Bearcats make short work of Spartans in district showdown

Hauss Hejny passed the biggest test of his career as Aledo's starting quarterback in dominating fashion.

He also ran past defenders like they were statues in leading the Bearcats to a 64-21 thrashing of previously unbeaten Burleson Centennial on the Spartan's own turf Friday night.

Hejny was involved in an unofficial 444 yards of offense, along with six touchdowns. He completed 12 of 13 passes for 269 yards and four TD while rushing 12 times for 175 yards and two more scores.

"He made some plays a lot of other quarterbacks couldn't make," Aledo head coach Tim Buchanan said of Hejny, a junior who moved from receiver this season and won the starting job.

With the win, the Bearcats are alone atop the District 3-5A Division I standings with a 6-0 record (6-2 overall). They came into the game ranked third in the state by MaxPreps and fifth by Dave Campbell's.

Jaden Allen (2) brings down a Centennial runner.

Centennial is now 4-1 in district (6-1 overall). The Spartans were fourth in MaxPreps and sixth in Dave Campbell's.

Aledo now travels to Denton Ryan (4-1 district, 4-2 overall) Friday, Oct. 21, where a victory would wrap up the league's top seed for the postseason. The Bearcats have already clinched a playoff berth for a 26th consecutive season.

A Ryan victory would likely throw the final district standings into a three-way tie as Centennial defeated the Raiders in Burleson on Oct. 7. However, based on their margin of victory against the Spartans, the Bearcats are in good shape to win such a tie barring a blowout loss to Ryan.

Aledo scored on nine of 12 possessions. The Bearcats' longest scoring drive was six plays, the game's first possession, which was capped by a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hejny to Jalen Pope, who caught seven passes for 111 yards.

"This whole year we have just gotten better and better. We knew we were underdogs, but we were extremely confident that if we just focused on what we can control and stayed disciplined we could beat this team," Hejny said. "I am surprised we hung 64 on them. I thought it was going to be a four-quarter game." 

Then he added of the upcoming trip to Ryan, "We're just going to keep that same mindset. We can't underestimate what they're capable of."

Kaydon Finley (18) celebrates with a teammate.

The Bearcats will take a state-record 109-game district winning streak into Denton. Hejny and none of the other Bearcats were even in school yet when Aledo last lost a league contest in 2007.

The other Bearcat scoring drives against Centennial, in order, were:

• Two plays, 17 seconds, a 75-yard run by Hejny.
• Five plays, 2:14, 32-yard pass from Hejny to J. Pope.
• Two plays, 14 seconds, 52-yard run by Hejny.
• One play, nine seconds, 47-yard pass from Hejny to Gavin Olenjack.
• Two plays, 43 seconds, 76-yard pass from Hejny to Olenjack.
• Three plays, 1:25, 16-yard run by Dahvon Keys.
• Five plays, 1:48, 7-yard run by Hawk Patrick-Daniels.
• Three plays, 1:58, 14-yard run by Ryan Cox.

The Bearcats had the ball for little more than 17 minutes, while Centennial had it for a little less than 31 minutes.

Hejny also connected with J. Pope on a two-point conversion, while Boston Epley hit Carson Dempsey with a two-point pass. Cole Crawford was true on six of seven extra-point kicks.

The game turned in the second quarter as the Bearcats defense limited the Spartans offense to 10 yards and no points while amassing 146 yards and two scores for a 28-14 halftime lead. The Spartans had run almost at will on their first two possessions, scoring on both as they utilized the triple-option to perfection with 14 running plays and a single pass.

"Our guys got used to the speed of the game," Buchanan said. "We took the quarterback away. (Ansel) Din-Mbuh, (Bryon) Wheeler and the defensive line totally dominated."

After gaining 141 yards in the first quarter, the Spartans were limited to 167 for the final three.

The Bearcats defense registered two sacks and 10 tackles for loss. A key sack came late in the first half with the Spartans down 21-14 and attempting a pass on fourth-and-11 at the Aledo 32. It resulted in a 16-yard loss that set the Bearcats up at their own 48, after which Hejny broke loose for his second long touchdown two plays later.

"That's when we really started playing with more confidence," Buchanan said. "That was a huge sequence."

The Bearcats also forced three fumbles, recovering two and turning both into touchdowns. Special teams also capitalized on a kickoff that bounced among several Spartans and was not fielded, recovering and setting up another score.

The Bearcats amassed 522 total yards, including nine yards per carry (28 for 253). 

In a yeoman effort, Centennial running back Elijah Zeh gained 138 yards on 13 carries, including touchdown runs of 5 and 84 yards.

Unofficial team statistics

First downs: Aledo 17, Centennial 14.
Rushes-yards: Aledo 28-253, Centennial 50-244.
Passing yards: Aledo 269, Centennial 54.
Punts-average: Aledo 2-43.0. Centennial 3-34.7.
Fumbles-lost: Aledo 1-1, Centennial 3-2.
Penalties-yards: Aledo 1-10, Centennial 1-5.
Time of possession: Aledo 17:19, Centennial 30:41.
Third-down conversions: Aledo 3-5, Centennial 5-12.
Fourth-down conversions: Aledo 0-0, Centennial 1-3.

Unofficial Aledo individual statistics

Rushing: Hauss Hejny 13 carries, 175 yards, 2 TD; Ryan Cox 3-30, 1 TD; Hawk Patrick-Daniels 10-29, 1 TD; Dahvon Keys 1-16, 1 TD; Caleb Pope 2-3.

Passing: Hejny 12-of-13, 269 yards, 4 TD, 0 interceptions, pass for 2-point conversion; Boston Epley pass for 2-point conversion.

Receiving: Gavin Olenjack 2 catches, 123 yards, 2 TD; Jalen Pope 7-111, 2 TD, 2-point conversion catch; Patrick-Daniels 1-19; Tyson Timms 1-10; C. Pope 1-6; Carson Dempsey 2-point conversion catch.

Defensive fumble recovery: Andrew Parkhurst 1, Jake Gillespie 1.

Extra-point kicks: Cole Crawford 6-of-7.