Game of the Day: Cedar Park looks to finish undefeated season with state title

GAME OF THE DAY

Denton Ryan (14-0) vs. Cedar Park (14-0)

Class 5A Division I state championship

7 p.m. Friday, AT&T Stadium, Arlington

High school football:Player of the week: Ryder Hernandez guides Cedar Park to brink of Class 5A DI state championship

High school football:Cedar Park posts 35 consecutive points in rally over CC Veterans Memorial to advance to state

Quarterbacks: Ryan's Seth Henigan guides a balanced offense that averages 45 points and 496 yards. The Memphis-bound QB averages 247 passing yards a game and has 38 touchdown passes to his credit. … Cedar Park senior Ryder Hernandez is the driving force for an offense that averages 54 points and 463 yards. He has 58 touchdown passes, 24 coming in five playoff victories.

Edge: Cedar Park

Other offense: Raider senior and Texas signee Ja’Tavion Sanders is a big-play specialist who averages 18.6 yards a catch to go along with 15 receiving touchdowns. Senior teammate and Oklahoma signee Billy Bowman had 13 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 49-35 victory over Mansfield Summitt. RB Ke’ori Hicks averages 82 yards a game on the ground. … The Timberwolves counter with a trio of receivers ― Gunnar Abseck, Josh Cameron and Jack Hestera ― who have combined for 207 catches, 3,160 yards and 44 touchdowns. Kevin Adams had 77 yards in last week’s victory over Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.

Edge: Ryan

Defense: Ryan allows an average of 16 points but was shaky in last week’s victory over Mansfield. Bowman, who doubles on defense, broke up a critical pass on fourth down late to preserve the win. … Led by LB Shelby Battles, the Timberwolves allow 18 points a game, but they have yielded a total of 70 points in their last two victories.

Edge: Even

Special teams: The Raiders have counted on Sanders and Bowman to make plays on kickoff and punt returns. … Cedar Park PK Juston Bohrer has made 8 of 9 FG attempts, his longest from 43 yards. Abseck has been consistent on punt returns, averaging 14 yards.

Edge: Cedar Park

Intangibles: Ryan, ranked No. 9 in the nation by MaxPreps, will make its seventh appearance in the title game. The Raiders have won two state titles and were state runners-up last year after losing to Highland Park the previous three trips to the semifinals. Ryan has had only two tough games: a 17-7 playoff victory over Highland Park and a 23-20 victory over Denton Guyer early in the season. … Cedar Park, ranked No. 50 by MaxPreps, is seeking its third state championship after capturing titles in 2012 and 2015. The T-Wolves showed grit in their 52-42 victory over Manvel two weeks ago. Manvel is the only team to come within 10 points of Cedar Park.

Edge: Ryan

Rick Cantu