AZLE – The Aledo Bearcats, No. 1 in the state in Class 5A Division I, faced off against a resurgent Azle Hornets squad in a battle of seven-win teams Friday Night. Aledo entered Hornet Stadium swarming with excited Azle fans, but the buzzing energy soon dissipated as the Bearcats quickly took control of the district contest early.
Aledo (8-1 overall) won for an eighth straight game and clinched the District 5-5A championship, improving to 7-0 in league play. Their lone loss is a 35-30 setback at Denton Guyer to open the season.
It’s the 17th consecutive district championship for Aledo dating to 2008, running their national-record district winning streak to 126 games.
In the end, the Bearcats emerged victorious by a final score of 77-14, dropping the Hornets to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in league play. Azle plays Richland on Friday, Nov. 8 to determine the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds for the upcoming playoffs, while Aledo and Denton Ryan are 1 and 2.
“It was big. That’s what we wanted to do in getting off to a fast start like we did,” Aledo head coach Robby Jones said. “That was probably one of the most complete games we’ve played all year. Going up against a team with only one loss, we came in here ready to roll.”
Aledo’s roll started with a defensive score as junior linebacker Chase Wilburn jumped an outside route and took the intercepted Azle pass the other way for a 30-yard house call. The early defensive score put Aledo ahead 7-0 just 38 seconds into the game.
After Aledo forced Azle to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing series, the Bearcat offense wasted no time finding its stride. Aledo’s first offensive possession – a 4-play, 66-yard drive – resulted in a 23-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Gavin Beard to senior receiver Blake Burdine at the 6:36 mark of the opening quarter to double Aledo’s lead.
After that, senior linebacker Owen Henderson stymied Azle’s next offensive possession with an interception. The hard-hitting Henderson caught the ball at the Azle 33 and returned it five yards to set up a 23-yard aerial end zone connection from Beard to star junior Kaydon Finley that increased the advantage to 21-0 moments later.
Then, Aledo saw some new faces get in on the action as Jones emphasized spreading the ball around as a priority for this contest.
Bearcats sophomore Bayne Martin had a significant impact in his first varsity game of the season. The 5-foot-10 receiver found paydirt on a 55-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first frame, scored again from 19 yards out in the second quarter and provided an electric kickoff return to start the second half.
“He got a chance to get in and make some plays, and that’s exactly what he did,” Jones said. “Bayne started the year off with an injury and was a guy we expected to rotate in at the receiver spot early on, but he wasn’t available because of an injury. He’s getting healthy now and has a chance to contribute to the team.”
Martin’s touchdown catches sandwiched around a 9-yard rushing score from senior running back Kaden Winkfield but, even with a 42-0 lead with 5:32 to go before halftime, Aledo was not satisfied. The Bearcats forced Azle to punt the ball from its own 35, but junior defensive end Carson Dempsey barreled through the line of scrimmage, blocked the punt, scooped up the ball and returned it to the Hornets 15-yard line.
From there, star junior running back Raycine Guillory carried the rock to the end zone on the very next play, which gave the visitors a 49-0 lead with 2:09 left. Next, senior defensive back Kai Taylor found the end zone with his 12-yard interception return for a score with 58 ticks remaining. Aledo entered the locker room with an insurmountable 56-0 halftime lead.
“We had a hard week of practice, for sure,” Henderson said. “Last week, we gave up too many points, more than usual, and we really put our heads down this week and worked hard. We came out with intensity.
“We are super well coached and we spend a lot of time getting our jobs right. When we are all doing our jobs, it’s very hard to move the ball on us.”
“We got exactly what we wanted from our defense, and that’s exactly what they put out there on the field tonight,” Jones said. “We got two defensive scores if I’m not mistaken, and that’s why the score was the way it was. When you can score on defense and offense with special teams setting you up well, that’s what you want to see.”
The Aledo offense was potent against the Azle defense as the Bearcats starters amassed 321 yards of first-half offense. Whether the yards came on the ground or through the air, the skill players have benefited greatly from the stellar play up front throughout the year from a very versatile and talented offensive line.
“It’s honestly been a crazy year. If you look at the guys we have, we’ve had almost every guy on the offensive line move from their original position,” Bearcats junior offensive lineman Payton Williams said. “It’s insane how we’re able to push the ball down the field every game at will. Our pass protection has been awesome this year and we are just mauling people on the inside-zone runs. It’s awesome to see everyone come together, especially the inexperienced guys. Everybody on the o-line is new this year except for me, and it’s cool to see how ready everybody has been for the moment. We are all on the same page.”
Getting on the same page has come seamlessly for the Bearcats and their warriors in the trenches. Williams, who admitted Shaq-A-Licious Gummies and Diet Coke with added electrolytes have become a staple of his pregame routine, said every member of the defending state champion squad follows their routines to help their focus and drive during the heat of the action under the Friday Night lights.
