It never gets old hoisting another district championship trophy for Tim Buchanan.
Of course, the head coach of the Aledo Bearcats has done it so often it’s second nature, sort of like drinking a morning cup of coffee — and still even more enjoyable.
“It’s always sweet,” Buchanan said, referring to the trophy lifting, not the coffee. “You never get tired of it.”
Buchanan held the Bearcats’ District 3-5A Division I first-place trophy Thursday night as they not only secured sole possession of first place in their district for a 15th consecutive year, but once again did so unblemished. Their 47-6 home victory against Brewer on Senior Night was their national-record 111th straight district win dating back to 2007.
Now the Bearcats (8-2 overall, 8-0 in district) hope to extend another streak as they prepare to start the playoffs against the fourth-place team from 4-5A Division I. Who that will be was still undecided Thursday night with a variety of ways the final standings in that district could end up.
Whoever it is, they will be coming to Bearcat Stadium Thursday or Friday, Nov. 10 or 11, where Aledo is seeking to win a first-round playoff game for a 26th consecutive season. In fact, Buchanan has never lost a bi-district contest in his head coaching career — all at Aledo.
Thursday’s win completed a regular-season turnaround that saw the Bearcats start 0-2 for the first time under Buchanan’s leadership, with losses of 24-17 at Dallas Parish Episcopal (No. 1 in the state among private schools) and at 44-14 at home to Denton Guyer (No. 6 in Class 6A). They rolled through district, outscoring their opponents by an average score of 55-13, including back-to-back road wins over then state-ranked Burleson Centennial (64-21) and Denton Ryan (35-21).
Now it is the Bearcats who are the highest ranked team in the state from the district, sitting at No. 3 behind only No. 1 Longview and No. 2 Mansfield Timberview, both of which ended the regular season 10-0.
And next comes the “fourth season” as Buchanan called it (offseason, pre-district, district, and playoffs). The most important season of all.
“This is what we try to get the kids ready for,” Buchanan said.
“Brewer did a good job of taking away the pass, so we ran the ball a lot and we did a great job,” Buchanan said.
Hawk Patrick-Daniels rushed for touchdowns of 2 and 1 yards while leading all rushers with an unofficial 115 yards on 16 carries. Starting quarterback Hauss Hejny got the onslaught started with a 67-yard TD run on the Bearcats’ second play from scrimmage, his only carry of the game.
Ryan Cox’s 4-yard run made the score 21-0 after the opening quarter. In the second quarter Brant Hayden relieved Hejny at quarterback and threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Kaydon Finley for a 27-0 halftime lead.
After Patrick-Daniels’ second score, Caleb Pope found the end zone on a 1-yard run and Ryan Morton capped the night with his own 1-yard TD.
Clay Murador, who had not played this season while pursuing a soccer scholarship, returned to the team and kicked four extra points. He also recently accepted a scholarship to play soccer at the University of Indiana next season.
Cole Crawford also added an extra-point kick.
In a yeoman effort, Brewer’s Mehki Elmore rushed for 86 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown, on 14 carries. However, the Bearcats defense held the Bears to 159 total yards of offense (89 rushing, 70 passing).
Each team turned the ball over twice, all on interceptions. For Aledo, Jayton “Boogie” Owens and Skyler Frank each picked off a pass.
The Bearcats also never punted in the contest.
| Brewer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aledo | 21 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 47 |
A = Hauss Hejny 67 run (Clay Murador kick)A = Hawk Patrick Daniels 2 run (Murador kick)
A = Ryan Cox 4 run (Murador kick)
A = Kaydon Finley 20 pass from Brant Hayden (kick failed)
A = Patrick-Daniels 1 run (kick failed)
A = Caleb Pope 1 run (Cole Crawford kick)
B = Mehki Elmore 25 run (kick failed)
A = Ryan Morton 1 run (Murador kick)
First down: Aledo 26, Brewer 11.
Rushes-yards: Aledo 54-370, Brewer 20-89.
Passing yards: Aledo 81, Brewer 70.
Caught-thrown-intercepted: Aledo 6-18-2. Brewer 11-23-2.
Fumbles-lost: Aledo 1-0, Brewer 0-0.
Punts-average: Aledo 0-0, Brewer 8-31.8.
Penalties-yards: Aledo 7-80, Brewer 10-122.
Third-down conversions: Aledo 6-of-9, Brewer 3-of-10.
Fourth-down conversions: Aledo 0-of-2, Brewer 0-of-0.
Rushing: Patrick-Daniels 16 carries, 115 yards, 2 TD; Cox 14-82, TD; C. Pope 11-68, TD; Hejny 1-67, TD; Morton 4-21, TD; Hayden 8-17.
Passing: Hayden 6-of-15, TD, 2 interceptions, 81 yards; Hejny 0-3.
Receiving: Finley 3-52, TD; Tyson Timms 1-10; Jalen Pope 1-10; Alex Stadler 1-9.
Sack: Ky Howington 1 (13 yards).
Interceptions: Jayton “Boogie” Owens, Skyler Frank (12-yard return).
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