Senior center Max Moeller of the Aledo Bearcats and former Aledo head coach Tim Buchanan were honored Sunday night at the Gridiron Club of Dallas’ 14th annual banquet at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria.
Moeller was one of 51 scholar-athletes from North Texas to be honored at the event. Buchanan received the Legend Award.
Moeller and Buchanan celebrated Aledo winning an 11th state championship in mid-December with a 52-14 victory against College Station. It was Buchanan’s eighth championship as a head coach.
Moeller was a part of the varsity for three seasons, also seeing time at linebacker. His varsity career included being part of the 2020 state championship team and the Bearcats amassed a record of 39-4 during his tenure.
Moeller, who plans to attend Texas A&M, was a first-team All-District 5-5A center and All-Parker County selection. He was also first-team academic all-state and is ranked in the top 6% of his class.
Moeller is an AP Scholar and received the National Merit Small Town Scholar Award. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and served as vice-president of the Young Men’s Service League, where he was awarded the Heart of YMSL Award.
Moeller has served more than 150 hours of community service during his high school career. He is also a four-year member of the Bearcat Regiment where he served on the band council, leadership team, and as social officer.
“Max is the perfect example of what a coach wants his players to be,” Aledo Athletic Director Steve Wood said. “He is a student first, but is going to give his absolute best at everything he does.”
Buchanan arrived at Aledo in 1993 for his first head coaching job after stints at an assistant at several programs, starting with Bastrop in 1984. He was an assistant on the 1991 A&M Consolidated team that won a Class 4A state championship.
Buchanan was also an assistant at Killeen Ellison in 1985 and 1987, at The Colony in 1986 and at A&M Consolidated from 1988-92 before coming to Aledo.
At Aledo, Buchanan’s career began with a 2-8 season. From there, he went on to finish with a 281-58-3 record and 1993 was his only losing campaign.
The Bearcats under Buchanan won their first state championship in 1998 in Class 3A. They won 10 more championships from 2009-22 in Classes 4A and 5A, seven with him as head coach and three with Wood at the helm during a five-year stretch when Buchanan stepped away to focus solely on being athletic director.
In 2019 Wood became the AD and Buchanan returned to coaching. On the heels of Wood winning a title in 2018, Buchanan followed with titles in 2019 and 2020 for the program’s second three-peat.
“Nobody has accomplished what Buc has as far as high school football goes,” Wood said. “He is deserving of every accolade or award that is out there.”
In all, Buchanan was 8-0 in state championship games as a head coach, also winning in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. His 2013 team is the only team in history at any level to score more than 1,000 points in a season, outscoring their opponents 1,023-140, an average of 64-9.
Buchanan’s eight state championships are just one behind the University Interscholastic League 11-man record shared by the Late Gordon Wood of Brownwood and Scott Surratt of Carthage.
Buchanan served as athletic director in Aledo from 1993-2018. Along with the football championships, he oversaw state titles in golf (2007), softball (2008, 2014, 2015) and baseball (2014). Aledo also had teams reach the state tournament in boys and girls soccer, volleyball, and girls basketball.
In 2013-14 Aledo became the only high school in Texas to win state championships in football, softball, and baseball in the same school year.
The athletic program also had numerous individuals win state titles in a variety of sports, including two-time state girls golf champion Cheyenne Knight, who went on to be an All-American at the University of Alabama and is now a member of the LPGA Tour.
Buchanan was also recently named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor. He will be celebrated in a ceremony July 15 at 7 p.m. at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here