“I think our pregame rituals are the biggest thing,” Williams said. “My older brother, Djay, taught me his ritual he did on game days. … Everybody has their own thing that they do, but it gets each of us locked in every game. We’re just creatures of habit and our rituals have helped us get going quickly and remain focused during the games.”
Aledo matched Azle’s 14 second-half points with two more touchdowns, including a 1-yard run from Brady Powell, holding on to their mammoth lead with ease en route to district win No. 126 in a row. The last time the Bearcats lost a league game was in 2007, when they ironically started 0-2 in district.
All three of Aledo’s quarterbacks on the roster saw the field Friday night and were a combined 17-for-17 through the air. Beard completed all 11 of his pass attempts for 236 yards with four touchdown passes. Ben McElree went 5-for-5 for 17 yards and Colby Smith’s lone pass attempt went for a 12-yard score to junior wideout Christian Mendoza.
As for the receiving corps, 10 different Aledo players caught at least one pass. Martin was the leading receiver, hauling in two passes for 74 yards – both for touchdowns. Burdine had three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown while Jamal Hollister caught two passes for 47 yards .
On the ground, Guillory and Winkfield led the charge as the two-man tandem continued to wreak havoc out of the backfield. Guillory ran the ball seven times for 60 yards and a touchdown, putting him over 1,000 yards for the season, while he also caught a 19-yard screen pass. Winkfield produced 42 yards on seven carries, including a 9-yard rushing score, and caught a 16-yard screen pass. Brady Powell led the reserve running backs with eight carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Wilburn and Taylor opened and closed the first half with their respective pick-sixes. Henderson collected a first-quarter interception while Dempsey’s blocked punt set up Guillory’s lone rushing touchdown on the night.
The Bearcats will wrap up the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday at home against the Denton Broncos (2-7, 1-6) before entering the postseason, where they will begin their title defense, attempting to claim their record-extending 13th state championship and third in a row.
Aledo 28 28 7 14 – 77
Azle 0 0 7 7 - 14
AL - Chase Wilburn 30-yard interception return (Cole Crawford kick), 11:22 first quarter
AL – Blake Burdine 23-yard pass from Gavin Beard (Crawford kick), 6:36 first quarter
AL – Kaydon Finley 23-yard pass from Beard (Crawford kick), 4:50 first quarter
AL – Bayne Martin 55-yard pass from Beard (Crawford kick), :50 first quarter
AL – Kaden Winkfield 9-yard run (Crawford kick), 8:46 second quarter
AL – Martin 19-yard pass from Beard (Crawford kick), 5:32 second quarter
AL – Raycine Guillory, 15-yard run (Crawford kick), 2:09 second quarter
AL – Kai Taylor 12-yard interception return (Crawford kick), :58 second quarter
AL – Lincoln Tubbs 5-yard run (Crawford kick), 8:56 third quarter
AZ – Hagen Hughes 75-yard run (kick good), 8:41 third quarter
AZ - 5-yard TD pass (kick good), 10:41 fourth quarter
AL – Brady Powell 1-yard run (Crawford kick), 8:00 fourth quaNrter
AL – Christian Mendoza 12-yard pass from Colby Smith (Crawford kick)
First downs: Aledo 25, Azle 15.
Rushes-yards: Aledo 34-290, Azle 36-176.
Passing yards: Aledo 265, Azle 142.
Caught-thrown-intercepted: Aledo 17-17-0, Azle 11-20-3.
Punts-average: Aledo 1-34, Azle 6-23.2.
Fumbles-lost: Aledo 1-0, Azle 0-0.
Penalties-yards: Aledo 7-61, Azle 2-20.
Rushing: Powell 8 carries, 68 yards, TD; Guillory 7 carries, 60 yards, TD; AJ Skaggs 3 carries, 47 yards; Winkfield 7 carries, 42 yards.
Passing: Beard 11-of-11, 236 yards, 4 TD, 0 interceptions; Nash McElree 5-of-5, 17 yards.
Receiving: Martin 2 catches, 74 yards, 2 TD; Burdine 3 catches, 55 yards, TD; Jamal Hollister 2 catches, 47 yards.
Tackles: Lamel Swanson 5, Cooper Cyphers 4, Owen Henderson 3.5, Ben McElree 3.5, Wilburn 3.5, Ryland Haley 3.5.
Tackles for loss: Kamron Hall 1, Carson Dempsey 1, Cyphers 1, Henderson 1, B. McElree 0.5, Haley 0.5, Samuel Pimental 0.5.
Sacks: Dempsey 1.
Interceptions: Henderson 1, Taylor 1 (TD), Wilburn 1 (TD).
Blocked punt: Dempsey 1.
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