Aledo handles business against Red Oak, moves step closer in quest for 12th state title
The Bearcats are one step closer in their quest for a 12th state championship.
Aledo (13-0) took down Red Oak (12-1) 59-35 behind a monster performance by running back Ray Guillory, who finished with 190 yards and 4 touchdowns on 14 carries.
Wide receiver Kaydon Finley had a career night, tallying 161 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 receptions.
“It went well for us,” Aledo head coach Robby Jones said. “Offensively we were executing well, running and throwing the football. We got a lot of balls to Kaydon Finley tonight which was really good. That was something that we wanted to do, find ways to get him the football because you saw what he can do with the ball once he gets it in his hands.”
Quarterback Hauss Hejny, a TCU football commit, passed for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13/18 passing and ran for 38 yards as well.
With the win, the Bearcats will face Abilene in the Class 5A D1 quarterfinal. Abilene defeated Justin Northwest, Aledo’s rival in District 3-5A D1, 27-16. The Bearcats defeated Justin Northwest 38-13 on Sept. 8, 2023.
“We know that they’re (Abilene) a good football team,” Hejny said. “They beat Lubbock Cooper, which is a team we beat last week. They’re a West Texas school so they’re gonna come out and fighting and we just have to make sure that we stay on them and not let them get a glimpse of hope.”
Bearcats start strong
On its first offensive possession, Guillory raced 29 yards around the right end to the end zone to put the Bearcats on the board. On the next offensive possession, Hejny found sophomore wide receiver Kaydon Finley for an 84 yard touchdown.
“Kaydon (Finley) had a big night, probably the biggest of his career,” Hejny said. “He was able to make an 80 yard reception on a post route. We had guys that were were eager to make plays and an offensive coordinator that called them at the right time.”
Red Oak bounced back with a 19 yard passing touchdown from quarterback Chris Martinez to wide receiver Brayden Robinson. Aledo responded with a 70 yard touchdown from Guillory on the second play of the ensuing series.
“It was great play calling and great execution on the offensive line, because a lot of those plays are run plays and our offensive line allowed our running backs to run for 10 plus yards,” Hejny said. “And we busted a few big plays.”
After a Bearcat stop on fourth down, Guillory scored his third TD of the day to give the Bearcats a 28-7 lead with 3:52 to go in the half.
“Raycine (Guillory) wasn’t really the focus going in, but he hasn’t been healthy the past couple of weeks,” Hejny said. “He’s feeling really good again and he just came out and the offensive line did a great job of blocking for him and all I had to do is run the track meet at that point.”
Red Oak then put together a six play drive that culminated with a 25 yard TD from Martinez to Taz Williams.
Aledo also put together a quick drive, managing to score with a 12 yard pass from Hejny to Finley.
“He’s been banged up a little in the early on stages in the season, but he’s back full force,” Hejny said. “I’m glad he’s back because he’s a huge help on the offensive side of the ball tonight. He’s a young guy and has been lacking some confidence, but I’m hoping he got a confidence boost tonight. He was big in playoffs last year and he’s gonna be big in the playoffs again this year, as you can see.”
The Bearcats couldn’t capitalize on the late scoring drive, giving up a 88 yard kick return touchdown to Robinson.
Jones said the team wasn’t planning on kicking it to Robinson to give him an opportunity to make a play.
“But we kicked it to him and he had one big return, so we said ‘hey, let’s not do that again’ and evidently they didn’t get the message and we kicked it to him again and he returned it for a touchdown,” Jones said.
Aledo added a field goal as time expired to take a 38-21 lead into the half. The Bearcats came out with a sense of urgency in the third quarter, starting the scoring with Guillory’s fourth TD of the game, a 13 yarder around the left end.
“Our offensive line has done a great job,” Jones said. “We have four returning starters from last year’s state championship team so those guys are experienced they’ve been in playoff game and been in big playoff games. They’re doing a great job for us right now.”
Aledo extended its lead with a 41 yard rush from running back Hawk Patrick Daniels. After the two teams traded punts, Red Oak cut the lead with a 42 yard touchdown reception from Charles Taplin with 11:28 to go in the fourth quarter.
“I wasn’t ever comfortable until late in the fourth quarter because they can just score on you at any time,” Jones said. “That’s the type of guys they have over there.”
Aledo scored it’s last TD of the day with 6:43 remaining in the half, a 2 yard scamper by RJ Blake. Red Oak added a garbage time touchdown, a 85 yard fumble return run from Cameron Winston.
Now, the Bearcats will turn their attention to Abilene.
“They’re (Abilene) a great team, but I think we’ll prepare well against them,” Finley said. “We’re gonna play our hardest and we’re definitely going to give them a fight.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 1:41 AM.
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