Friday's showdown between McKinney Boyd (3-2) and Garland (3-2) had big implications for who would end the season as the top team in District 10-5A.

Both teams are expected to finish high in the standings, but a 31-10 Owls win put them a step ahead in the race for the district title.

The Broncos were crippled from the start, as they lost two starters, quarterback Curtis Ladd and offensive lineman Trevor Hanes, on their first offensive series. Ladd was sidelined after a late hit by a Garland defender and Hanes was carted off the field on a stretcher six play later.

“That didn't help a lot,” said Don Drake, Boyd head coach. “I felt like we were doing some good things early. We had a pretty good drive going, and obviously to lose those two kids hurts quite a bit. It impacts your offense considerably when you're faced with that.”

The Broncos’ offense never recovered after losing Ladd and settled for a field goal to end the drive. They were already down 7-3, though, as Garland had scored on its opening drive on a 35-yard rush from Keylan Spencer. Then the Owls strengthened their lead by answering Boyd's field goal with a 79-yard touchdown reception by Ja'Taveon Green.

Boyd's only touchdown of the game followed a fumble recovery four yards from the end zone. Backup quarterback Russel Williams punched it in on a 1-yard rush to keep the score tight, 14-10 Garland, at the end of the first quarter.

But Garland scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to take control of the game, starting with a 23-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. They also scored on another lengthy touchdown run from Spencer, who went 75 yards for the score this time, and hit a 48-yard field goal with seconds to go ahead, 31-10, before halftime following another fumble recovery.

A game that looked destined to become a shootout had changed gears completely the Owls' way and would shift again in a second half that saw no scoring from either team. It was a strong turnaround for a Broncos defense that had looked shaky in the first half.

But the offense never took advantage and Boyd ended the night with 188 total yards. Running back Bryan Driskell rushed for the bulk of that total, 119 yards, on 27 carries but could never bust a big scoring run against the speedy Garland defense.

“They're a very fast defense,” Drake said. “So your opportunities to create big plays are few and far between, because they close on the ball so well and they are great tacklers.”

Boyd used both Williams and Tyler Phelps as replacements for the injured Ladd, but neither could find their stride. Turnovers where a problem for each, as Williams fumbled the ball twice and Phelps threw two interceptions. They combined for 70 yards passing.

Garland finished the night with 429 yards of total offense: 226 passing and 203 rushing.

A bright spot in an otherwise disappointing game, Boyd defensive end Jamal Palmer broke the school's career tackle record during the contest to set himself as the all-time leader in yet another defensive category. Coming into the game, he was already tied for first in fumbles caused and recovered and first outright in blocked kicks.

“He's a great player,” Drake said. “He's a great kid. He plays hard, he's competitive and I was real proud of him. Again, I'm real proud of our defense. We didn't give up a point in the second half. We could easily lay down. We could easily quit, but our kids didn't do that. They kept fighting, they kept playing and that's important.”

The Broncos' hopes for a repeat championship run weren't crushed by the loss to Garland. Last year, they won the title despite being beaten by the Owls in what turned out to be their only district loss. Run the table on the rest of the competition, and they could be in the hunt again.

“We were in the same position last year,” Drake said. “We lost to Garland and we headed back and won the rest of the district games and we were able to win the district title even with that loss. For [our players], it's about understanding that you still have dreams to repeat as champions and obviously it's a lot harder on us now because we lost this football game, but that doesn't mean that our dreams are dead. We’ve got to refocus, we’ve got to regroup and we’ve got to rally up and get ready for next week.”

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