Brock coaches won state championships at Aledo, now looking to bring one to the Eagles
Billy Mathis was a ninth grader at Aledo during Tim Buchanan’s first spring with the Bearcats in 1993.
Mathis played high school ball for Buchanan, at linebacker, tight end and full-back before graduating from Aledo in 1996. He was an assistant under Buchanan for five years as well (2003-07, 2013).
Together, they helped Aledo win a state championship in 2013.
Nearly 30 years later, Mathis and Buchanan will be on the same field at state again, but with different teams.
Mathis is in his second year with Brock. The Eagles (11-4) will play Franklin (15-0) in the Class 3A Division 1 state title game at 7 p.m. Thursday at AT&T Stadium.
Buchanan and Aledo (13-2) will play College Station (13-2) in the Class 5A D1 championship at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“He was a little red-headed dude,” Buchanan said of Mathis during his high school days.
“He’s turned into a great, young man.”
“As a player I remember how he was so detailed about everything. We never had a true off season, or understood why we needed to run track and do summer workouts,” Mathis said about playing for Buchanan. “He made us understand if we want to be the best you had to out work everyone.
“It wasn’t just something you did, it was your lifestyle. We wanted to play hard for him because we loved him. He made us feel like we were worthy of winning.”
Mathis’ offensive coordinator Blake Christenson is also an Aledo product.
He played quarterback for Buchanan and won a title in 1998.
It was Aledo’s first of 10 championships, a UIL 11-man state record.
“Both guys are like my kids,” Buchanan said. “Love them to death. Great kids in high school, great athletes who both turned into great, young men, coaches and dads.”
Mathis took the Eagles to the 3A D1 title game last season, where they lost 35-18 against Lorena. Brock is in its fourth appearance, winning a title in 2015 against Cameron Yoe.
Before he was hired at Brock, Mathis was the head coach at Weatherford for four seasons, turning that program into a playoff team.
Aledo is looking for its 11th state title.
The Bearcats will play in their 13th championship game.
“It would mean a lot to me to see those two kids win state,” Buchanan said. “I call them kids, they’re like 40-something year old men. But it would be nice to see them win on their own. They both did it here, but it would be really neat to see them win as head coach and offensive coordinator.”
Mathis has three titles with Aledo. He was defensive coordinator from 2013-17, also winning state in 2014 and 2016 under Steve Wood. Wood was Buchanan’s DC before taking over in 2014 while Buchanan became athletic director.
The two switched roles in 2019.
Meanwhile, Christenson has seven titles, with six coming as an Aledo coach.
The 2001 Aledo graduate helped coach his alma mater from 2009-17.
“It would mean the world to me,” Mathis said about a title. “Just to see the seniors go out state champions and for my coaches who have never won one would make it so special. Then it would be just that more special to win it the same time coach Buc wins.”
Mathis said he continues to talk to Buchanan regularly, talking football, catching up or just getting advice.
“As a coach he was tough but fair. He demanded that we lead by great example. If we are going to ask the kids to give their all, we had to be willing to give our all as coaches,” Mathis said of Buchanan. “He held us accountable but he let us coach and trusted us to do our job well. He wasn’t a micromanager, but he expected the best.
“The best thing I learned from him as a player and a coach was to always treat people with love and respect. We all played hard for him and we coached hard for him. We didn’t want to disappoint him.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
