12/17/22

Aledo wins 5A DI State Championship Game

ARLINGTON-- Dominant. There’s only one word for how Aledo delivered its 11th state title. The road to get to the 5A DI State Championship Game was anything but dominant for the Bearcats, who overcame adversity throughout its playoff run. In the end, Aledo introduced 5A Div. I to its championship caliber program on the way to a 52-14 win over College Station in the state title game.

Aledo dominated College Station for the opening kick. The Bearcats scored in five plays to open the game before Davhon Keys scooped up a fumble from College Station running back Aydan Martinez-Brown. Keys capped off the next Aledo scoring drive with a short touchdown run and added a second rushing touchdown just before the end of the first quarter to put Aledo ahead 21-0.

The second quarter scoring featured two Hauss Hejny touchdown passes to Jalen Pope. The Bearcats defense limited College Station to 72 yards on 22 plays and no points in the first half. Hejny scored his second-long touchdown run of the game midway through the third quarter to put Aledo up 42-0.

Hejny won Offensive MVP after racking up 177 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another 144 yards and two scores on the ground. Wide receiver Jalen Pope also made a strong case for Offensive MVP with eight receptions for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Hejny wasn’t the clear QB1 in the spring, but Aledo coach Tim Buchanan said Hejny won the job as an athlete and developed into a true quarterback.

“Hauss, last year he played slot receiver for us,” Buchanan said. “It was really a quarterback battle going in [to the season] because Brant Hayden is really good. It was quite the battle and coming out of spring ball we still didn’t know. Hauss’ athleticism helped him win the job and where Hauss has improved is his process of not getting in a hurry, going through his reads, and finding the right to throw the football, and he did a really good job of that tonight.”

The win makes it 11 state championships for Aledo and eight for Buchanan. The Bearcats have already established their program as one of the greats in the state of Texas, but that doesn’t mean those players that are returning for next season aren’t excited to get back to work to win another state title in 2023. That was expressed by more than a handful of players on the sideline after the game. Aledo will be back; the question is if that is in 2023 or later on down the road.