High School Football: No. 1 Aledo rolls past Abilene High in Region I-5A DI finals

STEPHENVILLE — Davhon Keys ran for three touchdowns, while Hauss Hejney threw for two more and ran for another as defending state champion Aledo beat Abilene High 56-21 in a Region I-5A Division I final Friday at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.

Hawk Patrick-Daniels also ran for two TDs as No. 1 Aledo (14-0) moves on to play Forney (13-1) in the state semifinals. Forney beat Lancaster 43-41 in double overtime on Friday.

Dylan Slack threw two TD passes to Ryland Bradford, and Brayden Henry ran for a TD as the Eagles ended the season at 11-3. Abilene High, making its deepest playoff run since 2011, was seeking its first state semifinal appearance since the 2009 team won state. It was the first meeting between Aledo and Abilene High.

Aledo rolled up 527 yards on offense, including 311 on the ground. Abilene High had 210 total yards − but one passing.

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Bearcats start fast

Aledo had a 28-0 lead before Abilene High had a first down — scoring on its first three possessions.

The Bearcats opened the game with a six-play, 67-yard drive. Keys, running out of the Wildcat, scored from 3 yards out for a quick 7-0 lead.

The next time Aledo had the ball the Bearcats went 60 yards on five plays. This time Patrick-Daniels ran 18 yards for a TD and a 14-0 lead with 8:55 left in the opening quarter.

The Bearcats ended up getting the ball right back as the kickoff bounced off one of the Eagles upbacks. The ball bounced back past the Bearcats, and an Aledo player fell on the ball at the Bearcats’ 35.

Hejny, a TCU commit, then threw a 48-yard pass to Trace Clarkson, and Keys scored out of the Wildcat from the 5-yard line three plays later. Just like that the Bearcats had a 21-0 lead with 7:28 remaining in the first quarter.

DeMarco Upshaw picked off a Hejny pass to stop Aledo for the first time on its fourth possession.

The Eagles still couldn’t pick up a first down, and Aledo scored on its fifth drive — going 48 yards on eight plays. Hejny threw a 16-yard TD pass to Colton McCoy for a 28-0 advantage with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Eagles fight back

Slack threw a 14-yard pass to Jackson Howle for the Eagles’ initial first down of the game on the first play of the second quarter. They wouldn’t get a second on the drive.

Abilene High did get its first break when the Eagles forced Aledo to attempt its first punt on the ensuing drive. The snap sailed over punter Cole Crawford’s head on fourth-and-5 at the Aledo 32. Crawford fell on it at the 3.

Three plays later, Henry ran 2 yards for a TD, putting the Eagles on the scoreboard 8:40 before halftime.

The next time Aledo had the ball, the Bearcats also had to punt, and this time Crawford shanked it for a 10-yard punt — giving Abilene High the ball at the Aledo 30.

Once again, Abilene High capitalized. Slack threw a 14-yard TD pass to Bradford, cutting the Bearcats’ lead in half at 28-14 with 5:41 left in the first half.

Aledo quells comeback

After being forced to punt on its first possession to start the second half, the Eagles got a break when Aledo fumbled the punt return — giving Abilene High the ball at its own 35. But Aledo stopped the Eagles on a fourth-and-2 play from Abilene High’s 43.

Three plays later, Hejny ripped off a 35-yard TD run for a 35-14 lead with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

In fact, the second half started like the first quarter. Aledo scored three TDs on consecutive possessions before the Eagles recorded a first down in the half.

Ky Howington batted away a Slack pass on third-and-1 from the Eagles’ 41, and Cooper Kohan made a diving catch in the backfield for the interception — giving Aledo the ball at the Eagles’ 31.

Keys ran three times on the four-play drive — the last a 2-yard TD run for a 42-14 lead.

The Bearcats needed two plays to get their next TD, after Abilene High turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles’ 40. Patrick-Daniels ran 40 yards for an Aledo TD and a 49-14 lead with 3:11 to go in the third quarter.

