The greatest performance of Raycine Guillory’s football life was on the verge of being spoiled before he touched the football one last time on Friday night.
It was an 8-yard touchdown run in overtime, his sixth score of the night, that lifted the Aledo Bearcats to a 49-42 victory against the upset-minded Richland Royals at Tim Buchanan Stadium.
“I knew I had to score,” the junior running back said. “It was time to end it.”
Guillory ended the thrilling evening with 244 yards and five rushing touchdowns on 34 carries. He also caught two passes for 35 yards, one of which was a 30-yard TD.
The victory extended Aledo’s national-record district winning streak to 125 games. They haven’t lost a league game since starting 0-2 in the 2007 season with losses to Stephenville and Everman.
The Bearcats (7-1 overall), ranked No. 1 in the state entering the game, improved to 6-0 in District 3-5A. They have a one-game lead over No. 4 Denton Ryan (7-1, 5-1) and Azle (7-1, 5-1) with two games left.
The Bearcats defeated Ryan 42-27 at home on Oct. 4, another game in which they rallied from behind (27-8). They travel to Azle on Friday, Nov. 1 for a 7 p.m. contest and a win would secure their 17th consecutive district championship.
The Royals, No. 10 in the state entering the game, fell to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in league play.
“I was so relieved when I saw Ray had an open field to the end zone,” senior linebacker Ben McElree said. “I thought, ‘We finally did it! The streak is alive.’”
McElree had a key interception midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Bearcats the ball on the Royals’ 43. Five plays later Guillory scored from a yard out to give Aledo its first lead of the game, 42-35, with 3:48 remaining.
It was only the third interception of the season for Royals quarterback Drew Kates opposite 24 touchdowns.
Following the Bearcats’ go-ahead touchdown, Richland kept the excitement going. The Royals went 69 yards in 10 plays, overcoming an intentional grounding penalty, to send the contest into overtime.
On fourth-and-15 at the Aledo 30, Kates connected with Deon Jones to tie the game at 42.
The Royals got the ball first and moved to the Aledo 6. However, on third-and-inches, the Bearcats defense held them for no gain and Kates threw an incompletion on fourth down.
Guillory then carried the ball all four plays for Aledo on their possession. On third-and-3 from the 8 he put a cap on the night.
“He’s an electric player. I knew when the ball was in his hands we were in good shape,” junior wide receiver Kaydon Finley said.
Finley had his own sensational night with career highs in catches (10) and yards (170), including a 54-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Gavin Beard that tied the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.
It was his 31-yard catch that put Aledo at the Richland 1 before Guillory’s late TD gave them the lead.
Aledo head coach Robby Jones admitted to also breathing a sigh of relief when Guillory crossed the goal line to end the long night.
“I was just glad we didn’t get a holding penalty,” Jones said with a smile. “There’s a reason he’s recruited by everybody. He’s a stud.
“What about our O-line blocking for him and giving Gavin (Beard, quarterback) time to make plays? And our defense stopping them in overtime? These guys just keep finding a way.”
For a second straight home game, Aledo found itself trailing at the half. They were two touchdowns behind on two occasions, 28-14 after giving up a fumble in their own end of the field, and 35-21 after Richland took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored.
But it was a late drive in the first half that ended with Guillory’s TD catch from Beard that played a key role in the comeback, Jones said.
After forcing Aledo to punt, Richland got the ball at its own 31 with more than two and a half minutes before halftime. However, instead of being aggressive, they opted to run the ball, getting stopped on three straight plays before punting the ball back.
Aledo then went 66 yards in six plays and 44 seconds, scoring with 11 seconds left in the half to pull within 28-21 at intermission.
“We work on that two-minute drill all the time. Great job by the kids to move the ball down the field,” Jones said. “If we don’t get that touchdown, who knows what happens? But that’s just the nature of the players, they always do whatever it takes.”
