Notre Dame commit recap: WR Jalen Guyton excellent again for Allen
When his quarterback needed to complete a pass, Jalen Guyton found ways to get open Friday night.
With two Allen (Texas) High wide receivers sidelined or limited against Flower Mound Marcus, quarterback Kyler Murray, a Texas A&M commit, leaned on Guyton early and often.
Guyton caught eight passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-24 Allen victory. Murray completed just three passes for 38 yards to other Allen targets.
“I did everything I could,” Guyton said. “I was able to step up and make some of the bigger third-down catches and fill in for where Cody (Butler) and Kerry (Hall) would have been catching the ball.”
Guyton started the scoring for the Eagles early in the first quarter. He caught a one-yard fade from Murray to put Allen up 7-0. His second touchdown came in the third quarter on a simple deep route for 25 yards.
Flower Mound took a 24-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Murray and Guyton responded with big plays on the ensuing drive. Guyton returned the kickoff 23 yards and caught his longest pass of the night for 52 yards before Murray completed a 13-yard pass to Lee Morris for the go-ahead touchdown.
Through five games as a senior, Guyton has emerged as a well-rounded receiver. He’s caught 33 passes for 713 yards and eight touchdowns, and done so in a variety of ways.
"I'm trying to develop as a player and trying to do more,” Guyton said. “I know I'm more of a complete receiver. I want to develop into that going into Notre Dame because I know you can't just catch deep balls the whole time."
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound wideout said his improvements have gone hand-in-hand with the opportunities he’s getting on the field this season.
“Last year nobody saw me as a deep threat, so it was easy to get open over the top,” Guyton said. “Now everybody is bailing really hard. Now I'm seeing more opportunities to catch stops and curls and do something with them."
A couple narrow victories through five games has kept Guyton’s goal of an undefeated season intact. He doesn’t want to see Allen’s 32-game winning streak, which extends back to October of Guyton’s sophomore season, end in his final games with the program. The catches, yardage and scoring all are secondary to winning.
“Everybody always says it doesn't matter what you do your junior or sophomore year. Your senior year is the one you're going to remember,” Guyton said. “I don't know what I'm going to remember, but I'm trying to make the most of it.”
Here’s a recap of Notre Dame’s verbally committed recruiting class in action over the weekend:
• S Nicco Fertitta: Bishop Gorman 34, St. John Bosco 31. Fertitta recorded five tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss in the nationally-televised victory for Bishop Gorman (6-0) on Friday. Fertitta and the Gorman defense limited St. John Bosco and UCLA quarterback commit Josh Rosen to three points in the first half. Bishop Gorman grabbed the No. 1 spot from St. John Bosco in the USA Today national poll following the win on ESPN.
• RB Josh Adams: Central Bucks South 28, North Penn 27. Central Bucks South (4-1) rode Adams to another victory. The workhorse carried 33 times for 328 yards rushing and three touchdowns. His third touchdown was the game-winning score when North Penn failed a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
• WR Miles Boykin: Providence Catholic 41, St. Rita 27. Boykin caught four passes for 50 yards but half produced touchdowns for Providence Catholic (5-0). A five-yard touchdown reception started the scoring in the first quarter. An eight-yard touchdown catch to start the second half helped Providence pull away from previously unbeaten St. Rita.
• OL Tristen Hoge: Highland 13, Coeur d'Alene 10. Hoge and the Highland offense produced just enough points to stay undefeated. The Rams scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter. Highland (5-0) lost to Coeur d’Alene in the state championship game last season.
• CB Nick Coleman: Kettering Alter 49, Roger Bacon 0. Coleman scored on a 21-yard touchdown run as Alter extended its win streak to five to start the season. He helped the Alter defense record its first shutout of the season at cornerback.
• OL Trevor Ruhland: Cary-Grove 42, Huntley 14. Ruhland made his presence felt on the defensive line in addition to his work on the offensive side. Ruhland recorded two sacks in the win for Cary-Grove (5-0).
• DT Elijah Taylor: Cincinnati Moeller 13, St. Xavier 7. Taylor and the defense continue to carry Moeller (5-0) to start the season. He recorded 4.5 tackles and a sack for a team that has yet to surrender more than seven points in a game this year.
• LB Josh Barajas: Andrean 54, Highland 0. Barajas took the homecoming king crown and recorded seven tackles and three sacks in a big win for Andrean (6-0). The 59ers have won 21 games in a row.
• DT Brandon Tiassum: Park Tudor 28, South Decatur 7. Tiassum tallied five tackles, one sack and two forced fumbles in the first win of the season for Park Tudor (1-5).
• DL Micah Dew-Treadway: Bolingbrook 50, Joliet West 14. Dew-Treadway made regular appearances in the Joliet West backfield with two sacks, one forced fumble and five quarterback hurries for Bolingbrook (4-1).
• CB Shaun Crawford: Bergen Catholic (N.J.) 14, St. Edward 10. Crawford and St. Edward lost a heartbreaker in New Jersey on Saturday night. Bergen Catholic scored on a five-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds left to earn the victory over St. Edward (3-2). Crawford caught one pass for 16 yards and recorded 54 return yards. He added four solo tackles, five assists, a pass breakup and a blocked punt on defense.
• WR C.J. Sanders: Gardena Serra 28, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 23. Sanders returned a punt for a 50-yard touchdown, but Notre Dame (3-1) couldn’t muster enough offense to beat Serra. Sanders also caught two passes for 31 yards.
• OL Jerry Tillery: St. Thomas More 56, Evangel Christian 19. The struggles for Evangel Christian (1-3) in Tillery’s senior season continued Friday. Tillery, who plays both offensive and defensive line, couldn’t find much momentum on either side of the ball. St. Thomas More’s offense tallied 400 yards.
• S Prentice McKinney: South Oak Cliff 71, Molina 0. McKinney and the South Oak Cliff defense dominated in the rout. Molina managed just three first downs and 33 yards of offense against SOC (2-3).
*Stats reported were provided by the players or the following news organizations: MaxPreps, Dallas Morning News, Shreveport Times, Dayton Daily News, Idaho State Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Bergen County Record.
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