Ray Guillory soaked in the atmosphere at AT&T Stadium. Now, he understood what it means like to be an Aledo Bearcat and celebrate winning a state championship.
But there was nonetheless something missing. The sophomore who moved into the district prior to the 2023 season was, without question, a major reason Aledo made yet another appearance in a state final.
But he didn’t play in the state championship game, a 51-8 thrashing of Comal Smithson Valley. He was on the sidelines with a knee injury he aggravated early in a 56-21 regional finals victory over Abilene.
Again, make no mistake, Guillory was a big, big reason Aledo reached its 12th state final in 15 years. Despite missing the better part of six games, he rushed for over 1,200 yards and scored 21 touchdowns.
But, much like teammates Trace Clarkson and Cooper Kohan, who missed the 2022 championship game - in fact the entire 2022 season - with knee injuries, it was thrilling to be there for the title celebration, but he wanted to be in the game.
And that’s what he has his sights set on next season.
“I’m ready to come back like a villain,” Guillory said. “Next year will be a year to remember.”
Of course, it seems like every season is one to remember for the Bearcats. While nothing is guaranteed, Aledo football competing for - and usually winning - state championships has become about as solid a prediction one can make.
It’s not as sure a thing as Christmas always coming on Dec. 25 or the jellied side of the toast always landing face down on the carpet, but it’s pretty dang close.
“Gavin’s gonna become a leader, I’m gonna be a leader, and we’ll be back next year,” Guillory said confidently.
He was referencing fellow sophomore Gavin Beard, the backup to starting quarterback and TCU commit Hauss Hejny. Beard saw limited action, but looked good when he did come into games, completing 45 of 62 passes (73%) for 517 yards with two TD and two interceptions.
Sophomore wide receiver Kaydon Finley had one of the most impressive plays in the state title game. He caught a pass from Hejny near the sidelines, did his best ballerina impression to keep a toe inbounds and kept their first scoring drive alive with a clutch catch.
“As soon as my feet hit, I knew I was inbounds,” he said.
Of course, being the son of former NFL tight end Jermichael Finley, Kaydon knows all about keeping his concentration when making a catch.
“My dad works with me all the time. Every weekend we catch 100 balls on Saturday,” he said.
Kaydon, who was injured earlier in the season, ended his sophomore season with 39 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns. In the state final he caught three passes for 89 yards and a TD.
And, having played significantly as a freshman, he now has two state championships as a Bearcat. That’s halfway to his goal, accomplishing one of the few things the Bearcats have not done on the football field.
“I want to go 4-for-4,” he said with a smile.
After going 16-0 in his first season as a head - but celebrating his 11th state championship, as he was offensive coordinator from 2009-22 - Robby Jones understands the enthusiasm of his young players. He also advises that if they want to get back to the top of the mountain, they need to remember one thing.
“This isn’t normal. Winning 11 championships in 15 years, that’s not a normal thing, but it is a special thing,” he said. “Those guys coming back next year, the work starts now.
“I feel like we’ve got really good pieces to start building around.”
It wasn’t that long ago - 2022, in fact - that similar thinking was in effect. Hejny had to win a battle to become the starting quarterback. Patrick-Daniels was not the starting running back at the start of that season. The defense surrendered 68 points in the first two games in losses to Dallas Parish Episcopal (24-17, a game that was once 24-3) and Denton Guyer (44-14).
The Bearcats began a season 0-2 for the only time in Hall of Honor coach Tim Buchanan’s storied career. They rebounded to win 14 straight and bring him his eighth state championship.
Jones said something separates the Bearcats from other teams is they enter every season expecting to play 16 games. They’ve now done that a dozen times since 2009, also having played 15 games once, 13 another and a dozen once.
“First, you obviously have to have really talented football players willing to put in the work, but you have to get bodies in shape to go through a 16-game process,” he said. “A lot of teams break midway through the playoffs, but we have a mindset here that whatever happens, if you can play on you do.”
Clearly, as was the case with Guillory, Jones and no other Aledo coach will play a player if there is a risk of more serious or permanent injury. They also never force a player to play if they are hurting too much.
But Jones noted that in most cases, the players want to play through pain. And, as long as they can’t be injured any more and are cleared medically to play, albeit perhaps hurting some, good luck trying to keep them out, he said.
Such was the case with a pair of senior offensive linemen, Carter Campbell and Josh McCarley. Both played the first half of the state championship contest and came out when the game was well in hand.
“These guys are going to do whatever it takes to win a football game,” he said. “They couldn’t injure themselves any worse, but were going to fight through the pain.
“I didn’t ask those kids to play, but they knew they could and they were determined to get out there.”
Such determination has resulted in Aledo playing 82 postseason games since 2009, in which they are 78-4. That’s the equivalent of eight additional regular seasons.
“I can’t think of a better place to play high school than Aledo, Texas,” Jones said. “If you’re a part of this program, you are one fortunate person.”
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