In a year when remarkable pitching was scattered throughout the Denton area, Guyer senior pitcher Jud Kinzy and Argyle junior pitcher Drew Gooch took home their respective districts’ top honors when the all-district teams were released.
After she put up eye-popping numbers for four years and earned Class 2A state championship game MVP honors on Thursday, it came as no surprise to see Pilot Point’s Skylar Cagle earn District 12-2A MVP honors when the all-district team was released following the Lady Cats’ championship win over Kingsville Santa Gertrudis Academy.
CORINTH — Down a run to Azle in in the last game of the regular season, Lake Dallas’ dreams of a glorious playoff entrance turned into an agonizing season finale in the matter of seconds.
Throughout the track and field season, Ryan coach Janson Head has penciled in different names for the boys 1,600-meter relay.
After bringing home Guyer’s first state championship in a girls team sport, the Guyer Lady Wildcats were well represented when the all-district teams were released.
The Lake Dallas Falcons didn’t appreciate how Wichita Falls celebrated its walk-off victory in their first district matchup, so they were out to send a message to the Coyotes in Tuesday’s rematch at Falcon Field.
There’s just something about the Lake Dallas-Guyer baseball rivalry that brings out the best in both teams. When the two teams played less than a month ago at Lake Dallas, it was a classic pitcher’s duel between Guyer’s Jud Kinzy and Lake Dallas’ Keenan Wingfield. The Falcons won the game when Wingfield scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Wingfield factored into Friday’s District 5-4A rematch at Guyer as well, but with a different outcome. Pitching in relief of a stellar performance by starter Michael Cox, Wingfield’s wild pitch to pinch hitter Luke Cullum allowed Kyle Walsh to score from third base in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Wildcats to a 2-1 win.
First-year Guyer girls coach Megan Hardesty had a great opportunity during Tuesday’s conclusion of the District 5-4A track meet.
WEATHERFORD — Two weeks ago, the Trophy Club Nelson girls swept the top two positions at the District 5-4A tournament, and the Nelson boys were attempting to do the same thing Monday and Tuesday.
When Kennedy Been stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game against Lake Dallas, Guyer was locked in a pitchers’ duel and the heart of the Lady Wildcats’ order was mired in a bit of a slump.
Four batters into the game, the storyline had been written before fans could put a dent in their bags of peanuts. Denton pitcher Josh Chavez couldn’t locate the strike zone, walking the first three batters before he was pulled in favor of Roman Arnold.
LAKE DALLAS — When the seventh inning rolled around, most of the Lake Dallas Falcons that started the game on the field were leaning over the green railing in their first-base dugout. Instead of putting his starting lineup on the field, Lake Dallas head coach John Tompkins instead trotted out those who had been leaning over the railing for the past six innings and watched the Trophy Club Bobcats build a commanding lead in the District 5-4A game.
Lake Dallas coach Mandy Hall took her team onto Bronco Field and into a chilly Thursday night, each leading the other to a place they had never been: the sectional round of the Class 4A playoffs. In the team’s first postseason appearance since 2009, two shutout victories had the Lady Falcons one game away from the Region I semifinals. In their way was Trophy Club Nelson, one of the top teams in 4A. Nelson ended Lake Dallas’ postseason with a convincing 5-0 victory at Bronco Field. The Lady Bobcats advanced to face Fort Worth Arlington Heights in the regional semifinals.
CORINTH — Chrisa Head was determined to change things around as her Lake Dallas Lady Falcons faced a rematch with Trophy Club Nelson in District 5-4A. “She’ll be the first to admit she’s struggled some [at the plate] in district,” Lake Dallas coach Dugan Walker said of the sophomore who doubles as his top pitcher. “She had been getting behind in the count, and the other pitchers were having their way.” Not in Tuesday evening’s sixth inning. Head jumped on Ashley Dumoulin’s first offering and drove it far beyond the 200-foot center-field fence for a solo home run that lifted the Lady Falcons to a 2-1 win over the Bobcats.
Other than the weather Friday night at Denton’s Bronco Field, there weren’t many aesthetically pleasing things about the Class 4A area-round playoff game between Lake Dallas and Wichita Falls. Even the game’s only goal was far from pretty. But the faces of the Lake Dallas players following the game indicated that they didn’t mind at all. The Lady Falcons slipped past Wichita Falls with a 1-0 victory. Lake Dallas will play Trophy Club Nelson at 6 p.m. Thursday at Denton.
The Denton Lady Broncos competed in the District 5-4A championship tournament Monday and Tuesday at Canyon West Golf Club in Weatherford and will send senior Lindsey Heal to the regional tournament April 15-18 at Diamondback Golf Club in Abilene.
CORINTH — When the buzzer sounded to end the first half of the Class 4A bi-district playoff game between Aledo and Lake Dallas on Tuesday, the Lady Falcons didn’t look like the team that had barely made the postseason. Aledo entered the playoffs as the top seed from District 12-4A. But when that first half buzzer echoed around Falcon Stadium, Lake Dallas had all but ensured Aledo’s playoff run was going to end in the Lake Cities. The Lady Falcons rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Ladycats.
Four area teams will begin play today in the Class 4A bi-district soccer playoffs, hoping to end up in Georgetown for the state tournament next month. The group is highlighted by the Guyer girls, ranked No. 3 in the Class 4A state poll by the Texas Girls Coaches Association, The Lady Wildcats are coming off winning the District 11-4A title with an undefeated run led by leading goal scorer Brittney Crabtree, who has scored 27 goals.
Before the Broncos’ final game of the season, Denton coach Scott Heffley envisioned a senior-night offensive shakeup to help give the playoff-bound Broncos more of a scoring spark.
