It's not often a 12-0 team finds themselves in a position of being the underdog, but someone has to be when it's a pair of teams with perfect records.
In this case, one of the two 12-0 squads happens to be a team - Aledo - that is seeking its 12th state championship, while the other - Red Oak - is looking for its first.
Something will give when the two powerhouses square off Friday night at 7:30 at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, formerly Globe Life Park and the former home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.
“They’re very good, well coached, good defensively and as explosive a team on offense as you’ll find,” Aledo coach Robby Jones said of the Hawks.
Odds are similar words were used by Red Oak coach Melvin Johnson of the Bearcats.
To continue their quest for a title, the Hawks are going to have to do something they've only done once in 11 previous meetings with the Bearcats - get a rare victory. Ever since winning the first meeting 64-6 in 1960, Aledo has dominated the series.
The lone exception is the Hawks' 40-8 win in 1964. Their last meeting was in 2019 and the Bearcats won 34-14 in this same round of the playoffs, the only other time they've met in the postseason.
Both the Bearcats and Hawks bring high-scoring offenses and stingy defenses into the contest. Aledo is outscoring its opponents by an average of 49-15, while Red Oak is winning by a 35-17 average.
“They can score in one play all of a sudden, they have that kind of speed,” Jones said. “Amarillo (the Hawks’ second-round opponent) got a 14-point lead on them, then boom! Boom! Just like that it was tied.”
The Bearcats have topped 40 points offensively nine times, compared to three for the Hawks. Aledo has a season high of 71 points, also scoring 70 in another game. Red Oak has a season high of 63.
On defense, Aledo has three shutouts and has held five opponents to a touchdown or less. Red Oak has one shutout, held another foe to a field goal and has held four opponents in all to a TD or less.
Red Oak starting quarterback Reggie Moody has been on the sidelines in a boot the past two games, so his status is in question this week. He suffered an injury in the regular season-ending 21-7 victory against Midlothian, in which he was 13-for-13 with a pair of touchdowns before exiting.
For the season, Moody has completed 70% of his passes for over 2,500 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. In his absence, running back Chris Martinez has thrown for over 500 yards with seven TD and three interceptions.
Aledo has two close games decided by less than a touchdown and both were against teams from Denton. In pre-district they traveled to Denton and defeated Class 6A Guyer (7-4) on a last-second field, 48-45. In a home district game, they scored on a late Hauss Hejny touchdown run to avoid an upset, winning 25-19 after Ryan (8-3) rallied from a 17-0 deficit to take the lead.
Red Oak has won four games decided by four points or less. In pre-district they won at The Colony (5-5) 19-16, in district they topped Killeen Shoemaker (7-4) 17-14 and Lake Belton (8-3), 38-34, both on the road. To open the playoffs, they won at home over Burleson Centennial (7-4), 35-32.
Despite being from different districts, the Bearcats and Hawks have three common opponents this season.
The Colony - Aledo won 60-14 there, Red Oak won 19-16 there.
Killeen Shoemaker - Aledo won 27-6 at home, Red Oak won 17-14 there.
Burleson Centennial - Aledo won 42-0 at home, Red Oak won 35-32 at home.
“Their team has found a way to win football games,” Jones said, adding that scores can be deceiving because matchups are different.
Since their postseason run of 28 years began in 1996, the Bearcats are in the third round for a 24th time. Of the previous 23 times they've reached this round, they've won 21 times.
The only exceptions are Dallas South Oak Cliff in 2021 (33-28) and Texas Liberty-Eylau (33-24) in 1999. South Oak Cliff went on to win the 5A Division II state championship and Liberty-Eyleau won the 3A Division I title.
In both cases, Aledo went into the game as the defending state champion.
The game will feature a pair of head coaches who are in the first season leading their respective programs - and one will experience their first loss at the helm of that program.
Jones took over the Bearcats program after serving as an assistant for a couple decades, including offensive coordinator since 2009, after Tim Buchanan retired. While he is going for his first state title as a head coach, he was onboard for the 11 Aledo has won since 2009.
Melvin Johnson of Red Oak was promoted to head coach this season after serving in an interim capacity and leading them to a 9-3 record last season.
The Bearcats are no stranger to Choctaw Stadium, having played there three times in the COVID-19 riddled 2020 season. They won all three games, including two in the playoffs, en route to another state title.
Aledo opened that season with a 70-7 win over Weatherford in the venue. In the second round of the playoffs they defeated North Forney there, 49-24, and also posted a 52-48 win against Lucas Lovejoy in the state quarterfinals.
The Bearcats bring a 26-game win streak into the game. It’s the third longest in team history, starting with the third game of last season.
The longest streak is 31 games in 2016-17 under former coach Steve Wood. The Bearcats went 16-0 and won the 2016 state championship and returned to the title game in 2017, falling 20-19 to College Station.
In 2009-10 with all-everything running back Johnathan Gray they won 29 consecutive and the first two of three straight state championships. That streak ended with a 48-47 loss to Stephenville to start the 2011 season.
The 2020 and 2021 teams won 23 straight, including the 2020 state title, before the streak was ended by now two-time defending Class 5A Division II state champion Dallas South Oak Cliff.
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