Bearcats Advance to Regional Semifinals Against Midlothian
SWEETWATER – Not even a game time temperature of 34 degrees could keep Aledo from getting off to a hot start in Friday’s playoff game against Lubbock Cooper.
It took Aledo just two plays to jump out to a 7-0 lead in a game in which they never trailed. Aledo scored the first 28 points in the 45-21 victory.
Aledo will played undefeated Midlothian in the 5A Division I regional semifinals. Aledo lost a coin flip to Midlothian, so the game will be at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, at Midlothian ISD Stadium.
Quarterback Hauss Hejny, who missed Aledo’s bi-district playoff game with an injury, ripped off a 57-yard run on the first play of the game and Hawk Patrick-Daniels finished the 2-play drive with a 24-yard run. Hejny also had a 50-yard TD run. He finished the game with 12 carries for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
The Aledo defense kept Cooper’s offense in check throughout the first half. The Aledo front seven had several tackles for loss and linebacker Dahvon Keys recovered a Cooper fumble to stop one Pirate drive.
In the second quarter, Keys knocked down a fourth-down pass attempt then recovered the fumble on Cooper’s next drive.
The defensive stops in the first half allowed Aledo to jump out to a 28-0 halftime lead.
Aledo made it 14-0 when Patrick-Daniels took a screen pass 47 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
The Bearcats then scored twice in the final 5:21 of the first half.
Henjy scored on a 3-yard run.
On the very next series, Henjy dropped the ball after the snap, but calmly picked up the ball and raced down the right sideline for a 50-yard score. That gave Aledo a 28-0 lead.
Cooper had the ball first and the Pirates scored on every each of their first three drives. However, the Aledo offense didn’t slow down. The Bearcats answered every Cooper touchdown with a score.
Dahvon Keys, a starting linebacker, had a pair of runs out of wildcat formation for Aledo. The first was a 4-yard run and the second was from 6 yards.
“I like running people over,” Keys said after the game. “Running the ball is fun.” Keys was also running people over on defense during the game.
Aledo’s final points came on a 36-yard field goal from Cole Crawford.
In the Regional Semifinal Aledo will face a team that used to be in the same district. The teams last met in 2019, when Aledo won 34-28 in overtime. Midlothian won District 4, the same district as Killeen Shoemaker, Aledo’s first round opponent.
Early this season, Midlothian won at Killeen Shoemaker, 32-27. Aledo beat Shoemaker 37-0.
Midlothian opened the playoffs with a 51-34 victory over Northwest. Aledo had a 49-20 win at Northwest this year.
SCORING SUMMARY
Aledo – Hawk Patrick-Daniels 24 run (Cole Crawford kick)
Aledo – Patrick-Daniels 47 pass from Hauss Hejny (Crawford kick)
Aledo – Hejny 3 run (Crawford kick)
Aledo – Hejny 50 run (Crawford kick)
Cooper – Jayden Kennard 18 run (Cub Patton kick)
Aledo – Dahvon Keys 4 run (Crawford kick)
Cooper – Ethan Elkins 40 run (Patton kick)
Aledo – Keys 6 run (Crawford kick)
Cooper – Elkins 45 run (Patton kick)
Aledo – Crawford 26 FG
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