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Bearcats back home for first-ever meeting with The Colony

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One might wonder if some folks in The Colony aren’t thinking about what might have been had they promoted a certain young coach many years ago.

In 1986 Tim Buchanan was coaching defensive ends as an assistant coach for the brand new The Colony High School football team. The school had just opened and Buchanan’s star was in the early stages of its rise.

Instead, Buchanan moved on and eventually made his way to Aledo as a head coach in 1993 and the rest is history. A state record 10 state championships (seven as a coach and three with Steve Wood as head coach and Buchanan as athletic director), reaching the postseason — and winning at least one playoff game — every year since 1996, and a state-record 106-game district winning streak highlight the many successes.

But now, Buchanan will face his former school for the first time as a head coach. In fact, it will be the first time Aledo and The Colony have ever met in football when the Bearcats (3-2 overall, 3-0 in District 3-5A Division I) host the Cougars (1-4, 1-2) Friday night at 7.

“We’ve played them at the JV level and it’s always been a good game. They’ve got good athletes, always have,” Buchanan said.

The Cougars’ record this season, Buchanan said, is a bit deceptive. Their four losses have come to opponents with a combined record of 13-4, including district losses to unbeaten Burleson Centennial and Denton Ryan, No. 3 in the state in Class 5A Division I.

And that loss to Ryan caught the attention of Buchanan and others. After what looked like a blowout after the first quarter (a 21-3 Ryan lead), The Colony held the Raiders to a field goal the rest of the game in a 24-10 loss.

“They play really good on defense. Like us, they’re finding their way on offense,” Buchanan said. “Their defense has multiple fronts. They hardly ever line up the same, and they bring a lot of pressure. We’ve got to stay out of negative situations, no big sacks.

“If we underestimate them they’ll give us fits. We’re not good enough to underestimate anyone.”

But the Bearcats are continuing to improve, Buchanan noted. After a pair of tough non-district losses, Aledo has outscored its three league opponents 177-47. This includes a 49-20 victory at Northwest, which is expected to be one of the district’s four playoff teams.

“We’re on a good path. The offensive line is starting to mesh, realizing each one’s role,” Buchanan said. “We’ve got to continue getting better, getting our eyes in the right place, just fundamentally continue to get better every day.”

 

Pass defense continues to improve

The Bearcats’ run defense has been solid all season, holding three of five opponents under 100 yards. The pass defense, meanwhile, has steadily improved.

Since the start of district, the Bearcats are giving up just 137 yards per game in the air. This was highlighted by limiting Saginaw to a meager 19 yards passing last week.

“We’re getting better. The defensive backs are starting to understand where they are supposed to be and where the guy next to them is supposed to be,” Buchanan said.

In The Colony the Bearcats are facing a team that runs the ball better than they throw, but only by a narrow margin. The Cougars are averaging 16 more yards rushing per game than passing (179-163).

Tyson Timms had two receptions for 47 yards in the game against Saginaw.
Tyson Timms had two receptions for 47 yards in the game against Saginaw.

The advancement of Hejny

At the midpoint of the season, Buchanan is liking the progress he is seeing from junior Hauss Hejny, in his first season as the starting quarterback. 

After pre-district numbers that included completing just 13 of 30 passes for 239 yards with one TD and two interceptions, Hejny has turned it around in district play. He is 23-for-41 for 386 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in three games.

In addition, while his pre-district running numbers were good (20 carries, 113 yards), he has also upped his game in that department. In league play he’s carried 10 times for 154 yards, including this past week against Saginaw when he rushed three times for 96 yards and his first two running touchdowns.

“Hauss has gotten better every week and continues to get better,” Buchanan said. “This past week they gave him the chance to pull the ball and run with it and he had some really nice runs.

“Any time your quarterback is a threat to run, it slows down the pass rush.”

 

Parkhurst making defensive noise

After success at safety previously, senior Andrew Parkhurst appears to have found a home at the linebacker position. Through five games he leads the Bearcats in tackles for loss (six for minus 30 yards), sacks (2 for minus 5 yards), is tied for the team lead in solo tackles with Dahvon Keys and Jake Gillespie (21 each) and is second on the team in total tackles with 29 (Keys leads with 30).

