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DENTON — A long season awaits, but senior defensive lineman Khyren Haywood thinks this year’s Denton Guyer squad has that special something.
“I think in my four years of being on varsity, this is probably the best team we’ve had collectively as a group,” Haywood said during Guyer's practice Monday afternoon. “I think if we had an ambition to go 16 games, we could do that with this team.”
Sixteen games would be just two more than Guyer played last season. The two-time state champion went 7–0 in District 5-6A and 11–3 overall in 2025, finishing in the 6A Division II regional finals for a second consecutive season.
Guyer, which won two 4A Division I state titles in 2012 and 2013, last advanced to the state championship game in 2021. The closest the program has come since then was a run to the 6A Division II state semifinals in 2022, when five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold was at the helm.
Like Haywood, senior edge Zane Rowe can see Guyer making a similar run in 2026.
“I think we’re going to have a great season and completely dominate,” Rowe said.
Haywood and Rowe, two of the area’s top recruits in the Class of 2027, should play a big role in Guyer’s success this season.
Guyer had one of the top 6A defenses in the area in 2025, holding opponents to an average of 250.5 yards per game with three-star Texas Tech pledge Haywood and four-star Oregon pledge Rowe on the defensive line.
Haywood said the defense only got stronger.
“Of course our defense was really good, but you’re always going to have your pros and cons,” Haywood said. “This year, we think we’ve got good secondary guys. We have size that we didn’t have last year. And obviously, we have the best d-line in the country.”
Guyer coach Reed Heim, entering his fifth season leading the program, said this year’s team has good chemistry. That will bode well over the next few months as Guyer battles through a tough schedule.
The program opens the season against Melissa, a 5A Division II state semifinalist in 2025, and has Rockwall-Heath and Waxahachie slated for its remaining two nondistrict games. Waxahachie is the state’s top-ranked 6A team entering the 2026 season. Guyer ranks ninth.
Those games won’t decide Guyer’s postseason fate, but they’ll help the team prepare for district play and the postseason gauntlet that awaits.
“Our path is very difficult when you look at it,” Heim said of Guyer’s potential playoff road. “We’re going to play a good football team every step of the way.
“But that’s OK because that’s who we are and we expect that.”
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Sign up for the Morning Roundup, a free newsletter delivering the latest North Texas news each morning.This article originally published at Led by 2 of D-FW's top recruits, Denton Guyer hopes tough schedule leads to special run in 2026.
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