Bearcats prey on Azle

After feeling dissatisfied with their offensive performance against Northwest in Week 3, the Bearcats made a statement with their 50-7 mauling of Azle’s hosting Hornets on Friday, September 15. 

“I felt like we had a good week of preparation this week,” Aledo head coach Robbie Jones said after the game. “Our kids didn’t like how we played last week, so they prepared a lot better during the week, and that showed during the first half of the football game.”

It took just two plays and 37 seconds for Aledo (4-0 overall, 2-0 in District 5-5A) to put the Hornets on notice. On the second offensive snap of the game, Raycine Guillory broke off a 60-yard run to put the Bearcats on the board with their first touchdown of the night. Hawk Patrick-Daniels completed the two-point conversion with a 2-yard trot into the end zone as the visiting Bearcats took a very early 8-0 lead.

Azle’s defense had no answer for the Bearcats’ offense in the first quarter as Aledo found paydirt in each of its first four possessions.

The Bearcats’ second possession wasn’t much longer. It took all of 1:10 and three plays before Hauss Hejny connected with Trace Clarkson for a 51-yard pitch-and-catch to put the Bearcats up by 14. After Cole Crawford’s extra point attempt sailed through the uprights, Aledo held a 15-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

After the Bearcat defense halted Azle’s attempt to convert a fourth-and-1 from their own 41-yard-line on their ensuing possession, Aledo took over on downs with 6:52 remaining in the first quarter. Hejny connected with Colton McCoy on a pair of 17-yard pass plays during the six-play drive that was capped off with Patrick-Daniels powering his way across the goal line from 2 yards out. Crawford once again tacked on the extra point as the visiting team really began to pull away, 22-0, with just less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

On their fourth drive of the game, the Bearcats were more methodical. Their longest drive of the game to that point took nine plays and little more than three minutes before Guillory did what he does best, breaking another big run on his way to the end zone. Guillory’s 24-yard scamper coupled with Crawford’s extra point had the Bearcats up 29-0 on the scoreboard with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.

Guillory carried the ball just five times in the game, but picked up 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns in spite of limited touches.

Midway through the second quarter Aledo’s offense got back to work after being kept off the scoreboard in their previous drive. Hejny connected with McCoy in the middle of the field for another score, this time from 46 yards out, concluding the three-play drive. Crawford’s extra point put Aledo up 36-0 with 5:25 remaining in the first half.

Aledo took possession for their final time in the first half with 2:22 left on the clock. Five plays later Hejny found Clarkson once again for their second score of the night. This time from 12 yards out. 

Crawford’s extra point put Aledo up by 43 heading into the break. 

The Hejny-Clarkson connection has been unstoppable all season long. Friday in Azle was no exception. Hejny called Clarkson’s number five times in the game, combining for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

In total, Hejny went 14-of-17 through the air for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He completed 82% of his passes and finished the game with a 162.4 passer rating.

On the other side of the ball, Aledo’s starting defense was impenetrable. The Bearcat defense ended the first half with a bang as Owen Henderson picked off Canaan Kaznowski. Racing down the near sideline looking to score, Henderson was brought down by the one man he had left to beat after a gain of 43 yards as time expired at the end of the first half.

“Our defense played extremely well,” said senior linebacker and defensive captain, Davhon Keys. “We practiced well, and we produced when it mattered.”

Both teams managed to score in a tightly contested second half. Aledo scored first as Patrick-Daniels made his way across the goal line from a yard out on a second effort after being met by a swarm of Hornets at the line of scrimmage. After Crawford’s extra point, the Bearcats lead extended to 50-0 with 5:36 to go in the third quarter.

After having been shut out the first three quarters of the game, it became a matter of pride for Azle as the fourth quarter got underway. Following a fumble recovery deep in their own territory, the Hornets mounted their lone scoring drive spanning 5:20, taking 13 plays to drive 92 yards. Cash Moore cashed in on a 2-yard run that finally broke open the goose egg on the scoreboard for the home team to make it a 50-7 ballgame.

Azle’s scoring drive made up nearly half of the team’s total yards for the game. The Bearcats surrendered just 203 total yards of offense. Aledo’s passing defense was overbearing. Between the pass rush and the defensive backs covering Azle’s receivers like a cheap suit, the Hornet passing attack managed just 74 yards on 17 attempts with an interception. 

“We’ve just got to continue working every day, get better, take it week-by-week in this district run, and look forward to some bigger games down the road,” Jones said.

Now the Bearcats turn their attention to the Saginaw Rough Riders (0-4 overall, 0-2 in District 5-5A), who will make their way into Tim Buchanan Stadium for Aledo’s Homecoming on Friday, September 22. Kickoff for that game is slated for 7 p.m.

“Every week we just treat it like it’s a brand-new game to start the season 0-0,” Clarkson said when asked how the team stays motivated after a string of dominant wins. “We go out and play our butts off every game. It doesn’t matter who the team is. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We just go out there and fight.”

Aledo 50, Azle 7

B – Raycine Guillory 60 run (Hawk Patrick-Daniels run)
B – Trace Clarkson 51 pass from Hauss Hejny (Cole Crawford kick)
B – Patrick-Daniels 2 run (Crawford kick)
B – Guillory 24 run (Crawford kick)
B – Colton McCoy 46 pass from Hejny (Crawford kick)
B – Clarkson 12 pass from Hejny (Crawford kick)
B – Patrick-Daniels 1 run (Crawford kick)
H – Cash Moore 2 run (Braden Forsythe kick)

Unofficial team statistics
First downs: Aledo 17, Azle 9.
Rushes-yards: Aledo 35-259, Azle 37-129.
Passing yards: Aledo 313, Azle 74.
Caught-thrown-intercepted: Aledo 18-23-0, Azle 7-17-1.
Fumbles-lost: Aledo 2-2, Azle 0-0.
Third-down conversions: Aledo 5-of-7, Azle 1-of-14.
Fourth-down conversions: Aledo 0-of-2, Azle 2-of-12.
Time of possession: Aledo 21:56, Azle 26:04.

Unofficial individual leaders

Rushing
Aledo: Raycine Gulliory 5-107, 2 TD; Hawk Patrick-Daniels 14-64, 2 TD; Kaden Winkfield 8-59; Gavin Beard 2-16; Blake Burdine 1-8; Austin Keith 1-6; Brett Turner 1-3; Cole Plumbley 2-2; Hauss Hejny 1-(-6). 
Azle: Jon Lardizabal 7-43; Austin May 8-32; Canaan Kaznowski 6-31; Hagan Hughes 7-15; Tristyn Keaton 5-12; Cash Moore 2-2, TD; Hunter Ooten 1-0; Payton Blann 1-(-6).

Passing
Aledo: Hejny 14-of-17, 290 yards, 3 TD, 0 interceptions; Beard 4-of-6, 23 yards, 0 interceptions.
Azle: May 7-of-15, 74 yards; Kaznowski 0-for-2.

Receiving
Aledo: Trace Clarkson 5-for-146, 2 TD; Colton McCoy 4-for-114, TD; Blake Burdine 3-for-30; Tyson Timms 3-for-19; Patrick-Daniels 1-for-6; Brett Turner 1-for-1; Kaden Calloway 1-for-(-3).
Azle: Jon Lardizabal 1-for-22; Hagen Hughes 1-for-20; Christian Mendoza 2-for-17; Tristyn Keaton 1-for-10; Cash Moore 1-for-7; Payton Blann 1-for-(-2).

Interception
Aledo: Owen Henderson.