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Updated Saturday, November 14, 2009 7:59 PM
Denison eases past Richardson Pearce
BY JASON DELLA ROSA
HERALD DEMOCRAT
FRISCO -- It didn't matter who was throwing the passes for Richardson Pearce, the ball just seemed to find Denison defensive backs.
Trick plays. Long passes. Tipped throws. Facing perhaps its toughest test of the season against an offense coming off a state-record performance, the Yellow Jacket secondary came away with six interceptions as Denison opened the playoffs with a 61-28 victory over Richardson Pearce in a Class 4A Division II Region II bi-district game at Pizza Hut Park on Friday night.
Denison (10-1) will face Dallas Conrad at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Hanby Stadium in Mesquite for an area round contest.
"I really believe that they hadn't seen a defense like ours," Denison head coach Cody White said. "The kids made that statement to be pretty accurate."
The Jackets forced seven turnovers and held a 47-point lead with 20 minutes remaining in the game. The 61 points was the most ever by Denison in the playoffs, surpassing a 56-24 bi-district victory over South Oak Cliff in 1990, and the 621 total yards was a Jacket playoff best and just off the school mark of 628 set against Paris six years ago.
"That's about as good as you can draw it up." White said. "Coaching staff had a great plan. I'm really proud of our defensive kids."
Cody Reeves led the way on both sides of the ball. The senior had a pair of interceptions, returning one 51 yards for a touchdown, and both of his first-half catches were for scores.
"Our coaches got us mentally prepared," Reeves said. "We went out there and played the way we needed to play."
Pearce (6-5) put on an offensive show in its regular-season finale as back-up Mac Morse threw for 634 yards -- 386 to Blake Jumonville -- with both totals being single-game state marks as the Mustangs scored 56 points.
But starting quarterback Caleb Lewis was back in the lineup against Denison and although he had 190 yards in the first half, he barely completed 50 percent of his passes and threw three interceptions. Morse had two fourth-quarter picks and even Josh Gold got in on the act with a half-back pass that was intercepted.
"Our secondary guys, everyone's been saying they haven't been tested and they were tested tonight and they showed up big," defensive coordinator Zack Smith said.
Denison made sure not to waste the extra possessions. Jordan Taylor had a hand in five touchdowns -- throwing for 250 yards and running for another 95 -- while D.J. Jones ran for 147 yards and two touchdown on 21 carries.
After picking up 21 yards on his first pass, Lewis misfired on six of the next seven throws and allowed the Jackets to build a two-touchdown lead.
"We just came with a good pass rush," senior defensive end Aaron Morrison said. "A sack is a bonus. We just wanted to get him uncomfortable."
Jones had a 19-yard touchdown run and Taylor connected with Kyle Galyon for a 33-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Although Pearce answered on its next drive as Gold caught a 10-yard touchdown from Lewis, the Mustangs could not keep Denison out of the end zone.
"The ability we have of getting multiple people involved, it's a tough task for a defense," White said.
Reeves blew past a defender on a deep ball to make a lunging grab in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown and the Jackets turned a fumble recovery by Jacob Marshall into another score from Jones.
Hayden Chapman got the first interception on Pearce's first play of the second quarter but Pearce followed with its only stop of the first half, leading to a touchdown run by Gold, who had 123 yards rushing and 132 yards receiving.
Taylor scored from a yard out and then connected with Reeves on Denison's final drive of the half with just 7.6 seconds remaining. The third-down play was similar to his first touchdown but Pearce tried to bring a safety over to help. Reeves caught it almost backpedaling behind the two defenders to give the Jackets a 41-14 half-time lead.
"I was determined to get it," Reeves said. "Quarterback made a great throw and it was right where it needed to be."
Reeves had just four touchdown catches coming into the game since he is being assigned to the other team's top receiver while on defense.
"We have to have him defensively so we've been using him sparingly on offense," White said. "Cody brings a different dimension with his speed."
That speed caused problems for Jumonville, who finished with just 21 yards on four catches as a follow-up to his record game, including a 12-yard touchdown late in the third quarter with the game well in hand.
"That's a big feather in their cap," Smith said. "That's where a lot of his yards came last week, breaking tackles."
After Jimmay Mundine had a 64-yard touchdown pass on the opening possession of the third quarter to put Pearce in a huge hole, the Mustangs began trying to play catch-up. Reeves ran back his interception and then three plays later Darian Springfield had one on a throw over the middle. That turnover led to Denison's final touchdown of the game, a run by Taylor, with 7:46 left in the third quarter.
Reeves got his second interception deep in Denison territory when Lewis was pressured. Pearce added two touchdowns late -- Jumonville had his TD catch and Gold scored with 7:41 left in the game -- but the Mustangs' final two possessions were cut short on bad throws. Fittingly, the last play of the night was an interception by Christian Herd.
 Comments ... 17 found!
Score : 11/17/2009
Denison fan, no disrespect intended. But DHS has only scored above 69 once this year (and that was the all-time school record). Just don't see it happening this week because - at least on paper - it shouldn't be necessary. The DHS twos and threes, if they see extended playing time as expected, will run the base offense against Conrad's ones. And while I mean no disrespect whatsoever to these young men, our twos and threes probably won't score more than a couple of times. I think Denison wins and wins big, but probably by a 49-7 margin rather than a 69-7 margin.
JacketMan
To Jacket Fan : 11/17/2009
My score prediction is based on the fact that I believe the second string will not fumble every other play this week. I think they play the entire second half and continue to score. Is Coach White going to have them get the handoff and fall down ? I don't think so. Denison scores 69 without even trying this week.
