It's not often when you're as dominant a football program as Aledo that statement games come in season openers. But that's what head coach Robby Jones and his players were thinking last week as they defeated Dallas Parish Episcopal 50-35 at Buchanan Stadium.
The game wasn't as close as the score might indicate as the Bearcats, defending Class 5A Division I state champions, dominated the game for the most part against the four-time defending Texas Association of Private and Parochial School Division I state champions from the outset.
After the game, Aledo quarterback Hauss Hejny noted, "The score doesn't indicate how well we handled them."
In 2022, Parish defeated the Bearcats in Dallas, 24-17 in Hejny's first start at quarterback. Suffice to say, he's matured since then, being named the MVP of the state championship game and having signed to play for TCU since then.
Now comes another statement game as Aledo travels to Denton to face Class 6A powerhouse Guyer at C.H. Collins Stadium Friday night at 7. Guyer had little trouble with the Bearcats in Aledo last season, winning 44-14 as everything that could wrong did for the home squad as Guyer quarterback Jackson Arnold passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
Arnold is now at the University of Oklahoma, and Guyer graduated a strong senior class, but Jones knows that, like Aledo, the Wildcats are a program that reloads instead of rebuilds.
"If we can go play well against those guys and come out with a win, that would be big," said Jones, who is in his first year of leading the Bearcats. "They are a very good 6A program and it will be a great measuring stick for us. But it is definitely not going to be easy.
“That’s a tough victory, but if we play well and have things go right, we could definitely come out on top.”
In other words, the exact opposite of what happened last season when everything that could go wrong did at home for Aledo in a 44-14 loss.
The Wildcats are coming off a 42-14 win at Rockwall Heath to open the season. In that game it looks as though they also found their new starting quarterback in Logan McLaughlin, who passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wildcats, like the Bearcats, have speed. Receiver Josiah Martin, a Boston College commit, caught six passes for 92 yards last week. Corbin Glasco, caught three passes for 63 yards, runs the 100-yard dash in around 10.6 seconds and, as did Aledo’s Raycine Guillory did against Parish, turned a short pass into a long touchdown against Heath.
On the offensive line, the Wildcats average around 280-plus pounds, Jones noted. Left tackle Willie Goodacre, a Syracuse commit, is 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds.
“They’re going to be a lot bigger than us,” Jones said.
On defense, Wildcats cornerback Eli Bowen has committed to Oklahoma. Noseguard Pelumi Olanipekun, who gave the Bearcats fits last season, had three tackles for a loss against Heath.
Hejny said a key is to go in with the same chip on their shoulder they had against Parish.
"I wasn't prepared last year, but since then we've got a lot of trust built. We just need to keep this same focus and attitude," he said.
Sophomore move-in running back Raycine Guillory, who led Mansfield Lake Ridge in rushing (769 yards) and touchdowns (12) last season, wasted no time in letting folks in Aledo he means business.
Guillory took a swing pass from Hejny on the game’s first play and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. He finished the night with 183 total yards, including 113 on the ground.
“We’ve had good running backs here for a long time and he’s going to fit right in,” Jones said.
That long list includes the likes of Jonathan Gray (national record 205 TD, almost 11,000 yards rushing, played at University of Texas), Ryan Christian (TCU standout, some time in Canadian Football League), Jace McClellan (currently starting for Alabama), Jess Anders and DeMarco Roberts, to name a few.
DJ Williams made the move from guard to tackle on the offensive line for the Bearcats this season. It didn’t take long for him to get comfy in his new position.
“That’s not an easy thing to do but he’s done it well,” Jones said of the move. “A lot of big runs (against Parish) were helped by his blocks.
“I think he’s going to do a fine job there this season.”
Short but strong history
While pretty much anyone who keeps up with high school in Texas - and even beyond - is aware of the success of the Bearcats, with a state-record 11 state championships (10 since 2009), the Wildcats have compiled their own impressive resume.
Since opening in 2005, Guyer has been a regular in the postseason. What's more, the Wildcats have also regularly made their way deep into the playoffs.
It didn't take long for the Wildcats to make their first state semifinals appearance in 2008. Two years later they were in the state finals and in 2012 they won the Class 4A Division I state championship - defeating the Bearcats 42-30 in the second round of the playoffs, by the way.
