BY BRIAN GOSSET
Denton Ryan head football coach Dave Henigan announced via Twitter/X on Friday that he was stepping down from his position after 12 years leading the Raiders.
In a dozen years, Henigan led the Raiders to a 141-23 record.
During his first year in 2014, Ryan went 5-5. Then the Raiders turned back into a state powerhouse under Henigan’s watch. The Raiders went undefeated in the regular season six consecutive years capped off with a 15-0 mark and the state championship in 2020.
Ryan beat Cedar Park 59-14 for the program’s third title.
It wasn’t the first time Henigan was on the Ryan staff. A decade before he was hired as head coach, Henigan was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator under Joey Florence. He helped the Raiders to the 4A D2 title game over Brenham in 2002. Henigan also helped the team to the title game in 2003 where they lost to La Marque in triple overtime.
Prior to coming back to Ryan, Henigan spent five years at Corsicana and five years at Grapevine. In his career, Henigan holds a 197-75 record. Additionally, in 22 seasons as a head coach, Henigan has taken his teams to the playoffs 16 times and won district eight times (Ryan- 7, Corsicana- 1).
This past season, Ryan went 12-2 overall, 7-1 in district and reached the regional final. The Raiders and Aledo created a rivalry over the past few years. They lost to the Bearcats 15-14 in the regular season and then 43-17 in the fourth round. After losing to Aledo in the regular season during 2024, Ryan knocked off Aledo 31-21 in last year’s regional championship. The 2024 season ended in the state semifinals, a 24-21 loss against Highland Park.