Both teams got a TD in the final quarter. Hejny threw a 50-yard TD pass to Trace Clarkson, and Slack threw a 12-yard TD pass to Bradford on the Eagles’ ensuing drive for the 56-21 final.

FRIDAY’S STARS

Hauss Henjy, Aledo

The senior quarterback completed 13-of-23 passes for 216 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a game-high 103 yards and a TD on 12 carries.

Trace Clarkson, Aledo

Clarkson had only two catches, but both were big ones. He had a 48-yarder to set up a TD, and he caught a 50-yarder for a TD.

Dylan Slack, Abilene High

The senior quarterback completed 21-of-30 passes for 206 yards and two TDs to lead the Eagles.

Ryland Bradford, Abilene High

The junior receiver had a game-high seven catches for 59 yards and two TDs.

They said it

Abilene High coach Mike Fullen on the early 28-0 deficit: “That’s on me. We’ve got to be ready to come out but give credit to Aledo. They played like they’ve been in the fourth round for several years. We got ourselves in a hole. We knew we could not let them get the big momentum, and they were getting it. Then we came back and made some plays and cut it in half right before halftime. That was the goal. We were going to keep them in the cage and make them fight us. When they went up 28-0 it was like they were trying to get out of the cage, and we drug them back in.”

Fullen on ending the season in the region final: “It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’m so proud of what we accomplished this year. That’s what we’ll be focusing on when we get back to Abilene.”

REGION I-5A DIVISION I FINAL

Aledo 56, Abilene High 21

Abilene … 0 … 14 … 0 … 7 – 21

Aledo … 28 … 0 … 21 … 7 – 56

FIRST QUARTER

ALE – Davhon Keys 3 run (Cole Crawford kick), 10:16

ALE – Hawk Patrick-Daniels 18 run (Crawford kick), 8:55

ALE – Keys 5 run (Crawford kick), 7:28

ALE – Colton McCoy 16 pass from Hauss Hejny (Crawford kick), 00:13

SECOND QUARTER

ABI – Brayden Henry 2 run (Naim Segura kick), 8:40

ABI – Ryland Bradford 14 pass from Dylan Slack (Segura kick), 5:41

THIRD QUARTER

ALE – Hejny 35 run (Crawford kick), 7:44

ALE – Keys 2 run (Crawford kick), 5:02

ALE – Patrick-Daniels 40 run (Crawford kick), 3:11

FOURTH QUARTER

ALE – Trace Clarkson 50 pass from Hejny (Crawford kick), 10:40

ABI – Bradford 12 pass from Slack (Segura kick), 9:10

TEAM STATISTICS

……………… ABI … ALE

First downs … 8 … 27

Rushes-Yards … 16-1 … 51-311

Passing … 209 … 216

Comp-Att-Int …… 22-31-1 … 13-23-2

Punts …… 2-17.6 … 5-34.6

Fumbles-Lost … 3-1 … 2-1

Penalties-Yards … 4-29 … 7-77

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Abilene, Chad Lara 8-6, Bryce Neves 1-1, Dylan Slack 1-(-2), Brayden Henry 6-(-4); Aledo, Hauss Hejny 12-103, Hawk Patrick-Daniels 11-81, Raycine Guillory 5-64, Davhon Keys 6-35, RJ Blake 8-27, Kaden Winkfield 4-24, Brady Powell 4-6, Team 1-(-29).

PASSING: Abilene, Slack 21-30-1—206, Henry 1-1-0—3; Aledo, Hejny 13-23-2—216.

RECEIVING: Abilene, Ryland Bradford 7-59, Jackson Howle 6-72, Bryson Perez 5-58, Brelon Badon 3-12, Lara 1-8; Aledo, Colton McCoy 3-38, Trace Clarkson 2-98, Patrick-Daniels 2-26, Lamel Swanson 2-24, Kaydon Finley 2-21, Tyson Timms 1-5, Blake Burbine 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS: Abilene, DeMarcos Upshaw, Tre Sharp; Aledo, Cooper Kohan.

RECORDS: Abilene High 11-3; Aledo 14-0.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Aledo stymies Abilene High in Region I-5A Division I football finals