Aledo rolls past Red Oak in Texas high school football playoffs
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - While Aledo does bring back experience from a defending state championship squad, the future - immediate and beyond - remains bright.
A pair of sophomore offensive skill players, tailback Raycine Guillory and receiver Kaydon Finley, combined to score all five first-half touchdowns for the Bearcats. That helped Aledo in a 59-35 win against Red Oak in a matchup of undefeated teams playing in the Class 5A Division I Region I semifinal Friday night at Choctaw Stadium.
Guillory scored four rushing touchdowns - three in the first half - as Aledo (13-0) extended its current winning streak to 27 straight wins.
“Honestly, I didn’t even have a goal coming into this game," Guillory said. "I just came out and I said, ‘I’m going to do what I need to do for my team to win this game,’ and I came out here and I got four touchdowns.”
Guillory, who has already received interest from several prominent Division I schools, finished with 190 yards on 14 carries, helping a Bearcat offense that finished the night with 604 yards of total offense. He is in his first season at Aledo after transferring from Mansfield Lake Ridge in the offseason.
“This season’s been crazy," he said. "I was dealing with an injury when I first got here to Aledo; it was an ankle injury, so coming out, it was a little shaky
"I played hard my first two games, it was great, and I started to get some offers. … Last Thanksgiving, I remember I was at home watching these people, so I’m grateful (to be playing for the Bearcats).”
Meanwhile, Finley caught a pair of TD passes from senior quarterback and TCU commit Hauss Hejny in the opening half. Finley ended up catching seven passes for 161 yards and those two TDs, his first multi-TD game on the season.
“The game plan really was just to spread the ball out and run it down their throats. … I’m happy with the game plan; I just give it all to God because He’s the one that made it happen (Friday)," Finley said.
Aledo's Kaydon Finley
“(It was great) getting this ‘W.’ It was fun, it was fun. Playing with my guys, seeing my guys have fun, it was a great night.”
With the win, Aledo advances to next week's 5A DI Region I championship game against Abilene, a winner against Justin Northwest in its regional semifinal on Friday.
Guillory opened the scoring with a 20-yard TD run on the Bearcats' opening series, as they moved 90 yards in 11 plays. After forcing the Hawks to punt, Aledo extended the lead to 14-0 when Hejny threw a slant over the middle to Finley near midfield, and Finley outraced defenders to the house to complete an 84-yard catch-and-run.
“I was running up the corner and I gave (the defender) a little jab outside and he went outside," Finley said. "Then my boy Hauss just put it on the money and I was gone, I was gone.”
Finley added he likes being able to catch passes from Hejny, who ended up completing 13-of-18 passes for 245 yards.
“We have a great relationship with each other, we’re friends," Finley said of Hejny. "He’s an all-around great quarterback for sure.”
Two plays after the Hawks (12-1) got their first TD, Guillory broke loose for a 70-yard TD run to give Aledo another two-touchdown advantage. He had the hat trick with less than four minutes left in the half, going in from 20 yards out to make it 28-7.
Guillory recently visited USC, and planned to be in attendance Saturday for SMU's final home game of the season against Navy. But he has had plenty of suitors.
“In the mix, I’ll probably say it’s a lot," Guillory said. "Georgia, Oregon, TCU, Arkansas, it’s a lot. USC; it’s a lot of people in the mix. … They’re not overdoing anything, they’re respecting me and calling to check in on me, stuff like that. They’re treating me like I want to be treated.”
Finley had his second TD catch with 46 seconds remaining before halftime, which put Aledo in front, 35-14. But that started a wild sequence of events before the break.
On the ensuing kickoff, Red Oak's Brayden Robinson found a seam and dashed into the end zone from 89 yards out. Aledo nearly duplicated that feat on its kickoff, but after a 34-yard return, Blake Burdine was pushed out of bounds at the Hawks' 35.
Still, that enabled the Bearcats to get in position for a field goal at the end of the half. Cole Crawford's 39-yard attempt snuck through the uprights at the buzzer, giving Aledo a 38-21 advantage at intermission.
The Bearcats continued to build their lead in the second half. Guillory made it four TDs, going in from 13 yards after Aledo took the kickoff to start the third quarter.
Even with his outstanding performance, and rising interest from major colleges, Guillory knows there is still room to improve.
“I just want to get better at being patient more and let the play develop, and then after it develops, then having that burst of speed to get out," he said.
Aledo sophomore tailback Raycine Guillory (left) speaks with the media following the Bearcats' playoff win on Nov. 24, 2023.
Aledo then went up, 52-21, midway through the third. Set up by an interception from Jaden Allen, senior back Hawk Patrick-Daniels raced in from 41 yards out.
Red Oak's first two TDs came from quarterback Chris Martinez, a 19-yarder to Robinson early in the second quarter and a 25-yard pass to Taz Williams Jr. late in the opening half.
Martinez ended up with three TD passes and 239 yards on 18-of-30 completions while rushing for 67 yards on 13 carries. Williams had six catches for 105 yards, and Robinson had five receptions for 33 yards.
Aledo now is three wins away from a repeat state title, and the Bearcats are eager to get back right down the street to AT&T Stadium and get that done.
Regardless of how this season ends up, Finley, along with Guillory and other underclassmen, make Aledo a state championship contender again next season.
“Wait till next year, just wait till next year," Finley said. "The offense is going to be through the roof.”
Aledo players salute their fans following the Bearcats' 5A Division I regional playoff win on Nov. 24, 2023.
Photo of Aledo RB Raycine Guillory from his X page
-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX
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