Guyer sends Bearcats to 0-2 start

Note: Game stats on this story were updated on the official stats on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Aledo Bearcat fans have seen a lot over the years, but they haven’t seen many sights like they witnessed Friday night at Bearcat Stadium.

Not only was it a rare home loss, but it was the kind of humbling they are used to seeing their beloved Bearcats put on opponents time and again over the past nearly three decades. This time, however, it was fellow powerhouse Denton Guyer who came away with the convincing 44-14 victory.

The loss dropped the Bearcats to 0-2, the first time they’ve had that mark two games into a season since 1991, two years before Tim Buchanan came to town as head coach. 

Meanwhile, Guyer, ranked No. 18 in the nation and No. 3 in Texas by MaxPreps entering the game, improved to 2-0 with a victory on the birthday of its star quarterback Jackson Arnold. The senior University of Oklahoma commit passed for four touchdowns and rushed for another.

The Bearcats entered the game ranked No. 18 in Texas.

“We started out like we should have, on offense and defense,” Buchanan said, noting that his team faced only a three-point deficit before, “What could go wrong, went wrong.”

Guyer had the game well in hand at halftime, leading 37-7, aided greatly by back-to-back bad snaps on Aledo punt attempts that gave Guyer the ball deep in Bearcat territory. In fact, three of the Wildcats’ first-half touchdown drives lasted less than a minute. Two were a single play and another was just two plays, with one taking five seconds off the clock and another just 10.

However, in a yeoman effort, Aledo’s Hawk Patrick-Daniels unofficially rushed for 127 yards on 22 carries. 

“He showed us a lot. We found a tailback,” Buchanan said.

Davhon Keys scored both of Aledo’s touchdowns. The first, a 16-yard run, tied the game at 7-7. His second came on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to close the gap to 37-14 as he finished the night with 18 yards on six carries.

The two bad punt snaps set the Wildcats up at the Bearcats 18 and 10, with Arnold immediately throwing a touchdown to Josiah Martin on the first play and another of 7 yards to Landon Sides on the second play of that quick possession for a 24-7 advantage.

When asked about the impact of those two mishaps, Buchanan said, “We were still going to have to play well to beat them. We’ve got the get better.” 

The game began as though it would be the track-meet style contest the teams held in 2019 when Guyer came out on top 60-57 in Buchanan’s return to coaching after a five-year hiatus as athletic director. After Guyer drove 70 yards in seven plays, finished off by a 10-yard TD run by Arnold, the Bearcats responded by going 63 yards in eight plays with Keys’ first score.

Then, after Guyer took a 10-7 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Ford Stinson things fell apart for the Bearcats. However, even after Guyer’s two quick touchdowns, Aledo was on the move before a fumble after a 32-yard run gave the ball back to Guyer.

Guyer made the score 31-7 on a 26-yard drive in 56 seconds following a 29-yard punt return. It ended with a 3-yard run by Trey Joyner. After the Bearcats came up short on fourth-and-8, Arnold again connected with Sides for a 52-yard TD and it was 37-7 at the intermission.

 Guyer and Arnold’s night was capped with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Martin.

“I don’t think anybody else in our district has played teams like we played,” Buchanan said.

The Bearcats opened the season with a 24-17 road loss to Dallas Parish Episcopal, ranked ninth in the state by MaxPreps.

Buchanan praised his team coming back from a 24-3 deficit in that game to make things exciting, along with playing Guyer even in the second half Friday.

“I learned they don’t quit,” he said.

Unofficially, Guyer outgained the Bearcats 440 yards to 263. The majority of the Wildcats’ yardage came through the air (381), including 348 by Arnold, who was 22-of-34. The Aledo defense limited Guyer to just 59 yards rushing on 23 attempts.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats rushed for 138 yards on 43 carries and passed for 125. Quarterback Hauss Hejny rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries and was 6-of-16 passing for 112 yards, while backup QB Brant Hayden was 5-of-7 for 13 yards.

The Bearcats receiving corps was led by Jalen Pope with four catches for 78 yards, while Patrick-Daniels caught three passes for 14 yards, Kaydon Finley hauled in two for 17, Gavin Olenjack caught two for seven yards and Tyson Timms had one catch for nine.

Guyer was led by Sides with nine catches for 142 yards and Martin with eight for 116.

The Aledo defense was led by Kye Howington with 13 tackles (nine solo, one for a loss), while Chris Johnson posted seven (one for a loss), Jayton Owens had six. Jaden Allen and Jake Gillespie registered five each, with Gillespie having one for a loss.

Aledo opens District 3-5A Division I play Thursday at Justin Northwest (1-1). Kickoff is 7 p.m.