Guyer closed out the regular season with a shocking loss to Denton Ryan. But don’t expect them to feel sorry for themselves as begin their Class 4A playoff run.

   The Wildcats – the No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A – kicked off their second-straight playoff run on Thursday against Saginaw Boswell. Unfortunately, no scores were available as of press time, but Guyer was easily the odds on favorite a year after advancing to the state semifinals.

    “Our pride was hurt but we talked about it and we’ve honestly moved on,” Guyer head coach John Walsh said. “The kids are focused. I don’t know if this loss (to Denton Ryan) will help because no one ever wants to lose. But we will make it work.”

    Assuming Guyer was able to get past Boswell, there is a chance they could face Ryan in the later rounds of the playoffs. But who they play is the furthest from their minds right now, instead it’s about regaining the momentum they’ve carried until that season finale.

    Guyer rolled through the regular season with nine straight wins and ended up sharing the 5-4A title with Ryan and Lake Dallas. They entered playoffs with the No. 1 offense in 4A with an average of 513.6 yards per game. Quarterback J.W. Walsh threw 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions and was instrumental in the team’s 3,356 rushing yards during the regular season.

    At least for one night, however, their luck ran out against a very good Ryan team.

    “They were a very good team,” Walsh said of Ryan. “It was a game we simply came up short in.”

    Ryan’s Scotty Young completed 21 of his 35 passes for 289 yards but only led his team to a slim 22-21 lead at halftime. That’s because J.W. Walsh accounted for all his team’s first half points, scoring on runs of nine and 23 yards before hitting Quentin Gardener for an eight-yard touchdown pass before half.

    The key for Ryan, though, was that their offensive line was able to keep Young upright throughout the evening. He threw three second half touchdown passes and truly put the brakes to Guyer in the third quarter when his team outscored Guyer 21-8 in that quarter alone. 

   “We just couldn’t get to him and if you can’t get pressure against a quarterback like that you will get hurt,” Walsh said. “We also put ourselves in a lot of second and longs and third and long situations because we didn’t do what we needed to on first down.”