Jerrod Heard, Denton Guyer Show Off Explosive Running Game in Spread-Dominated Era

MIDLOTHIAN -- Denton Guyer quarterback Jerrod Heard stepped onto the field at Midlothian ISD stadium Friday night with 3:44 left in the game.

Down three points and his team having blown a 19-point lead in less than three minutes, Heard had one shot, one drive, to make the Wildcats not end up on the wrong end of a John Tyler miracle comeback as sounds of "John Tyler-Plano East Part II" sounded throughout the stadium and on social media.

Denton Guyer was not the Plano East this time, and it all came down to a quarterback engineering an offense built on the run, and running with total domination. The result: Guyer shocked John Tyler 57-53 to advance to the Class 4A Division I title game.

When JT scored with 3:44 left to go ahead 53-50, this after scoring 22 straight points and recovering two onside kicks in 2:16, Heard admitted what most players don't.

He panicked.

"Man, it was crazy, especially after that last onside kick. But, we knew there was a lot of time on the clock and we just had to do what we had been doing. I trusted my line and had faith that we'd get the ball in the end zone," Heard said.

With football on all levels dominated by the spread offense -- Greg Ward threw and incredible 64 times for 554 yards and five touchdowns against Guyer -- the Wildcats leaned on their junior quarterback and a running game to wear down JT from the beginning all the way to the final drive.

Richard Whitaker's 18-yard touchdown run sealed Denton Guyer's win, yes, but Heard was the gas pedal to an offense that showed it could be as explosive running the ball as teams throw in the spread -- and on the 4A level.

"We knew there was enough time on the clock to get the ball in the end zone," Heard said. "We're built to score every time we go out on offense, and we needed to do it just one more time."

The junior Texas commit was, to say the least, frustrating to JT's defense all game -- to the tune of 319 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Heard set a school record for rushing yards on a night he helped send his team into the last game of the season.

When JT focused too heavily on Heard, Whitaker and D.J. Breedlove did their jobs. The duo combined for 284 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

All told, Denton Guyer rushed for 609 yards against the JT defense.

"It's all on the line. It was their job to be more physical than their front, and they did that," Heard said. "I always believe in my line, and they showed why."