass from Young (Guifarro kick), 3:22

Second Quarter

DR – Beshears 27 pass from Young (Guifarro kick), 8:08

DR – Bud Sasser 38 pass from Young (Guifarro kick), 4:37

DR – Antonio Anderson 15 pass from Young (Guifarro kick), 2:23

Third Quarter

DR – Jay Catlin 2 run (Guifarro kick failed), 9:19

DR – Guifarro 22 field goal, 5:32

DR – Maurice Young 35 run (Guifarro kick), 1:46

Individual stats

Rushing: LE – Bryant Johnson 7-63, Darnell Adams 9-24, Christian White 4-20, Fred Fowler 1-6, Patrick Salerno 3-4, Team 1-(-4). DR – Jay Catlin 12-155, Maurice Young 5-73, Will Clark 7-33, Ryan Salter 2-23.

Passing: LE – Darnell Adams 16-37-270-1, Danny Story 1-2-36-0. DR — Scotty Young 21-29-323-0, Ryan Salter 1-1-6-0.

Receiving: LE – Fred Fowler 4-159, Christian White 4-55, Chase Melton 3-39, TJ Gonzales 4-33, Kode Love 1-17, Patrick Salerno 1-3. DR – Bud Sasser 7-128, D.J. Beshears 4-101, Antonio Anderson 5-38, Ryan Salter 2-36, James Johnson 2-14, Armondo Jimenez 1-6, Jay Catlin 1-6.