It’s been a month and a half since the Aledo Bearcats went into Burleson and spanked the Centennial Spartans 64-21.
That is the lone loss on the Spartans’ (12-1) otherwise perfect season, the best season in program history, to be exact. That win, followed by a 35-21 win at Denton Ryan the following week on Oct. 21 propelled the Bearcats (11-2) to their 15th consecutive district championship.
Now, in order to continue their quest for an 11th state championship, the Bearcats are going to have to defeat the Spartans again, this time on neutral ground Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Star in Frisco.
Aledo coach Tim Buchanan is making it clear, however, that folks should not expect another blowout — something he’s been stressing to his players all week.
“You have to remind them that Centennial has continued to improve. They’re a better football team now. They used their loss to us to get better,” Buchanan said. “Coach (Kyle) Gellar did a good job of rallying the troops.
“They did with their loss what we did with our two to start the season. They’ve learned and improved.”
The Bearcats have won 11 straight since opening the season with a 24-17 loss at Dallas Parish Episcopal and a 44-14 home loss to Denton Guyer. Those teams have a combined record of 24-1 and are still in their respective playoffs (TAPPS DIvision I and 6A Division II).
The first meeting with Centennial was something of a “coming out” party for Aledo quarterback Hauss Hejny. While he showed steady improvement all season, he burst through for 448 yards of offense and six touchdowns that night, completing 13 of 14 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns, along with rushing 12 times for 176 yards and two more touchdowns.
“He gained a lot of confidence throwing the football. The biggest thing was letting things happen instead of trying to make things happen,” Buchanan said of Hejny. “Same with his running. He’s learned to run smart.”
The Bearcats had four scoring drives that lasted one or two plays and took up less than 45 seconds — including three of less than 20 seconds. Aledo had the ball for 17 minutes compared to 31 for Centennial.
“The ball bounced our way a lot in that game,” Buchanan said. “They are a good football team. They are not 43 points worse than us.”
The game was tied at 14 after the first quarter before the Aledo defense adjusted to force the Spartans to throw more. The result was a change from Centennial having 141 yards in the opening quarter to just 161 over the next three, while Aledo racked up 537 total yards.
“If they are able to stay within their gameplan, they are very dangerous. I think they are better than Midlothian,” Buchanan said.
The Spartans’ offense is similar to Midlothian’s. Aledo rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Panthers 27-21 last week in Midlothian, while Centennial downed upset-minded Abilene 24-14.
This will be the sixth time since 2009 that Aledo will meet in the postseason an opponent they faced in the regular season. They are 5-0 in the previous meetings, including 3-0 against Stephenville and 1-0 against both Saginaw Boswell and Mansfield Legacy.
In 2009 they defeated Stephenville both in the regular season (20-16) and in the area round (26-23). In 2010 they downed the Yellowjackets to open the season (20-3) and again in the state quarterfinals (18-10). In 2011 they avenged a season-opening 48-47 loss to Stephenville with a 33-0 win again in the state quarterfinals.
In 2016 Aledo ended the regular season with a 49-24 win over Boswell, followed by a 42-14 win in the state quarterfinals. In 2017, the Bearcats topped Legacy 24-3 in the regular season and again in the state semifinals, 28-21.
In each of the five seasons in which they’ve had a rematch in the playoffs the Bearcats advanced to the state championship game - winning four and finishing second in 2017.
Take the Aledo loss out of Centennial’s season statistics and there is a significant difference in their stats — particularly on defense.
The Spartans have only surrendered 145 points in their 12 victories, an average of 12.1 points. Add in the loss to Aledo and that number escalates to 16.1 points per game.
The Aledo pass defense has yet to give up a postseason touchdown. In fact, they’ve yet to have an opponent reach 100 yards in the air.
The Bearcats surrendered 92 yards with two interceptions and a sack in a 37-0 win over Killeen Shoemaker, just 12 yards in a 45-21 victory against Lubbock Cooper and 42 yards with two half sacks against Midlothian.
Opposing quarterbacks are 14-for-37 so far in the playoffs.
Aledo Bearcats (11-2) vs. Burleson Centennial Spartans (12-1)
When: Saturday, 2 p.m., The Star in Frisco
What: Class 5A Division I state quarterfinals
How they got here: Aledo is the champion of District 3-5A Division I and defeated Killeen Shoemaker 37-0 in bidistrict, Lubbock Cooper 45-21 in area and Midlothian 27-21 in the third round. Centennial is the runner-up in 3-5A Division I and defeated Lake Belton 56-28 in bidistrict, Amarillo Tascosa 31-7 in area and Abilene 24-14 in the third round.
Centennial offense: The Spartans are averaging 40.8 points per game and have topped the 40-point mark six times.
Aledo offense: The Bearcats are averaging 44.8 points and have scored 40 or more points eight times. Leaders include: QB Hauss Hejny 77-for-132, 1,423 yards, 14 TD, 4 interceptions passing, 93 carries, 1,022 yards, 12 TD rushing; RB Hawk Patrick-Daniels 162 carries, 1,180 yards, 19 TD rushing, 9 catches, 97 yards, 1 TD receiving; Caleb Pope 81 carries, 510 yards, 12 TD; RB Ryan Cox 89 carries, 435 yards, 3 TD; WR Jalen Pope 43 catches, 793 yards, 10 TD; WR Kaydon Finley 18-335 yards, 4 TD; TE Tyson Timms 23-298, 3 TD; Gavin Olenjack, 13-293, 2 TD.
Centennial defense: The Spartans are giving up 16.1 points per game. They have two shutouts and have held seven opponents to two touchdowns or less.
Aledo defense: The Bearcats’ defense is surrendering 16.3 points on average with two shutouts. They’ve limited five opponents to a TD or less. Leaders are: LB Dahvon Keys 80.5 tackles, 6 for loss, 1 interception (returned 73 yards for TD), 1 fumble recovery; DB Jake Gillespie 63.5 tackles, 4.5 loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery; DB Andrew Parkhurst 56 tackles, 10 for loss, 4 sacks; DB Boogie Owens 37 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries; DT Ansel Din-Mbuh 23.5 tackles, 14 for loss, 3 sacks; DE Lawson Moore 21 tackles, 8 for loss; DB Jaden Allen 27.5 tackles, 3 interceptions.
All-time record head-to-head: Aledo leads the series 5-0 and has won by an average score of more than 35 points.
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