No. 2 College Station holds off No. 1 Denton Ryan 26-21 in regional finals

WACO, Texas (KBTX) - The College Station football team beat Denton Ryan 26-21 in a top-two showdown in the regional finals of the UIL Class 5A Division I playoffs Friday night at McLane Stadium.

College Station defeated the defending state champs and top-ranked Ryan, who ended the Cougars’ season last year in the area round of the playoffs.

It was the Cougar’s defense that came up big, coupled with all 3 Cougar touchdowns from running back Marquise Collins. Collins has 13 total touchdowns in just the past 3 weeks.

The Cougars struck first with a couple of field goals to take a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. Ryan responded with the first touchdown of the game to take the lead, but Marquise Collins answered to take a 13-7 College Station lead at halftime. Collins would score again in the third quarter to take a 20-7 lead, but the Raiders responded with back-to-back touchdowns to retake the lead 21-20 early in the fourth quarter. Collins scored his 3rd touchdown of the game to take a 5 point lead, and the Cougars’ defense had multiple stops down the stretch to maintain that lead.

College Station advances to the state semifinals next week where they’ll take on Mansfield Summit.

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