Turnovers costly as Royse City loses playoff game to undefeated Dennison, 41-24

Turnovers cost the Royse City Bulldogs dearly Friday night as undefeated Dennison (11-0) scored two touchdowns on fumble recoveries, plus intercepted two of Royse City (7-4) quarterback Richard Morrison’s passes, and beat the Bulldogs, 41-24, at SMU’s Ford Stadium.

The two TDs proved to be the difference, as Dennison’s Aaron Morrison recovered and returned a fumble 31 yards in the first quarter, and Shalamar Traylor recovered and returned another fumble 25 yards in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs had more first downs than Dennison, 22-15, and gained 343 yards total offense, but were unable to stop Dennison’s dynamic duo of running back D.J. Jones and quarterback Jordan Taylor.

Jones scored three touchdowns, on runs of nine yards in the first quarter, 56 yards in the third quarter, plus a 65-yard pass reception in the third quarter, when Dennison took control and led 34-10. Overall he rushed for 180 yards on 22 carries and caught two passes for 68 yards. 

Taylor rushed for 99 yards on 10 carries and completed 9 of 11 passes for 144 yards, including the TD pass to Jones.

Royse City came alive and rallied for two TDs and a two-point PAT in the fourth quarter.

Richard Morrison, who completed 23 of 45 passes for 245 yards, threw a 10-yard touchdown strike to Devin Bryant, plus Frank Dave burst in from one yard out. Justin Jacobs then caught a pass from Morrison for two points.

But time then just ran out for the Bulldogs, after an excellent season.

For more sports scores and stories, see the Sports page at www.rockwallrocks.com

Royse City holds off Newman Smith’s fourth-quarter rally Thursday night, winning 24-16

After taking 17-0 and 24-3 leads during the first three quarters, Royse City held off a furious 16-point rally by Newman Smith Thursday night, escaping with a 24-16 victory at Carrollton Standridge Stadium.

The Bulldogs (6-3, 4-2) were led as usual by quarterback Richard Morrison, who threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns, including a 57 yard completion to Justin Jacobs in the third quarter which proved to be the difference.

Bulldog receiver Eric Schneider caught five passes for 75 yards.

Royse City’s defense held Newman Smith (2-7, 2-4) scoreless for three quarters, but in the fourth allowed 16 points which turned a potential rout into a close game.

Al Lasker caught both fourth quarter touchdowns to lead the late charge, but Newman Smith failed to recover a desperation onside kick with less than a minute remaining.

For more stories, scores and photos, visit the Sports page at www.rockwallrocks.com.

Royse City nearly defeats No. 1 ranked Highland Park in wild shootout, 48-45

Royse City quarterback Richard Morrison generated 500 yards of total offense, scoring two TDs and passing for four more, as the Bulldogs nearly upset the area’s top-ranked 4A and undefeated Highland Park Scots, 48-45, Friday night at Highland Park.

In the wild shootout, both teams combined for 1,000 yards of total offense and 50 first downs.

Ahead 28-7 two minutes into the second quarter, it appeared that Royse City (5-3, 3-2) was well on its way to upsetting Highland Park (8-0, 5-0), until the Scots found their composure and scored 39 straight, unanswered points during the second and third quarters, taking a 46-28 lead.

Royse City stormed back with 15 straight of their own points during the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn’t quite enough to win.

Morrison shocked the Scots crowd on the first Bulldog offensive series when he threw a 65-yard touchdown bomb to Justin Jacobs, barely one minute into the game. Then he surprised Scots fans again on the next series with a 30-yard pass to Jacobs and another 30-yarder for a TD to Devin Bryant.

The two scores marked the first time all season that Highland Park had not scored first in a game, and left the Scots down 14-0.

University of Arizona recruit Morrison finished the game with 209 yards rushing on 16 carries, and 291 yards passing, completing 16 of 31, with one interception.

Jacobs grabbed six passes for 144 yards and two TDs.

Running back Dave Frank rushed for 71 yards on only five carries.

Kicker Kollin Padon connected on five of five PATs.

Highland Park’s comeback was led by quarterback Luke Woodley, who completed 20-30 passes for 248 yards, rushed for one touchdown and passed for two more.

Scots Running back Bryan Dickenson rushed 25 times for 201 yards and one TD. He also grabbed eight passes for 77 yards.

Although Royse City lost, the Bulldogs remain in strong contention for a playoff berth.

For more local Sports scores, photos and stories, visit the Sports page at http://www.rockwallrocks.com

Rockwall Heath stays unbeaten, overcomes Royse City in 4th quarter, 42-28

Unbeaten Rockwall-Heath’s Everitt Gilbert ran for two touchdowns of 23 and 21 yards in the fourth quarter, and Kendial Lawrence scored four touchdowns, rushing for 268 yards on 36 carries, to break open a third-quarter tie and defeat stubborn Royse City, 42-28, Friday night at Royse City ISD stadium.

Heath (7-0, 4-0) trailed 28-20 in the third quarter, but when Lawrence scored his fourth TD of the night to even the score and Gilbert scored twice more, that ended any upset hopes for Royse City (5-2, 3-1).

Lawrence scored on runs of 1, 5 and 56 yards. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Drew Hollingshead off a reverse as well as running for a two-point conversion that tied the game at 28 with eight minutes left in the third period.

The six-foot, 180-pound senior has 1,301 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns.

Gilbert finished with 87 yards on 14 carries, as Heath rolled up 406 yards in total offense.

Richard Morrison kept Royse City in the game for three quarters, passing for 310 yards and three scores, plus completing 25 of 39 passes without an interception.

But he did make a crucial turnover, fumbling the ball away while scrambling, with his team trailing, 35-28, midway through the final quarter.

Justin Jacobs was Morrison’s favorite target, catching 10 passes for 170 yards.

