Fast start propels Aledo by Burleson as Bearcats win 97th straight district game

Coming into Friday night’s District 5-5A Division 2 opener between Aledo and upstart Burleson, the Elks looked like a team that might be able to give the Bearcats some problems.

But Aledo was having none of it.

The Bearcats, the top-ranked team in Class 5A Division 2, showed why they’re the 10-time state champions, running away from the Elks, 56-14, at Burleson ISD Stadium, extending their national record district winning streak to 97 games, which dates back to October 2007.

Aledo (4-0, 1-0 in 5-5A D2), three-time defending champ, jumped to a quick lead before Burleson (2-2, 0-1) could even catch up with the speed of the game. The Bearcats took the opening kick and marched 57 yards in seven plays, capped by a 35-yard Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to Hauss Hejny touchdown pass.

Following a Burleson punt, Fowler-Nicolosi, a Nevada commit, found a wide open Hejny down the middle, this time for a 46-yard score to give the Bearcats a 14-0 lead with 4:56 left in the first quarter.

“Brayden does a really good job of keeping his eyes down the field when he escapes the pocket,” said Hejny, a sophomore. “My job is to just get into his vision and that’s what I did and I was able to make something happen when I got the ball.”

Burleson sophomore QB Dylan Raiola got the Elks moving on their second possession, but a fumble was recovered by Aledo’s Taylon Kessler near midfield.

Every one of Burleson’s four turnovers turned into Aledo points.

Fowler-Nicolosi, scrambling away from several tacklers in the pocket, tossed his third TD of the first quarter hitting Brian Fleming with a 28-yard toss to give Aledo a 21-0 lead late in the period.

The Elks moved the ball again on their following series, but at the Aledo 14, Kessler picked off a Burleson pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 28-0.

“We had been talking about that play all week and watching film on it so we knew it was coming,” said Kessler. “I knew it was coming by the formation and, of course, it came right to me. I started one way and saw all of those big guys so I looked the other way and saw my wall of blockers.”

Burleson did cut the lead to 28-7 on a Raiola to Luke Peterson 21-yard TD with 4:02 left in the half. The duo opened the second half connecting on a 43-yard pass play to make the score 28-14.

Raiola finished 24 of 43 for 253 yards with Peterson hauling in six passes for 83 yards.

But Burleson’s second TD seemed to spark the Bearcats, who scored two plays and 42 seconds later when running back Ryan Williams picked up 34 yards around right end and then ran 17 yards for a touchdown to up the lead to 35-14.

The Aledo defense held Burleson to three, three-and-outs after that point and had two takeaways, that yes, resulted in points.

Williams added a 22-yard scoring run then Davhon Keys picked off a Burleson pass and returned it 31 yards to the Elks’ 21. On the third play of the fourth quarter, Brant Hayden hit Oklahoma commit Jason Llewellyn with a 14-yard TD pass to give Aledo a 49-14 lead.

Hayden and Hejny took turns at quarterback following intermission after Fowler-Nicolosi got dinged up late in the first half.

“He could have played,” said Aledo coach Tim Buchanan of Fowler-Nicolosi. “But we had a good lead and felt in control of the game and just wanted to play some of the other kids.”

Williams led Aledo with 123 rushing yards on 18 carries. Fowler-Nicolosi went 7 of 11 for 158 yards passing and the three TDs with five passes finding Hejny for 126 yards.

Aledo linebacker Cap Mooney crowned a superb defensive effort from the Bearcats by scooping up a Burleson fumble and returning it 28 yards for Aledo’s final TD.

“We knew coming in to the year that we had a bunch of really good guys on defense and we have a lot of depth,” added Buchanan. “Our defensive staff does a great job and the kids do what they’re supposed to do. We got up for the game tonight and stayed up.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 11:17 PM.