Denison Fan
Re: This is going to be ugly : 11/16/2009
Denison fan, sorry, but IMO, 69-7 is very unlikely to happen. Unlike the screwed up BCS system, style points don't count in the high school football playoffs. If Conrad gets as overwhelmed on the field Friday night as it appears on paper that they will be, then forget an extremely lopsided score. Coach White will secure the win early and then get starters off the field as should happen. There are bigger fish to fry rather than rolling up huge numbers just because you can do so...
JacketMan
Substitutions : 11/16/2009
Way to go Coach White! Love to see all the players getting time on the field. I have always supported getting your star players out when you are ahead. Two reasons: Reduces the chance of 1st team getting hurt. Allows other teams members to get time on the field in case one of the starters do get hurt. Would have never happened under the last administration.
Go Jackets Go!!
This is gonna be ugly : 11/16/2009
I think it is fun to get out and travel to support the team. I have a feeling we will get to do it 5 more times !
This game (Conrad) is going to be ugly.
Denison 69
Conrad 7
Denison Fan
Closer to Home : 11/16/2009
I can't believe people are complaining about Mesquite not being close to home! I guess we could have flipped for home and home so there would be a 50% chance the fans wouldn't have to drive all the way to Mesquite! I guess fans will always find something to complain about!
Get a Clue
Buzzie Body : 11/16/2009
Usual happening in the playoffs is you can't play at home or in your case your home away from home in Frisco every week. Get over it and support your team!
Mind your Ps and Qs
Good Luck : 11/16/2009
Good luck to the Yellow Jackets!!
Bearcat Mom
Hanby : 11/16/2009
I too am sorry for the selection of Hanby again. The track around the field is slippery and more than one of our players slipped on it last year...D.J. and Aston Hughes are the two that I remember for sure. Dr. Scott said last year that he was not in favor of playing there again or anywhere that had the track around the perimeter of the field. I am wishing that we could play closer to home. But what the heck?? I am so darned proud of our team that I would follow them most anywhere....HOW ABOUT THOSE YELLOWJACKETS???
the buzzie body
Jacket Master : 11/15/2009
Hanby is not on the Southeast side of Dallas. It is in Mesquite. I don't know the location was selected for Denison but Mesquite is a good city of over 100,000. My daughter's drill team performed@Hanby quite a few times for competition.
cherokeegal
We ready! Its on now jackets : 11/15/2009
Its time to shine.. A game at a time. dimebreed..We will be out there in full efffect. my little youth football team is named the Yellow Jackets out here in mckinney tx area. We won the Super Bowl this past weekend.. be on the lookout for us www.mckinneyyellowjackets.com or just google.. Ian WYatt Alumni 93'
Jackets
This & That : 11/15/2009
DHS Alumni, I'm pretty sure that it was Mesquite Memorial Stadium, not Hanby where the Jackets beat Carthage in that tight ball game. JacketMaster, IMO, stadium selection has to do as much with the comfort level (mental, not so much physical) of the coaching staff and the players as it does with anything else. And this year, with Texas Stadium out of the loop, the numerous 5A and 4A early round games are more difficult for teams to find an agreeable stadium to play at. As to the first point, Coach Criswell had good success in 1984 at Mesquite Memorial and liked playing games there in the years that followed the state title. Coach Brown enjoyed success at Pennington Field and Homer B. Johnson Stadium and played several games there. So I think it's a pretty good bet that Coach White wanted to get back to Hanby where the Jackets enjoyed a huge second round win last year over a highly touted Lincoln team.
JacketMan
Location : 11/15/2009
Once the bracket was initially set, all four coaches agreed to Hanby to get a jump on a site since there are so many games and not enough stadiums for everyone to get their first choice. Denison played there last year in this round and won 42-14 so perhaps sticking with what has worked played a factor.
Jason Della Rosa
Handy Stadium : 11/15/2009
The Yellow Jackets are no stranger to Hanby Stadium in Mesquite, but in 1984, they had tough going against Carthage on a night game (10-0). That team was undefeated going into that game and it wasn't until the forth quarter that Denison scored their first TD. Good Luck Jackets!
DHS Alumni
March on Jackets : 11/15/2009
A complete disection of JJP. Way to go JAckets!! Hey, "Still Happy" are you? I'm am estatic!!. I am however totally disapointed that we are playing at Hanby Stadium. Did we choose that location?. Was it the only location available?. Why did we pick a field that has a track around it?. That just puts the fans farther from the action. Why not Homer Johnson?in NE Garland?, A great place to play and not all the way to the Southeast side of the Dallas area?. For those of you that do not know where Conrad High is, It's located right East of Central expressway on Walnut Hill. So, go figure why that location was chosen.. Remember, The opportunity for us to place close to home are the first two or three rounds of the playoffs. I loved the size of our crowd Friday night. Stay close for the fans for as long as you can. If we win against Conrad we will play either Corsicana or Marshall. The following round teams that are still alive are Sulphur Springs, Frisco Liberty, Waco Midway, and Lincoln. With each week that passes keep the Jackets on the home side of Dallas. What da ya think?
JacketMaster
BA-BOOM!!!!! : 11/15/2009
I'd say this defense knows how to stop teams that like to sling it around, with McKinney, Wakeland, Sherman and now Pearce all being held well below their scoring averages. It's going to take a team that either has a real running threat at QB or one that plays like the Jackets do, using the pass to set up the run instead of the other way around, to give this defense problems.
Still Happy
win : 11/15/2009
Go get um jackets.
SHERMAN
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