Ray Guillory had waited a long time for his first high school playoff game and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
As a freshman standout at Mansfield Lake Ridge in 2022 the Eagles did not reach the playoffs. After moving to Aledo for his sophomore season, he sat out the Bearcats' 27-6 bidistrict win over Killeen Shoemaker.
But Friday, Nov. 17 against Lubbock Cooper (8-4) at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Guillory finally found what it's like to play in a postseason game as the Bearcats (12-0) won 48-31.
The Bearcats advance to play Red Oak (12-0) in the third round. The game will be played Friday, Nov. 24, at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, former home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers, with the time yet to be confirmed.
"This felt great. I've been itching for this all week," Guillory said after rushing for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns. "I feel great. Last year I was at home on the couch eating popcorn at this time of the season."
Before the game, Aledo coach Robby Jones said the plan was to use Guillory in limited action. However, after he reeled off carries of 16, 36 and 27 yards on three of his first five carries, it was evident he could do more.
"I'm happy to see it. He kinda surprised me," Jones said. "He kept telling us how good he was feeling. He looked great."
The highlight of Guillory's night was a 78-yard touchdown run four minutes into the second half that gave Aledo (12-0) a 35-17 lead. He managed to weave his way through heavy defensive traffic near the sideline en route to the end zone.
"I thought I was going to step out of bounds," Guillory said. "My quarterback ran down the field like a bullet and helped me out (with a block). I love Hauss (Hejny). He's my role model."
Hejny had his own standout night. The TCU-bound QB rushed 16 times for 115 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown that put Aledo ahead 21-14 midway through the second quarter after Cooper had tied the game. He also completed 11 of 17 passes for 122 yards with a 7-yard TD pass to Kaydon Finley as Aledo took at 28-17 halftime lead.
Guillory's night ended with a 10-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left in the game to provide the final margin of victory.
With his performance, Guillory is closing in on a 1,000-yard season. He leads the Bearcats with 953 yards and a dozen touchdowns rushing, along with having caught 10 passes for 175 yards and four more scores.
Though known mostly for his defense, which garnered him a scholarship to play for TCU, Aledo linebacker Davhon Keys has a knack for getting into the end zone on offense, something that dates back to last season.
And Friday night was no different.
In the Raider package, in which he and three other defensive players come in on offense, Keys scored three times against Cooper. Often, he will take a direct snap.
Keys gave Aledo a 7-0 lead with a 4-yard run just over four minutes into the game to cap a 12-play, 75-yard opening drive, the longest by either team in the game. Then, after Cooper Kohan recovered a Cooper fumble at the Aledo 20 on the Pirates' opening drive, the Bearcats went 80 yards in 10 plays with Keys again capping the drive for a 14-0 lead.
Keys would later add a 29-yard run early in the fourth quarter to give Aledo a 42-31 lead after Cooper had scored back-to-back touchdowns to close within four points.
"That's the reason we put Davhon in there. His strong body is hard to stop," Jones said. "He's a really good runner."
Keys now has nine touchdowns this season.
Twice in the game the Bearcats had to pull away after rallies by feisty Cooper. After Aledo went up 14-0, the Pirates responded with touchdown runs by Jayden Hibbler of 1 and 20 yards. Hibbler ended the night with a yeoman effort of 168 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries.
The Pirates' second touchdown came after a perfectly executed onside pooch kick. It landed in the middle of a group of players when a Cooper player batted it downfield where the Pirates recovered at the Aledo 29.
Then, after Aledo built its lead to 18 points, Hibbler had TD runs of 5 and 25 yards to pull the Pirates to within 35-31.
"We felt like they were more explosive (this season) with the addition of Hibbler," Jones said.
Hibbler transferred to Cooper this season after being the district MVP last season playing for Lubbock Monterrey.
Jones praised his own offense for responding to the challenge on each occasion.
"I like the way we executed on offense. We had a couple of weeks where we weren't," he said. "We got big plays out of the pass and run."
Aledo defensive end Cooper Cyphers made a solid return on defense against Lubbock Cooper after missing several weeks with an injury. He posted three tackles, all solo, and had two quarterback hurries.
For the season, he now has 6.5 tackles, including five solo, with four hurries. He also returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown.
Pirates wide receiver Jayden Kennard played his freshman and sophomore seasons in the Aledo program before moving into the Cooper program before his junior season. He had a solid performance against his former program, catching three passes for 33 yards and rushing one time for 19 yards.
“I love those guys. I don’t know if I’ve had a better year and a half in my life than the time I spent there,” Kennard said.
He added that he believes the Bearcats are on their way to a 12th state championship after what he saw Friday.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in the state who can stop them,” he said.
Aledo 14 14 7 13 - 48
Lubb. Cooper 0 17 14 0 - 31
A - Davhon Keys 4 run (Logan DeFranzo kick)
A - Keys 5 run (DeFranzo kick)
LC - Jayden Hibbler 1 run (Cub Patton kick)
LC - Hibbler 20 run (Patton kick)
A - Hauss Hejny 29 run (DeFranzo kick)
A - Kaydon Finley 7 pass from Hejny (DeFranzo kick)
LC - Patton 33 FG
A - Ray Guillory 78 run (DeFranzo kick)
LC - Hibbler 5 run (Patton kick)
LC - Hibbler 25 run (Patton kick)
A - Keys 29 run (DeFranzo kick)
A - Guillory 10 run (kick failed)
Team statistics
First downs: Aledo 26, Cooper 19.
Rushes-yards: Aledo 40-348, Cooper 32-225.
Passing yards: Aledo 122, Cooper 112.
Caught-thrown-intercepted: Aledo 11-17-0, Cooper 13-21-0.
Fumbles-lost: Aledo 0-0, Cooper 2-1.
Punts-avg.: Aledo 1-36, Cooper 2-38.0.
Penalties-yards: Aledo 4-50, Cooper 6-60.
Third-down conversions: Aledo 4-6, Cooper 5-9.
Fourth-down conversions: Aledo 3-3, Cooper 0-2.
Time of possession: Aledo 23:32, Cooper 24.28.
Rushing
Aledo: Guillory 12 carries, 180 yards, 2 TD; Hejny 16-115, TD; Keys 7-46, 3 TD; Hawk Patrick-Daniels 4-13; Blake Burdine 1-(-6).
Cooper: Hibbler 19-172, 4 TD; Jackson Austin 4-35; Jayden Kennard 1-19; Cash Truby 2-3; Ryan Rodriguez 6-(-4).
Passing
Aledo: Hejny 11-17-0, 122 yards, TD.
Cooper: Rodriguez 13-21-0, 112 yards.
Receiving
Aledo: Trace Clarkson 5 catches, 54 yards; Patrick-Daniels 1-21; Finley 3-23, TD; Blake Burdine 1-16; Tyson Timms 1-8.
Cooper: Jaden Allen 5-53, Kennard 3-23, Austin 4-19, Hibbler 2-13, Gage Piepkorn 1-4.
Aledo tackle leaders: Keys 8.5, Chris Johnson 8.5, Jake Gillespie 7, Carson Dempsey 4.
Aledo tackles for loss: Keys 2, Ben McElree 1.
Aledo fumble recovery: Cooper Kohan.
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