“I thought he’d be a good linebacker,” Buchanan said. “He’s sneaky good.”

Chris Johnson (6) pursues the Saginaw ball carrier. Johnson had three tackles in the game.
Chris Johnson (6) pursues the Saginaw ball carrier. Johnson had three tackles in the game.

State rankings

The Bearcats remained No. 7 in this week’s state rankings from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and the Associated Press. Also from the district, Denton Ryan was once again in the No. 3 spot.

The Bearcats and Raiders are set to meet in Denton Oct. 21. 

The two teams that have defeated Aledo are also state-ranked. Parish Episcopal is No. 1 among private schools and Denton Guyer is No. 6 in 6A.

Also, while not state-ranked, Burleson Centennial (5-0, 3-0) is the league’s lone undefeated team. Aledo travels to face the Spartans on Oct. 14, while Centennial also has Ryan at home the previous week on Oct. 7. And since the Spartans are off this week they will remain perfect heading into that showdown.

Buchanan has a message for everyone, however, not to start looking ahead, no matter how important those games are.

“We start looking ahead to Ryan and Centennial and we’ll lose to The Colony,” he said. “The Colony is a good team.”


Read the Aledo vs. Saginaw Game Report Here

District 3-5A Division I standings

Team District Overall
Burleson Centennial 3-0 5-0
Denton Ryan 3-0 3-1
Aledo 3-0 3-2
Justin Northwest 1-1 2-2
The Colony 1-2 1-4
Azle 1-2 1-4
FW South Hills 0-2 1-3
FW Brewer 0-2 0-4
Saginaw 0-3 0-5

Last week’s results

Aledo 73, Saginaw 7
Ryan 24, The Colony 10
Centennial 63, South Hills 0
Azle 54, Brewer 0

This week’s games

Thursday
South Hills at Ryan, 7 p.m.

Friday
The Colony at Aledo, 7 p.m.
Azle at Northwest, 7 p.m.
Saginaw at Brewer, 7 p.m.
Centennial bye

 

Game at a glance

The Colony Cougars (1-4, 1-2 in District 3-5A Division I) at Aledo Bearcats (3-2, 3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Bearcat Stadium

The Colony offensive leaders: QB Carson Cox 51-for-104, 762 yards, 4 TD, 3 int. Passing, 226 yards, 4 TD rushing; RB Camden Wesley 57 carries, 317 yards, 2 TD rushing; WR Alex Elam 16 catches, 258 yards.

Aledo offensive leaders: RB Hawk Patrick-Daniels 73 carries, 631 yards, 9 TD; QB Hauss Hejny 36-for-71, 625 yards, 5 TD, 3 int. passing, 30 carries 267 yards, 2 TD rushing; WR Jalen Pope 19 catches, 396 yards, 5 TD; TE Tyson Timms 12 catches 166 yards, 1 TD; WR Kaydon Finley 6-114, 2 TD.

Saginaw defensive leaders: LB Andrew Kasmenski 57 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries; LB Devin Hensley 33 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 interception.

Aledo defensive leaders: LB Dahvon Keys 30 tackles, 1 for loss; LB Andrew Parkhurst 29 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks; S Jake Gillespie 26 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 int.; LB Ky Howington 23 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 int..

Team rushing yards per game: The Colony 178.8, 73.0, Aledo 266.0. 

Team passing yards per game: The Colony 163.0, Aledo 168.6.

Team rushing yards surrendered per game: The Colony NA, Aledo 107.4. 

Team passing yards surrendered per game: The Colony NA, Aledo 201.6.

Turnovers: The Colony 4 (1 fumble, 3 int.), Aledo 7 (3 fumbles, 4 int.)

Takeaways: The Colony 9 (5 fumbles, 4 int.), Aledo 9 (5 fumbles, 4 int.)

Notable: Aledo has won 106 consecutive district games dating to 2007…This is the first meeting ever between Aledo and The Colony…The Cougars last made the postseason in 2019, the last in a string of seven straight years… Aledo has reached the postseason every season since 1996 and has won at least one playoff game each time.

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