It’s been a long time since the Aledo Bearcats last lost a first-round playoff football game?
How Long? In 1988 the Bearcats, coached by Chuck Curtis, fell 38-22 to Decatur in bi-district to finish 8-3. That was followed by a total of 11 wins over the next four seasons combined, which led to the hiring of a young Tim Buchanan in his first and only head coaching gig.
It took Buchanan four seasons before the Bearcats reached the playoffs under him, but once they did, they have been nothing short of dominant. This is the team’s 27th consecutive playoff appearance and they are 26-0 in bi-district encounters heading in.
Buchanan is responsible for 21 of those wins and Steve Wood for the other five from 2014-18 when he took over as coach and Buchanan was athletic director. Wood won three state titles (2014, 2016, 2018) during that time and is now the AD while Buchanan resumed his role on the sidelines and ran his state championship total to seven with titles in 2019 and 2020.
“Honestly, that’s the thing I’m more proud of than a lot of other things, like the 111 straight district wins,” Buchanan said. “It’s pretty neat, I know that.”
Not only have the Bearcats won 26 straight in the first round of the postseason, they have advanced to at least the state quarterfinals in 21 of those seasons. This includes 11 state finals appearances (10 championships) and five semifinals.
The Bearcats’ bi-district dominance has been especially so the past couple of decades, when the closest anyone has come was a 31-14 victory against Lake Dallas in 2008. The last time a team got within two touchdowns of Aledo in bi-district was a 12-0 win over Fort Worth Dunbar in 2002.
Killeen Shoemaker (8-2) looks to be one of the more formidable first-round opponents the Bearcats have faced in some time. Though the Wolves are the No. 4 seed from District 4-5A Division I, that is a bit deceptive.
The Wolves actually finished in a three-way tie for second behind Midlothian (10-0, 8-0). Shoemaker, Red Oak (8-2 overall) and Lake Belton (8-2 overall) finished in a deadlock at 6-2 in league play.
The Wolves’ two losses were 32-27 at home to Midlothian on Sept. 9 and 38-35 at Red Oak on Sept. 30. They had leads in both games.
In the four-game winning streak since the Red Oak loss, Shoemaker has outscored its opponents 187-32.
Like Aledo, the Wolves changed classifications this season. Only while the Bearcats were moving up, Shoemaker was coming down from Class 6A, something Buchanan said should help the Wolves’ confidence in this matchup.
“They’re not going to be afraid of us. Look at who they’ve been playing in the first round,” Buchanan said.
In 2020, for example, the last time the Wolves were in the playoffs, they met another perennial power, DeSoto. In stark contrast to Aledo, Shoemaker has one playoff victory since 2004, in 2015, and they lost in the next round after that.
But, past history means nothing, of course, and Buchanan understands what the Wolves bring into this contest - including an upset on their mind.
“They’re a big play team, both on offense and defense,” he said. “On defense they’ll get you behind the chains (negative yardage) and offense they can be explosive.”
Then, true to his philosophy, he said, “We still can’t control how good they are, all we can do is play to our abilities. If we do that we usually win.”
For the second time this season the Bearcats will face a team for the first time ever. Ironically, however, once again Buchanan has some ties.
Earlier, the Bearcats defeated The Colony, 52-7, at home. Buchanan was an assistant coach at The Colony in the mid-1980s.
Though he has never coached at Shoemaker, Buchanan graduated from Killeen High School and later was an assistant coach at Killeen Ellison. In fact, had Ellison defeated Lake Belton, the Bearcats would be facing them this week.
“I’ve gotten calls from a bunch of folks in Killeen,” Buchanan said, noting several old friends, and adding with a smile, “I don’t know who they’re cheering for.”
The Bearcats remained No. 3 in Class 5A Division I in both the Dave Campbell’s/AP state rankings and MaxPreps. Shoemaker isn’t ranked by DC/AP and is No. 23 in MaxPreps.
Looking at other teams from their respective districts:
From 3-5A Division I, Burleson Centennial (9-1) is not ranked by DC/AP and is ninth in MaxPreps, Denton Ryan is unranked in DC/AP and 25th in MaxPreps.
From 4-5A Division I, Midlothian is No. 5 in DC/AP and sixth in MaxPreps, Lake Belton is unranked in DC/AP and No. 21 in MaxPreps and Red Oak is unranked in DC/AP and 24th in MaxPreps.
Killeen Shoemaker Wolves (8-2) at Aledo Bearcats (8-2)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Bearcat Stadium
What: Class 5A Division I bi-district
How they got here: Shoemaker is the fourth seed from District 4-5A Division I, Aledo is the champion of 3-5A Division I
Shoemaker offensive leaders: Passing - Malachi Jerome 64% completions, 2,126 yards, 20 TD, 6 interceptions. Rushing - Jamarius Stewart 114 carries, 799 yards, 10 TD; Jerrod Hicks-Maddox 80 carries, 755 yards, 11 TD. Receiving - Hicks-Maddox 30 catches, 492 yards, 5 TD; Javonte Carson 25 catches, 455 yards, 2 TD.
Aledo offensive leaders: Passing - Hauss Hejny 61-for-104, 1,242 yards, 13 TD, 3 interceptions. Rushing - Hawk Patrick-Daniels 129 carries, 960 yards, 14 TD; Hejny 62 carries, 710 yards, 9 TD; Caleb Pope 57-365, 10 TD; Ryan Cox 71-355, 3 TD. Receiving - Jalen Pope 37 catches, 708 yards, 10 TD; Kaydon Finley 13-309, 4 TD; Tyson Timms 21-280, 3 TD.
Shoemaker defensive leaders: Tackles - Valentino Greene 66, Zavion Tibbs 58. Tackles for loss - Tibbs 24.5, Jequarrius McClendon 13.5, Greene 11. Sacks - Tibbs 11.5, McClendon 5.5, Too-Too Maugaotega 5.0. Interceptions - Malik Esquerra 4, Trey Ford 2. Fumble recoveries - Seven players with one each.
Aledo defensive leaders: Tackles - Dahvon Keys 54, Jake Gillespie 42, Andrew Parkhurst 40, Boogie Owens 35.5. Tackles for loss - Ansel Din-Mbuh 10.5, Parkhurst 8.5, Lawson Moore 6. Sacks - Din-Mbuh 3, Parkhurst 2.5, Christian Hillman 2, Carson Dempsey 2. Interceptions - Chris Johnson 2, Jaden Allen 2. Fumble recoveries - Owens 2, Skylar Frank 2.
Team rushing yards per game: Shoemaker 269.2, Aledo 274.4.
Team passing yards per game: Shoemaker 219.1, Aledo 178.3.
Team rushing yards surrendered per game: Shoemaker 135.9, Aledo 114.2.
Team passing yards surrendered per game: Shoemaker 108.9, Aledo 151.3.
Turnovers: Aledo 13, Shoemaker 9.
Takeaways: Aledo 16, Shoemaker 15.
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