The Royals wasted no time in making it clear they had an upset in mind. They opened the game with an onside kick, recovering at the Aledo 46 and going downfield to take a 7-0 lead.
They jumped on an Aledo fumble midway through the second quarter to score and go up 28-14. Then, just when it appeared the Bearcats were going in for a tying score in the closing moments of the third quarter, a Royals player stripped the ball from an Aledo receiver to squelch the threat.
“That onside kick showed us they were thinking, ‘Hey, we’re coming out with everything we’ve got,’” Jones said. “Credit them for coming with a game plan and following through. They were definitely ready.”
The teams combined for almost 1,000 yards and almost 60 first downs. Aledo had 541 yards (296 rushing and 245 passing), while Richland had 423 (188 rushing, 235 passing. Each defense forced a pair of turnovers.
In a yeoman effort, Kates accounted for 359 yards for the Royals, rushing for 124 and passing for 235. Sixteen of his completions went to Deon Jones (8 for 147 yards, 2 TD) and Xavier Johnson (8 for 82 yards).
Bearcat players were also ready with respect for the Royals coming close to doing what no one has done for more a decade and a half.
“I think they’re a great team. I have a lot of respect for them,” Finley said. “They made us a better team.”
The Bearcats will play their final road game of the regular season when they travel to Azle on Nov. 1. The Hornets have clinched their first playoff berth since 2021 after being picked eighth in the nine-team district by “Dave Campbell’s Texas Football” magazine in the preseason.
Aledo leads the all-time series with the Hornets dating to 1946 by a 13-2 advantage.
Richland 7 21 7 7 (0) - 42
Aledo 7 14 7 14 (7) - 49
R - Hunter Romero 12 run (Connor Parker kick), 9:51 first quarter
A - Raycine Guillory 3 run (Peyton Shaffer kick), 7:25 first quarter
R - Romero 2 run (Parker kick), 9:04 second quarter
A - Kaydon Finley 54 pass from Gavin Beard (Shaffer kick), 6:41 second quarter
R - Deon Jones 59 pass from Drew Kates (Parker kick), 5:48 second quarter
R - Kenyan Long 6 run (Parker kick), 3:32 second quarter
A - Guillory 30 pass from Beard (Shaffer kick), :11 second quarter
R - Moreno 1 run (Parker kick), 7:58 third quarter
A - Guillory 43 run (Shaffer kick), 6:56 third quarter
A - Guillory 29 run (Shaffer kick), 6:53 fourth quarter
A - Guillory 1 run (Shaffer kick), 3:48 fourth quarter
R - Jones 30 pass from Kates (Parker kick), 1:02 fourth quarter
A - Guillory 8 run (Shaffer kick), overtime
First downs: Richland 29, Aledo 27.
Rushes-yards: Richland 52-188, Aledo 44-296.
Passing yards: Richland 235, Aledo 245.
Caught-thrown-intercepted: Richland 17-31-1, Aledo 17-33-0.
Punts-average: Richland 4-33.0, Aledo 3-35.7.
Fumbles-lost: Richland 2-1, Aledo 3-2.
Penalties-yards: Richland 6-56, Aledo 6-42.
Rushing: Guillory 34 carries, 244 yards, 5 TD; Beard 3 carries, 30 yards; Kadon Winkfield 6 carries, 22 yards.
Passing: Beard 17-of-33, 245 yards, 2 TD, 0 interceptions.
Receiving: Finley 10 catches, 170 yards, TD; Guillory 2 catches, 35 yards, TD; Blake Burdine 3 catches, 28 yards.
Tackles: Owen Henderson 10.5, Ben McElree 10, Lamel Swanson 7.5, Cooper Cyphers 7.5.
Tackles for loss: McElree 1, Jaxon Richter 1, Tymon Meeks 1, Chase Wilburn 1, Cyphers 0.5, Jacob McIntire 0.5.
Interception: McElree.
Fumble recovery: Henderson.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here