Just after Denton Guyer fell to Southlake Carroll on Oct. 4 — the Wildcats’ first loss — coach John Walsh delivered a postgame message to his team.

“People are going to tell you this loss doesn’t define you,” Walsh said on the C.H. Collins Athletic Complex field. “But it absolutely does. It’s going to define us in a positive way."

And then Walsh offered a statistic that perhaps has foreshadowed Guyer’s current playoff run, which continues at 11 a.m. Saturday against Amarillo Tascosa in the Class 6A Div. I Region I final.

In the program’s three seasons that ended in at least state championship appearances — 2010, 2012, 2013 — the Wildcats had never arrived undefeated. Walsh figured the District 5-6A loss to Carroll, the team’s only so far, wouldn’t derail their postseason hopes.

“We’ve been to three [state championship] games and won two of them, and I never went there undefeated,” Walsh said Oct. 4. “You dig deep on mistakes you made, and you make sure they don’t happen again, and then you remember the feeling and you fight to keep that feeling away in another close game down the road.”

Since Guyer’s lone lapse, the Wildcats have won eight straight games by a 29-point average margin of victory.

The streak includes a strong playoff-opening win over Hebron and a wild comeback against Cedar Hill in the second round, when several onside kicks and 36 unanswered points in the second half sealed a victory.

And it includes standout production from an experienced cast on both sides.

Running back Kaedric Cobbs, who leads Dallas area with 2,149 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns — 664 yards and 20 scores more than the second local Class 6A rusher — had three touchdowns and a two-point conversion in that second-half burst against Cedar Hill.

Quarterback Eli Stowers shined last week against Arlington, passing for three touchdowns, all to wide receiver Seth Meador, and rushing for two more.

Guyer’s defense has held opponents to an average of 17.25 points a game in their last eight wins, and the team is now two more from capitalizing on its coach’s early October prediction.

Here’s a breakdown of Guyer’s season records in their past state championship runs:

Year Record Playoff finish 2013 14-2 Class 4A Div. I state champion 2012 14-2 Class 4A Div. I state champion 2010 13-3 Class 5A Div. II state runner-up

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On Twitter: @CallieCaplan

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