How Aledo football's win streak hit 17: 'Nobody really believed in us'
ALEDO, TEXAS - Literally, what a difference a year made for Aledo.
On September 8, 2022, the Bearcats went into their game against Justin Northwest in uncharacteristic desperation mode. They had started the season 0-2, and were coming off a 30-point thumping at the hands of Denton Guyer.
At a place like Aledo, where state championships are signified on the turf of Bearcat Stadium, an 0-2 start was indeed something the players were unaccustomed to, with standards always set high.
“That’s always the goal, to get a state championship,” senior tight end Tyson Timms said.
But Aledo finally got in the win column against Northwest, prevailing 49-20.
Fast forward one year, and the Bearcats played Northwest again. This time, instead of desperation, the Bearcats were brimming with domination.
They picked up their 17th straight win, beating the Texans, 38-13, at Bearcat Stadium. Since that win against Justin Northwest a year ago, the Bearcats ended 2022 with 14 straight wins, capped by winning their 11th state title in program history, claiming the 5A Division I championship.
For the Bearcats who experienced that 0-2 start, it was more than just attempting to turn the page. They wanted to go in with a chip on their shoulder.
“Nobody really believed in us, and even through district, people still doubted us and even through playoffs, people had us as underdogs,” senior quarterback Hauss Hejny said. “I think that chip on our shoulders stayed with us the whole season, and we wanted to keep the Bearcat tradition going.
“Props to our coaches for keeping us in check, props to our community for keeping on believing in us, and just our team trusting in each other.”
Hejny - a TCU commit - was one player who was more than determined to steer the Bearcats back in the right direction.
“To be honest, I really didn’t but I knew that I needed to control what was going on in the moment, which was coming to practice after those two losses on Saturday, and going to work and getting into the film and getting the team rallied around me,” he said. “Also just having belief in ourselves that we can be a good football team, and we’ve just got to control what we can control, which is our attitude and effort and how we work day to day.
“We didn’t look too far ahead to district and into the playoffs, we just focused on what we could do to better ourselves, and that’s just carried on through this offseason and throughout these first three games of this season.”
Hejny passed for 97 yards and a TD while adding 55 yards on the ground with a rushing TD in Friday’s win.
LITERALLY, A NEW TEAM
Aledo began the season by getting payback on the teams that handed the Bearcats back-to-back losses to start 2022. They beat Parish Episcopal 50-35; then in a dramatic finish, beat Guyer, 48-45.
While many key players return from last season’s title team, including Hejny and senior linebacker Davhon Keys (an LSU commit), there are a few alterations. One is at the top, with Robby Jones having been promoted to head coach in the offseason after having served as the offensive coordinator under legendary coach Tim Buchanan.
“We won state last year, but this is a whole new team,” Timms said. “We’re missing our whole defensive line from last year and Coach Jones has been preaching that this is a new team, we have to go earn it.”
A NEW DIMENSION
The Bearcats have also been bolstered this season by the presence of sophomore tailback Raycine Guillory, who played at Mansfield Lake Ridge last season before transferring to Aledo.
In Friday’s win, Guillory rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown.
“It feels good, it’s a blessing, I’m very grateful to be here. … I love all my teachers, all the coaching staff, I love my running back coach,” Guillory said. “Everything is perfect here.”
He’s also glad to learn the offense under Hejny, one of the state’s top quarterbacks.
“Being around Hauss, I just learned a lot, just trying to be a leader,” Guillory said. “So, getting ready when (the upperclassmen) leave, I know how to take over and lead my team to a state championship.”
Guillory is also attracting a lot of recruiting attention, receiving offers from several top Division I schools.
“Recruiting is going great; I just picked up three offers on Thursday from Oregon, Houston and TCU,” he said.
In addition, Guillory remarked he plans to be in attendance Saturday at Oklahoma’s home game against SMU.
‘BOOGIE’ WONDERLAND
Aledo’s defense forced three turnovers in Friday’s win.
Senior free safety Jayton Owens, who goes by the nickname of “Boogie,” had a hand in two of those takeaways. He intercepted a second-quarter pass that set up a Bearcat TD for a 17-6 lead.
Then in the third quarter, he picked up a fumble and darted 52 yards for a score. It was his first career TD.
“It felt great,” Owens said upon reaching the end zone. “It felt amazing, it was a feeling I just can’t describe overall.”
He’s another Bearcat wanting to play at the next level.
“Right now, the biggest (interest) is from SFA (Stephen F. Austin), they’ve been talking to me,” Owens said.
The other Bearcat turnover was an interception off a tipped pass by sophomore Cooper Cyphers, which he returned 49 yards for a fourth-quarter TD.
HUNGER STRIKING
Timms is a firm believer in the winning tradition that Aledo players refer to as “The Bearcat Way.”
He was one of the players who didn’t want to see the Bearcats begin 2022 on a three-game losing streak.
“We started off 0-2 and people were doubting us, and that put a huge chip on our shoulder,” Timms said. “We were just hungry, hungry, to go win and once we got that one win, we just wanted to keep on rolling.
“We kept the same work ethic, same energy throughout the whole season last year, and we ended up winning state.”
Timms was the recipient of Hejny’s lone TD pass, catching a deep 46-yard strike in the end zone which put Aledo up, 17-6, in the second quarter.
He has received a pair of offers from Football Championship Subdivision schools in Lamar University and Valparaiso University (Indiana), and will visit Trinity University in San Antonio this weekend.
Photo of Aledo players (from left) Boogie Owens, Hauss Hejny, Raycine Guillory and Tyson Timms
