Ok, I admit it. Going into the Aledo Bearcats’ football season opener against Dallas Parish Episcopal Friday, Aug. 24 at Buchanan Stadium, I was expecting a close game.
And it was - for all of a half quarter.
Then, Davhon Keys returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown to put the Bearcats up 22-7 and for all intents and purposes the game was over. Sure, the final score was 50-35, Aledo, but that was, let’s just say, deceptive.
“I thought someone was chasing me. I was peaking around and saw no one there. It was sweet,” Keys said of his TD.
To put it bluntly, there was a better chance of me beating Hauss Hejny in a footrace than Parish Episcopal, let’s call them DPE for short, had of stopping the Bearcats once they got rolling. For those of you who may not know, Hejny, the Bearcats quarterback, is one of the fastest high school runners in the state.
He could probably beat me - and most of you also, so don’t laugh - with one foot tied up and hopping 100 yards.
In fact, with the exception of the fine performance by Panthers quarterback Sawyer Anderson and his top two receivers, Carson Darby and Hutch Crow, it seemed the entire DPE offense was playing that way. Actually, the defense, too, for the most part.
This wasn’t a season opener against a team that won a couple games last season. DPE is the four-time defending Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I state champion.
The Panthers came into the contest having lost all of four games the past four seasons, and their 46 wins included last year’s 24-17 victory at home against the Bearcats, a game they led 24-3 and which included a number of these same Aledo players.
Including Keys and Hejny.
“I think the difference was the preparation,” said Keys, an LSU commit who ended the night with two interceptions. “This year we knew what Parish could do. I think having more experience this year played a role, but overall I think we were just more prepared.”
Understand that while they were humbled by Aledo, DPE is still a really good team. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if, once all is said and done this season, they are competing for another state title.
The victory was also the first for new head coach Robby Jones. Keys, Hejny and their teammates have wanted this moment since Jones was named to replace the legendary Tim Buchanan - remember the guy whom the stadium is named after - in January.
“This was great, really great, showing coach Jones that everything stays the same, keep the tradition,” Keys said.
The Bearcats’ motto this season is “Protect the tradition” and suffice to say they did that in most impressive fashion in winning for a 15th straight game.
Jones and everyone in Buchanan Stadium - including Buchanan, who was on hand to watch his protege’s debut at the helm - got an idea it might be a special night on the evening’s first play. Hejny threw a little swing pass out to newcomer Raycine Guillory, who led Mansfield Lake Ridge in rushing as a freshman in 2022, and Guillory raced 75 yards for a score.
“That put a big smile on my face,” Jones said. “We knew that play had a chance when coach (Joe Ryan) Williams drew it up.”
Hejny, a TCU commit, noted with a chuckle, “It’s pretty convenient to be off the field in one play.”
Then, he praised Guillory, who accounted for 193 yards in the win (113 rushing, 70 receiving).
“It was great to have Raycine move in. He’s a really mature kid to be a sophomore. He’s got everything going his way,” said Hejny, who was 9-of-15 for 185 yards passing, with another TD to Trace Clarkson.
Jones credited the victory to his team reflecting back to last season and not liking the feeling they had after.
“Our kids came out focused, not starting to want to start 0-1 again,” he said.
The Bearcats, while extremely impressive, were hardly perfect, however. This was exemplified by a dozen penalties for 116 yards, something you can bet Jones had his team working to correct before their trip to face another powerhouse in Denton Guyer Friday.
“Things like that take away from the overall excitement,” Jones said, adding with a smile, “But I tend to look at the negatives and things that need fixing.”
Of course, if you can commit a dozen penalties AND hang half a hundred on a team like DPE, one has to wonder what the score might have been if they’d only committed even half of those?
DPE was also called for nine penalties for 70 yards. The officials’ arms got quite the workout between throwing all the flags and raising their hands for touchdowns.
The Bearcats also botched a field goal attempt, had a 6-yard punt and had an interception (not thrown by Hejny) returned 80 yards for a score.
Again, what might score have been otherwise?
When the home team leads by four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, reserves are naturally going to see some decent playing time, and kudos to Jones for making sure they did.
A couple of the brighter spots were backup quarterback Gavin Beard and backup running back Kaden Winkfield. Beard completed five of eight passes for 45 yards with an interception and drove the team into scoring range twice, once with the starting unit in the first half. Winkfield carried seven times for 45 yards - more than the entire DPE rushing game of 32 yards on 13 carries.
“Gavin got some reps in a meaningful time,” Jones said. “That’s important so he’ll be a good quarterback in case he has to make a start.”
Also, Colton McCoy caught a pair of passes for 39 yards and impressed Jones with his blocking.
“He showed us he’s somebody we need to get on the field,” Jones said, noting that on the aforementioned game’s opening play that McCoy blocked a Parish player, pushing him back 15 yards.
The Bearcats accomplished all the things against DPE while having the ball three minutes less in the game. When they built a 36-14 halftime lead they had the ball about half of the time the Panthers did.
We could also go on about how the Aledo defense held the Panthers to no rushing play of more than five yards. Or how the Bearcats offense looked balanced in mid-season form with 241 rushing yards and 230 passing.
But Keys said it best when he stated it was a matter of keeping the tradition going. This includes extending yet another streak in a program that has more streaks than Taylor Swift has had boyfriends.
Not since 1990-91 have the Bearcats lost back-to-back season openers.
“It speaks volumes of the program Coach Buc built here. We have to continue that,” Jones said.
You’re definitely off to a great start, Coach Jones.
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