Aledo Bearcats throttle Forney, advance to Class 5A Division 1 state championship
At the end of the 2022 season, Tim Buchanan retired as head coach of the Aledo Bearcats after winning the programs’ 11th state championship.
In a new era for the Bearcats, the team is right back to the grandest stage in Texas high school football. Aledo (15-0) punched its ticket to the Class 5A D1 State Championship with a dominant 43-7 win over Forney (13-2).
Robby Jones was promoted to head coach after serving as an offensive coordinator since 2000. He said a semifinal win doesn’t feel different as a head coach compared to winning as an assistant.
“It feels the same every time,” Jones said. “It’s exciting for these kids. Not everybody gets to experience going to a state championship so I’m proud of these kids and proud of the work that they put in to put themselves in this position. I’m excited to see what happens next week.”
With starting running back Ray Guillory unavailable, running back Hawk Patrick-Daniels received 27 carries and totaled 185 yards and two touchdowns. Jones said Guillory is questionable for next week.
“Those are the things we expect of Hawk (Patrick-Daniels),” Jones said. “Hawk is a heck of a football player and he was our featured running back last year. We moved him to the slot this year to get him and Ray on the field at the same time, but with Ray out we had to move him back to the role that he had last year and he executed well.”
Patrick-Daniels said it’s a “blessing” to make another state championship game as an Aledo Bearcat.
“It’s not easy,” Patrick-Daniels said. “But we did it and came out with the win. I gotta give credit to my o-line. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Linebacker and running back Davhon Keys, the Star-Telegram’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, rushed for 37 yards and four touchdowns. The LSU commit blocked and recovered a punt and tipped a pass that was later intercepted.
“You can’t ask for a better kid than Davhon Keys,” Jones said. “He’s one of the hardest workers that we have and an extremely intelligent kid. When we get down there in the red zone we like to use him. He’s a big, strong, physical runner and he’s a really good running back. He makes his living as a linebacker, but he’s really good running back as well.”
Quarterback Hauss Hejny, a TCU commit, finished with 85 yards on three completed passes and two interceptions. Hejny was more effective on his legs, totaling 122 yards on 14 carries.
“He got some pressure and maybe tried to force the ball when he shouldn’t have,” Jones said. “If he’s got that pressure then maybe he just needs to eat the sack or throw the ball away and not just throw it up.”
Jones told the team that when they’re playing to the best of their abillity their a hard team to beat. The results back up his statement. Aledo is undefeated and has won every playoff matchup by 17 points or more.
“Our defense is playing extremely well right now and and our offense -- when they’re clicking on all cylinders -- they’re hard to stop,” Jones said.
Bearcats throttle the Jackrabbits
Aledo’s defense set the tone right away with defensive end Carson Dempsey sacking Forney quarterback Kyle Crawford. Patrick-Daniels put Aledo on the board with a 13 yard rushing touchdown and Hejny added a 2-point conversion on his legs.
The Bearcat defense forced another three-and-out, and the Forney punt was blocked and recovered by Keys. The Aledo senior linebacker, after a 21 yard completion to tight end Tyson Timms, punched it in from the 1 yard line in wildcat formation.
With 9:04 remaining in the second quarter, Hejny faced pressure and threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted. Aledo’s defense made up for the mistake. Linebacker Ky Howington hauled in an interception on a tip drill after Keys got a hand on it.
Keys had his fingerprints all over the game on both sides and continued his elite play with a 6 yard touchdown in Aledo’s next series to give his team a 22-0 lead. For the second time, he was in wildcat formation.
The Jackrabbit offense continued to struggle and punted. The Bearcats took over and Hejny threw his second interception ball, a deep pass that was caught by Forney defensive back Josiah Turner.
The Jackrabbits got on the board with a 22 yard touchdown by sophomore running back Javian Osborne, who has offers from Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and more. The Bearcat defense held him to 48 yards on 13 carries.
In the second half, the Bearcats extended an already sizable lead. Keys scored his third touchdown of the contest, rushing 1 yard for the score to open the third quarter scoring.
Aledo then kicked off to Forney and the Jackrabbits muffed it. Aledo senior Jake Gillespie showcased his speed and quickly got to the ball for the recovery. Patrick-Daniels then found the end zone for a second time with a 5 yard run up the middle.
After an interception by Aledo cornerback Jaden Allen, an Arkansas commit, Keys notched his fourth touchdown of the game. The two-way superstar rushed 16 yards, plowing through a Jackrabbit defender at the goal line en route to the score.
The game was out of reach, and the Bearcats drained the final 11:05 of the clock as neither team scored again. Aledo will face Smithson Valley (14-1) in the Class 5A D1 State Championship at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Dec. 15 with a 7 p.m. CT kickoff time.
Keys said making another state championship feels great, considering the hard work the team put in throughout the year.
“It feels really great,” Keys said. “It just shows that all of the preparation, waking up at 6:45 in the summer, 6:40 practices for 16 weeks. It shows that it’s all worth it and it’s all paid off.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 10:37 PM.
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