The Aledo Bearcats overcame a slow start, scoring 51 unanswered points, to earn their state-record 12th State Championship Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Smithson Valley took an early 8-0 lead, but the Aledo defense held the Rangers out of the endzone when Smithson Valley had to settle on two field goals after getting short fields in the first quarter.
Hawk Patrick-Daniels overcame getting tackled for a safety on his first carry of the game to finish as the games Offensive MVP with 16 carries for 186 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
But it took nearly the entire first quarter for the Bearcat offense to get on track. Aledo had just 2 yards of offense after its first three possessions and trailed Smithson Valley 8-0 with 5:29 left in the first quarter.
However, Smithson Valley had just 21 yards of offense in its first three drives as it built the 8-0 lead.
But it took nearly the entire first quarter for the Bearcat offense to get on track. Aledo had just 2 yards of offense after its first three possessions and trailed Smithson Valley 8-0 with 5:29 left in the first quarter. However, Smithson Valley had just 21 yards of offense in its first three drives as it built the 8-0 lead.
“The offense was struggling early, but we knew we had a great defense and we made up for it,” senior linebacker Davhon Keys said. “It was just natural for us to go help out the offense. If the offense is struggling, we’re going to help them out. If we are struggling, the offense is going to help us out.”
Key sparked the Aledo defense, finishing with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, and was named the game’s Defensive MVP.
Aledo looked to be in serious trouble when Smithson Valley’s Zach Gingrich intercepted Aledo quarterback Hauss Hejny on the Bearcats’ third possession and had the ball with a first-and-goal at the Aledo 8. However, Aledo’s defense showed just how little they would give up when the Rangers lost five yards, including a tackle for loss by Keys, and had to settle for a field goal.
That defensive stop seemed to light a spark in the Aledo offense. The Bearcats then scored on five consecutive possessions to take command of the game.
On third-and-12, Hejny connected with Kaydon Finley for a 14-yard pass and Aledo offense took off. Henjy had runs of 16 and 10 yards and suddenly the Rangers defense started giving up yards in chucks. Patrick-Daniels finished the drive with a 23-yard TD run and Aledo cut the deficit to 8-7 with 1:28 left in the first quarter.
While the Aledo offense came to life, Aledo’s defense kept Smithson Valley from scoring for the rest of the game. The Rangers managed just 69 total yards in the game. Smithson-Valley punted the ball 8 times while the Aledo offense only punted once, which was on its first possession.
Patrick-Daniels gave Aledo the lead for good when he scored on a 7-yard run with 9:36 left in the first half.
On their next possession, Hejny found Finley open deep down the middle for a 69-yard touchdown pass and it was suddenly 21-8 with 3:00 left in the half. A quick Smithson Valley three-and-out gave Aledo time to score one moe time before the half.
Hejny hit Trace Clarkson on a diving 39-yard pass reception to put the Bearcats in field goal range and
Cole Crawford connected from 35-yards as the half expired to make it 24-8 Aledo.
Aledo quickly made it 31-8 on its first possession of the second half when Hejny hit Colton McCoy on a 29-yard TD pass to make it 31-8 with 8:54 left in the third quarter.
Patrict-Danield then had a 51-yard TD run to make it 38-8 to with 4:43 left in the third quarter. The senior running back then another 51-yard run on Aledo’s very next offensive play to set up Henjy’s 10-yard TD run and nobody was thinking about Aledo’s slow start on offense.
“I’ve got to give credit to my o-line, I can’t do nothing without them,” Patrick-Daniels said while clinging to the offensive MVP plaque.
At midseason Patrick-Daniels may have been the forgotten man in the Aledo running back room. Although Patrick-Daniels was the starting running back last season, he opened the season as a receiver after sophomore Raycine Guillory moved in and flashed his stills early in the season. However, Guillory got injured late in the year then was re-injured in the playoff game against Abilene.
Patrick-Daniels slide back to the starter’s role and had 203 rushing yards in the state semifinals against Forney and 186 yards in the title game, both blowout Aledo victories.
Aledo finished the night with the UIL record 12 state titles (11 titles since 2009) -51 unanswered points and a 30-game win streak.
It was also the first state championship for coach Robby Jones who took over after serving as Aledo’s offensive coordinator. Jones joined the Aledo staff in 2000. The Bearcats won 10 titles from 2009-22, and Jones was the offensive coordinator for all of them.
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