Hollingshead completed just 6 of 13 passes for 59 yards, but extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 115.

For more local sports scores and stories, visit the Sports page at www.rockwallrocks.com.

Royse City scores 25 straight points in second half to defeat Greenville, 35-10

Royse City came alive and scored 25 straight points in the second half to spoil Greenville’s Homecoming with a 35-10 win Friday night at Class 4A action at Cotton Ford Stadium in Greenville.

Richard Morrison completed 20-of-34 passes for 310 yards, rushed for one score, and threw for two more, all in the second half for the 11th-ranked Bulldogs.

J.T. Thompson caught seven passes on the night for 110 yards, Justin Jacobs caught four for 80 yards and Devon Bryant caught three passes for 66 yards.

Kollin Padon also kicked two field goals, of 33 and 34 yards, plus three of four extra points.

Greenville (1-5, 0-3) scored first on a 28-yard pass from Alton Dennis to Arron Johnson as the two teams played to a 10-10 first half tie.

Royse City (5-1, 3-0) held Greenville to three first downs and forced four turnovers in the second half.

They limited the Lions passing attack to just one completion in seven tries for 28 yards and two interceptions, plus recovered two Lions’ fumbles.
Greenville also was guilty of 13 penalties for 100 yards, while the Bulldogs had six penalties for 33 yards.

For more Rockwall County sports scores, stories, schedules and photos, visit our Sports page at:

http://www.rockwallrocks.com/sports.html

Royse City passes over Richardson’s J.J. Pearce High School, 38-27

Royse City quarterback Richard Morrison passed for 294 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Jacobs caught 12 passes for 147 yards as the Bulldogs (4-1, 3-0) came from behind to defeat Richardson’s J.J. Pearce High School, 38-27, Friday night at Royse City’s brand new RCISD Stadium.

His performance overcame that of Pearce quarterback Caleb Lewis, who completed 30 of 49 passes for one touchdown.

Behind 14-7 in the second quarter, the area’s 14th ranked-Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-21 halftime lead.

But Pearce, behind the passing of Lewis, finally scored again and took an early fourth-quarter, 27-24 lead.

Morrison then brought the Bulldogs back by connecting on several long passes to Jacobs. Twice he found J.T. Thompson in the end zone with TD passes of 6 and 12 yards to put the game away. The second TD catch came on a fourth and three play with just 2:24 remaining on the clock.

One key factor in the game was the Bulldogs defense, which held Pearce’s running game to just 31 yards on 18 carries.

Both teams lost a fumble and were penalized five times for similar amounts of yardage.

Royse City rallies to beat Rockwall at its Homecoming game, 32-20

Royse City exploded with three touchdowns and 22 points in the final quarter and rallied to beat Rockwall at its Homecoming game, 32-20, in district 10-4A action Friday night at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium.

Quarterback Richard Morrison, who rushed for 157 yards on the night, threw for two touchdowns in the final quarter as the Bulldogs overcame Rockwall’s 14-10 third-quarter lead.

Morrison completed a 39-yard TD pass to J.T. Thompson and another to Justin Jacobs for 19-yards, as Royse City (3-1, 1-0) pulled away.

Rockwall (1-3, 0-1) fought back, when Adam Dingwell and Jarron White connected on their second touchdown pass of the night with 2:50 to play.

But Royse City’s Ryan Fedric, who had 108 yards rushing in the game, scored his second touchdown of the night with a 27-yard run in the final minute to ice the victory.

Royse City falls Friday night to Frisco Wakeland, 31-24

In a rematch of a 2007 Class 3A bi-district playoff game, Frisco Wakeland’s defense forced three turnovers in the second half and intercepted Royse City quarterback Richard Morrison four times to hold off the Bulldogs, 31-24, Friday at Frisco’s Memorial Stadium.

Wakeland (2-0) quarterback Will Secord threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, finding favorite target Jamie Harris nine times for a game-high 128 yards and two scores.

Royse City (1-1) battled back from 14 points down in the second half with a chance to tie on a Hail Mary pass with no time remaining on the clock. Morrison racked up 353 yards and two touchdowns through the air and also ran for a game-best 79 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

The Bulldog’s Kris Smith scored on a 9-yard pass and Ryan Fedric scored on a 27-yard pass from Morrison. He was also intercepted in the first half by Wakeland’s Ryan Collins, who returned it 28 yards for a TD, in what turned out to be the difference.

Royse City is now 1-1 on the season.

Royse City celebrates opening of new stadium by beating Atlanta, 35-7

Frank Dave rushed for two touchdowns and Richard Morrison threw for two more as Royse City celebrated the opening of the new Royse City ISD Stadium with a 35-7 win over Atlanta Friday night.

The game was the first for Royse City (1-0) in Class 4-A and marked the debut of Head Coach Greg Strahm.

Dave scored on a three-yard run on the opening possession and added another three-yard run in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs held a 21-0 lead at halftime.

Morrison completed 17 of 30 passes for 198 yards to eight different receivers, including a 33-yard scoring pass to Kris Smith and another for 29 yards to Justin Jacobs.

Atlanta (0-1) scored on a 78-yard run by Devin Lockhart.

The only real downside was that Royse City did have 12 penalties for 110 yards.

The Bulldogs will travel to play Wakeland Sept. 12, at 7:30 pm.

Three County football players listed among most exciting by Dallas Morning News

Three high school football players from Rockwall County were listed among the most exciting in the Dallas area yesterday by Dallas Morning News sportswriter Keith Whitmire.

They are “Speed Back” Kendial Lawrence, running back at Rockwall-Heath; “Big Hitter” Austin Moss, Rockwall Heath linebacker; and “Athlete” Richard Morrison, quarterback at Royse City.

To see the entire list click here.