Top 26 storylines for 2016: No. 7 – Denton Ryan's coming for 5A

[caption id="attachment_24970" align="alignright" width="350"]Denton Ryan vs Allen-14205 Denton Ryan QB Spencer Sanders (Photo by Gary Sanderson)[/caption] Since the addition of Class 6A, Cedar Park and Aledo have run Class 5A. That might be changing in 2016 with the addition of Denton Ryan. Every two years, UIL realigns districts and classifications due to enrollment size and location. Some teams move up and face tougher challenges. Some teams move down and it opens up the opportunity for greatness. Denton Ryan falls in the second category. The Raiders are no stranger to success. Over the past 16 seasons, Ryan reached five state titles, winning twice, while missing the playoffs just once. Head coach Dave Henigan returns 15 starters from a 2015 squad that fell to Allen in the 6A Division I Regional Finals. It was the lone loss for the Raiders and they entered 2016 as our top ranked Class 5A team, right in front of Aledo and Cedar Park. Defensive tackle Earnest Brown anchors Ryan’s defense. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder recorded nine sacks as a junior and currently holds more than 30 FBS offers. Right behind him on defense is linebacker Tyreke Davis. Davis is a versatile player, registering 92 tackles on defense while also putting up 860 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Spencer Sanders arrived on the scene as a sophomore, passing for 2,599 yards, rushing for 830 and accounting for 36 total touchdowns. The good news didn’t stop for Ryan after moving down to Class 5A. Alignment also made it a certainty that Aledo will be classified in Division II come playoff time. The path is clear for a Region I championship and a future date with a team like Cedar Park, the defending Division II champions. Cedar Park will likely be Division I in 2016 unless Pflugerville Connally finds itself in the playoffs. The defending Division I champion, George Ranch, was moved to Class 6A. Ryan understands the expectations. The Raiders are the clear favorites to win District 5-5A, Region I and the state championship. We learned a little about how they're handling those expectations with a shaky start, but solid finish to a 35-23 victory over a very talented Lancaster team. Living up to this kind of hype is never easy, but the Raiders are off to the right start.

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