At the start of the 2007 district football season, the Aledo Bearcats lost back-to-back games, 31-28 to Stephenville and 35-28 to Everman.
That was the last time the Bearcats would be on the losing end of a score in a district contest. None of the current players were even in school and at the time the program had only one state championship.
Now, of course, they have 11 state titles and are favored to make it an even dozen this season. And the program enters this week's matchup at home against the Justin Northwest Texans (2-0) with a national-record 111 straight league victories.
“We don’t win because of the streak. Our main goal is to win each week,” Bearcats coach Robby Jones said.
And that’s exactly what they’ve done for 16 straight games dating to last season, including a 2-0 start this season. The latest victory in that streak came Friday at Denton Guyer, ranked No. 11 in Class 6A in the state, as the Bearcats escaped with a 48-45 victory on a last-second 21-yard field goal by Cole Crawford.
Jones said the victory against the 6A powerhouse on the road gave his team added confidence as they try to win their league for a 16th straight season.
“To go along with that confidence, we don’t need to ease off,” he said. “We’ve got to continue working on the little things so that when we get to the playoffs we’re peaking.”
The most recent district scare came at home against Midlothian in 2019. The Bearcats had to rally for a fourth-quarter touchdown to force overtime, where they won 34-28.
For the most part, however, the victories have been convincing, including last season when Aledo outscored its opponents by an average of more than 40 points. It began with a 49-20 thumping of Northwest on the Texans' home field, starting the Bearcats on their current 16-game win streak that included the 5A Division I state championship.
“They have a system just like we have and their kids play within that system,” Jones said. “They didn’t play their best game against us last year and they’re going to come in looking to do better.”
The Texans' playoff appearances streak of five consecutive years pales in comparison to the Bearcats' streak of 27, but they certainly enter league play with plans to extend it.
What they'd really like is something else Aledo has done for 27 straight years, win a postseason contest. The Texans reached the third round of the playoffs in 2018, but have eliminated in the opening round each of the past four.
A higher finish than fourth, which is where they placed last season, would enhance those chances. Of course, all roads to anything more than second place goes through Aledo.
The Bearcats lead the all-time series with the Texans 10-6-1. They've won the past five matchups.
Since Aledo's record district winning began, this is the fourth season the Bearcats and Texans have been in the same district. Aledo has won the previous three meetings by a combined score of 158-47.
Hejny back in familiar role
After primarily passing the football in the season opening 50-35 victory against Dallas Parish Episcopal, Bearcats quarterback Hauss Hejny saw more running action at Guyer - oh, and he also had another sterling game throwing the ball.
Hejny rushed 16 times for 143 yards against Guyer. He also completed 16 of his 20 pass attempts for 243 yards and a TD.
“That 80 percent completion rate, plus his speed and ability to move, makes him one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the state,” Jones said.
In the opening game Hejny rushed only twice for a dozen yards. He completed nine of 15 passes for 185 yards and two TD.
When the season began Hawk Patrick-Daniels was set to move into a new role as split receiver, which he showed against Guyer that he is comfortable in that position. However, Jones said the plan is to continue to use him as a running back alongside Ray Guillory now and then, as indicated by his rushing 10 times for 87 yards and two TD against Parish Episcopal.
Against Guyer, Patrick-Daniels hauled in three catches for 93 yards, which included a touchdown.
“Hawk has some moves some receivers just don’t have,” Jones said. “He is going to be a dangerous weapon there.”
In the first game the Bearcats struggled some on special teams. Against Guyer there was a notable difference.
Not only did Crawford kick the winning field goal, he kicked three extra points and his kickoffs averaged 38.6 yards with two touchdowns. Pierce Ling, a move-in from Montgomery Lake Creek, took over punting duties and had two punts for a 35.5 average.
Davhon Keys provided a highlight when he returned a botched extra point 80 yards for two points.
Also, Hejny ran in a two-point conversion and Tyson Tims caught a two-point conversion pass.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Cole. I had all the confidence in the world he would make that field goal,” Jones said. “We’ve still got some things to work on with special teams, but it was certainly better against one of the state’s best 6A teams.”
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Bearcats’ opponents have scored 80 points in two games. For one thing, one of those scores was an 80-yard interception return.
However, Jones also noted that they have played two of the state’s top offenses.
“We’ve faced two very good offensive teams. Our guys made some big stops when it counted,” Jones said. “That sack Davhon (Keys) had against Guyer to set them up in a third-and-long was huge.”
Aledo retained its No. 1 ranking in Class 5A Division I, having knocked off two other state-ranked foes in Dallas Parish Episcopal at home and Guyer on the road. Also from the district, Denton Ryan, which was off this past weekend, is ranked No. 7.
Last week's results
Frisco Wakeland 34, Brewer 27
Venus 33, South Hills 18
Burleson Centennial 14, Frisco 13
Northwest 31, McKinney North 28
Fort Worth North Side 27, Saginaw 21
Royse City 49, The Colony 35
Azle 14, Grapevine 13
Denton Ryan, open
This week's games
Thursday, Sept. 7
Saginaw (0-2) at Burleson Centennial (2-0)
Friday, Sept. 8
Azle (1-1) at Denton Ryan (1-0), 7 p.m.
South Hills (0-2) at The Colony (0-2), 7 p.m.
Brewer (0-2) open
Jones believes the district overall will be tougher this season. Last season it featured three teams (Aledo, Ryan, Centennial) ranked in the state’s top 10 most of the season.
“All up and down there is more experience in the district,” Jones said.
Through the first two weeks, Aledo, Centennial and Northwest are all 2-0, while Ryan is 1-0. Azle is 1-1.
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