If you're not already a Denton Record-Chronicle subscriber, you can subscribe now for just $1 a month over the next six months and read all of our stories throughout the various high school sports seasons. FRISCO — What could go down as the toughest season in the history of Ryan's football program ended Friday in heartbreaking fashion. The Raiders jumped out to an early lead over Highland Park in the 5A Division I state semifinal at Ford Center at The Star and rallied from falling behind to tie it up before the two defenses shut things down for almost all of the fourth quarter.
The Scots found a way to muster one last scoring drive in the last two minutes, however, hitting a 28-yard field goal with six seconds left to take a 24-21 win. The result brought a tough end to a devastating year for Ryan after the death of defensive coordinator Aaron De La Torre in October, midway through the season. Ryan coach Dave Henigan came away proud of how his team persevered to put together their historic season after experiencing such a tragedy.
" We've had a hell of a year. If you know what we've been through, it hurts," Henigan said. "These kids have been through hell this year, and our coaching staff has been through hell this year.
For them to do what they did is quite impressive, to be honest. "I wish it would've ended differently, but to get to this point was a real credit to them and to our coaches for honestly just holding it all together." The loss brought an end to the sixth stat.