CORINTH — As Guyer starting pitcher Jud Kinzy was being pulled from Tuesday’s game against Lake Dallas in the bottom of the 10th inning of a scoreless contest, he walked past the pitcher he’d opposed through nine innings as Lake Dallas’ Keenan Wingfield was standing at first base after being beaned by Kinzy.
CORINTH — Heading into Thursday’s District 5-4A rivalry game between Guyer and Lake Dallas, both teams were in the midst of team-wide hitting slumps.
In what was a historic year for the Guyer program, and the best one in recent memory for Denton, the District 5-4A all-district team had plenty of representation from both teams following successful 2012-13 campaigns.
The Krum Lady Cats were well-represented on the 9-3A all-district team after making their second state tournament appearance in school history.
CORINTH — There wasn’t too much offense to speak of in the District 5-4A opener between Denton and Lake Dallas on Tuesday night. But on a chilly night in Corinth, both starting pitchers put on dazzling performances. Lake Dallas senior pitcher Keenan Wingfield racked up 11 strikeouts in the Falcons’ 2-1 victory over Denton.
Denton was able to overcome being no-hit by Saginaw to pull out a 5-3 victory at the Russell Athletic Classic, capitalizing on four errors and numerous walks, including two by Terrance Lucas.
In the final two games of the season, Guyer quarterback Jerrod Heard showed that he was one of the state’s top players while leading the Wildcats to their first state title — a playoff run capped by a come-from-behind win over Georgetown in the Class 4A Division I final.
CORINTH — On Wednesday morning, Lake Dallas defensive end Graysen Schantz sat at a long, crammed table draped with a green cloth.
Over the last couple of years, the routine for the first week of February has been well documented. Media members flock to high schools in the morning to watch athletes sign the last page of their national letters of the intent, solidifying their choice of college.
CORINTH — When the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter of Friday night’s game between Lake Dallas and Trophy Club Nelson, it didn’t look like the Falcons were going to be able to claw their way back into the District 5-4A contest.
With a 85-49 trouncing of Lake Dallas on Tuesday, Denton improved to 7-1 in District 5-4A and maintained its hold on first place.
Lake Dallas senior pitcher Keenan Wingfield signs a letter of intent Friday to play baseball at Navarro College.
FORT WORTH — Despite a 13-point effort from Alex Partridge, the Guyer Wildcats fell to Keller Fossil Ridge 53-52 on Friday in the Fort Worth school district’s Coca-Cola Classic.
Guyer’s state championship was cemented by star quarterback Jerrod Heard, and the All-District 5-4A roster reflects the junior’s efforts throughout the season. Heard and the Wildcats were well represented when the all-district team was released.
When Guyer and Georgetown take the field at Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium at noon Saturday, there will be a handful of all-state players on both sidelines.
After amassing a 12-point advantage in the second quarter, the Denton Broncos let what was a 10-point lead in the third quarter slip away from them as Lake Dallas clawed back with a 15-0 run before finally taking a 59-55 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
With its football team showing that it has no trouble switching districts, Guyer’s basketball team will look to follow suit as the Wildcats transition to District 5-4A, where Denton and Lake Dallas await to make playoff runs of their own.
EULESS — Miles Crawford had a 17-point effort to lead Guyer to a 44-39 victory over Euless Trinity.
In the final three games of the season, Dartmouth needed a quarterback to step in for injured sophomore Alex Park.
Denton head coach Dennis Krishka sees one clear-cut favorite heading into District 5-4A play, which begins tonight.
After leading Argyle to its first state tournament appearance, the player voted District 10-3A’s most valuable player was no surprise.
Zack Duncan scored 18 points, but Guyer came up short in a 65-59 loss to Hurst L.D. Bell on Tuesday night.
MIDLOTHIAN — As the clock at Multi-Purpose Stadium ticked down to zeroes Friday, most of the Lake Dallas Falcons collapsed to the ground in disbelief as Waco celebrated Benjamin Diaz’s game-winning 38-yard field goal in a 24-21 playoff decision.
The Lake Dallas Falcons may have snuck into the playoffs via a tiebreaker over Trophy Club Byron Nelson after their 21-13 victory over Azle in the final game of the season, but their 20-0 defeat of Saginaw Boswell in the bi-district round of the Class 4A Division II tournament was evidence that they are poised to do some damage.
With Ryan and Lake Dallas’ football teams still playing in the postseason, the trickle-down effect can be felt on the basketball court.
JUSTIN — The Lake Dallas Falcons dominated the key plays Thursday night and scored a 20-0 win over Saginaw Boswell in their football playoff opener at Northwest ISD Stadium.
SANGER — With sharp-shooting Tanner Thomas leading the way, the Sanger Indians opened the boys basketball season with a strong first-half performance Tuesday night.
AZLE — A pair of first-half touchdown passes from Marshall Dominy to Bryce Williams led Lake Dallas to a playoff-clinching 21-13 win over Azle on Friday night. Actually, both teams qualified for the Class 4A playoffs as Lake Dallas (6-4 overall) forged a three-way tie for third in District 5-4A with Azle (7-3) and Trophy Club Nelson as each school finished with a 4-3 league mark, behind Denton Guyer and Wichita Falls Rider.
Guyer cross country coach Jonathan Ponsonby points to a specific date on the calendar when his program took its next step.
The Guyer boys cross country team finished first and Devin Norton finished fourth in the girls race at the Class 4A Region I meet Saturday in Lubbock.
CORINTH— Running back Roman Mitchell had one heck of a senior night. Mitchell scored four touchdowns — three of which came on his first four touches — as the Lake Dallas Falcons defeated Fort Worth Brewer 35-20 in District 5-4A action. The victory kept Lake Dallas’ playoff hopes alive going into next Friday’s season finale at Azle. The Falcons (5-4, 3-3 district) need to beat the Hornets next week to clinch a postseason berth.
