Denny’s 288 rushing yards help Georgetown outpace Leander in win
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![a group of baseball players standing on top of a grass covered field: Georgetown head coach Chuck Griffin led the Eagles to a 63-42 win over Leander Friday. [Stephen Spillman for Statesman]](https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1b0pxs.img?h=180&w=270&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f)
GEORGETOWN — In a game filled with big plays, the biggest plays came from Georgetown’s Nate Denney as the Eagles ran past Leander 63-42 in a District 11-5A Division I homecoming tilt Friday at Birkelbach Field.
Denney opened the game with a 29-yard run but that was only a harbinger of things to come.
Denney’s 116 yards in the first half included a 56-yard scoring jaunt as the Eagles took the lead for good, 14-7 with 56 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
It only got better for Denney in the second half, as he finished with 288 yards in just 14 carries. Denney scored on four of his six second=half carries. His scoring runs covered 26, 52, 2 and 51 yards.
Denney heaped praise on his offensive line, “They are the foundation of this team. I have the highest praise for them as they are the hardest workers I know and I’m blessed to be running behind them.”
In racing to their 35-7 halftime lead, the Eagles (6-1, 4-1 District 11-5A Division I) amassed 376 yards on just 27 snaps.
Junior quarterback Darson Herman accounted for four first-half touchdowns as he threw for three scores and added another as he bulled his way in from the Lion 3-yard line.
Herman finished the night 10 of 16 passing for 216 yards. His scoring tosses covered 29 yards to Ryan Eady, 38 yards to Brandon Bradford and 39 yards to Cole Petter.
Despite being held to 123 yards of offense in the opening half, Leander (2-6, 2-4) exploded for 35 points and 311 yards after intermission.
Alex Franklin III and Ray Egelsee each topped the century mark rushing for the Lions. Franklin paced the Lions with 166 yards and two short scoring runs and Egelsee chipped in 114 yards.
Even though the Eagles are 6-1, coach Chuck Griffin sees that there is a lot room for improvement.
“We allowed them to score five touchdowns in the second half.” Griffin said. “We got to get better and be coachable, do the right thing, be in the right coverage and tackle better.”
The Eagles will take its four-game district winning streak on the road next Friday as they visit The Pfield to take on Pflugerville, while Leander closes its regular season hosting Hendrickson at Bible Stadium on Friday night.