In all, Guyer has one state championship, three other state finals appearances and four semifinal appearances. In each of the past four seasons they have either played for a state championship or advanced to the semifinals, posting a 53-8 record.
Last season the Wildcats won their first 14 games before falling 47-28 to eventual state champion DeSoto in the 6A Division II semifinals.
Not many teams can say they have a winning record against the Bearcats, especially since Aledo started its run of dominance in the mid-1990s under former head coach Tim Buchanan. However, Guyer is one of those few as the Wildcats hold a 3-1 all-time advantage.
Along with last season and their aforementioned playoff win in 2012, Guyer came into Aledo and won 60-57 to open the 2019 season. It was Buchanan's first game back as head coach after having spent five season as athletic director only.
Like last season, the Bearcats rebounded to win the remainder of their games that season, finishing 15-1 and 5A Division II state champions. Guyer would go 14-2 and fall in the 6A Division II title game to Austin Westlake.
Aledo's lone victory in the series came in 2018. The Bearcats won 40-0 in Denton en route to a perfect 16-0 season and a 5A DII state title.
Whatever the outcome Friday night, history has shown that there will be a good amount of points score. In the previous four games the winning team has averaged 46.5 points, while the losing squad has averaged 25.
Granted, in one of those games the teams combined for 117 points in Guyer's 60-57 win. It is the most points the Bearcats have ever scored in a loss, eclipsing a 48-47 loss to Stephenville in 2012.
Following each of their four meetings, one of the teams has gone on to win a state championship, and three times that has been the Bearcats. Guyer won state in 2012, while Aledo captured titles in 2018, 2019 and last season.
The Bearcats entered the season as the No. 1 team in the state in Class 5A Division I by “Dave Campbell’s Texas Football” and remained there following their opening win.
Guyer came into 2023 ranked ninth in 6A (they are not divided into Division I and II at that level until the postseason) and is also still in that slot this week.
Nationally, Aledo started the season ranked 49th and moved up to 41st this week by MaxPreps. Guyer was 54th and climbed to 48th in the latest poll.
Last week's results
Frisco 24, Brewer 6
Burleson Centennial 35, Burleson 6
Northwest 21, Frisco Rock Hill 13
Denton Ryan 27, New Braunfels 24
Boswell 55, Saginaw 30
South Hills 45, Dallas Molina 21
Red Oak 19, The Colony 16
Frisco Reedy 37, Azle 14
Thursday, Aug. 31
Brewer at Frisco Wakeland
South Hills vs. Venus, Clark Stadium
Friday, Sept. 1
Burleson Centennial at Frisco, 7 p.m.
Northwest at McKinney North,
7 p.m.
Saginaw vs. Fort Worth North Side, Farrington Field, 7 p.m.
The Colony at Royse City, 7 p.m.
Grapevine at Azle, 7 p.m.
Denton Ryan, open
Aledo Bearcats (1-0) vs. Denton Guyer Wildcats (1-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, C.H. Collins Stadium Stadium, Denton.
Returning starters: Aledo 7 offense/5 defense, Guyer 3 offensive/4 defensive.
Last week: Aledo defeated Dallas Parish Episcopal 50-35 at home, Guyer won 42-14 at Rockwall Heath.
Last season: Aledo, 14-2, 5A Division I state champions. Guyer, 14-1, 6A Division I semifinals. Guyer won 44-14 in Aledo.
Aledo offensive players to watch: RB Raycine Guillory had an impressive debut with the Bearcats after moving in from Mansfield Lake Ridge. He rushed 11 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns against Parish Episcopal, along with catching two passes for 70 yards, including a 75-yard TD; WR Trace Clarkson caught five passes for 82 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown.
Guyer offensive players to watch: QB Logan McClaughlin (10-of-15, 197 yards, 3 TD passing; 5 carries, 34 yards rushing vs. Heath), WR Josiah Martin (6 catches, 92 yards vs. Heath).
Aledo defensive players to watch: LB Davhon Keys (9 tackles, 2 interceptions, one returned 27 yards for a touchdown vs. Parish), LB Ben McElree (5 tackles, all solo, 1 for loss vs. Parish).
Guyer defensive players to watch: DB Max Hornsby (9 tackles, 7 solo vs. Heath), DB Kaedyn Cobbs (5 tackles, interception vs. Heath).
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