ALEDO —
Just as it had done a week prior, the Weatherford Kangaroos' offense jumped out to a stellar start in its first possession Friday, drawing first blood against Aledo in Bearcat Stadium in the annual non-district tilt. Quarterback Trooper Reynolds owned the initial running attack, capping the 4-play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard romp for a touchdown.
The Bearcats' offense answered quickly and their defense likewise adjusted, en route to a 48-13 win over the Roos. Weatherford's triple option failed to regain the opening drive's momentum. The Roos defense succumbed to Aledo's offensive ground assault, complimented by an eager passing attack, as well.
"Matt Bishop is a good quarterback and can pass very well," said Aledo head coachTim Buchanan. We're going to throw the football, and not just when [opponents] are putting nine in the box.
"We have good receivers and one thing our line does really well is protect the quarterback."
Weatherford's defense stymied running back Johnathan Gray on his initial carry of the game, prompting a couple of failed pass attempts by the Bearcats and a three-and-out result. On its second possession, Aledo hit on all cylinders, completing a Bishop-to-Todd Christian pass play, followed by two long runs by Gray, the latter a 33-yard touchdown to knot the score at six. Keven Frantz's extra-point kich sailed true as Aledo took the lead it would hold, and expand.
"Our kids played hard, but we didn't play anywhere near our best football, tonight," said Weatherford head coach Reid Waller. "We have to come out of the gate with more intensity than we did tonight."
As Aledo keyed on the pitch man much of the evening, Reynolds was forced to tuck the ball away and head upfield, netting 20 carries and producing most of Weatherford's rushing yardage. The junior signal caller ended the night with more than 140 yards.
Weatherford's second possession resulted in a punt, with a personal foul penalty pushing the Bearcats back to their own 32-yard line. On the next play, the Roos' Brandon Segura picked off a Bishop pass, and though Segura's return was marred by a blocking-in-the-back penalty, the pick allowed WHS to set up shop in Bearcats' territory. Aledo's defense stiffened and Weatherford was forced to punt.
Aledo promptly scored on its next three drives, as Gray's runs and Bishop's passes became and remained more effective. Bishop found receiver Michael Mann behind Weatherford's defenders for a 65-yard scoring strike, and Gray closed out the half's scoring with runs of eight and one yard. The Bearcats owned a 28-6 advantage heading for the break.
The second half saw much of the same, except for a Roos sustained drive on their second possession. With a start at their own 7-yard line, Weatherford marched to Aledo's five. Reynolds had most of the carries, with runs of 19 and 17 from slotbacks Jake Bartels and Austin Livingston, respectively. The drive stalled when , on fourth down, a fake field goal attempt failed to produce a first down.
Weatherford (0-2) hopes to break into the win column next Friday, hosting Burleson in its home opener at 7:30 p.m.
Aledo (2-0) has a far and away game at Lake Travis, as the Class 4A-Division state champs square off in a highly-touted non-district clash, also at 7:30 p.m.
Aledo 48, Weatherford 6
WHS 6 0 0 7 — 13
AHS 14 14 6 14 — 48
Scoring:
W — Trooper Reynolds 11 run (point-after failed) 1st - 9:07
A — Johnathan Gray 33 run (Kevin Frantz kick) 1st - 8:11
A — Matt Bishop 65 pass to Michael Mann (Frantz kick) 1st - 2:42
A — Gray 8 run (Frantz kick) 2nd - 9:48
A — Gray 1 run (Frantz kick) 2nd - 4:30
A — Gray 2 run (kick failed) 3rd - 11:26
A — Gray 13 run (Garrett Ellis kick) 4th - 11:54
W — Reynolds 26 pass to Dane Perkins (Micah Blanton kick) 4th - 7:24
A — Clay Wooten 18 pass to Preston Bartley (Ellis kick) 4th - 3:30
Team stats: WHS AHS
First downs 12 23
Rushes-yards 42-244 39-287
Passing yards 67 176
Comp-att-int 3-8-0 9-17-1
Punts-avg. 5-29.1 1-44
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-65 5-42
Individual leaders:
Rushing: W — Trooper Reynolds 20-141, Austin Livingston 5-39, Jake Bartels 4-28; A — Johnathan Gray 26-213, Matthew Bishop 6-48.
Passing (comp-att-yds-TD): W — Reynolds 3-7-67-1; A — Bishop 7-15-130-1, Clay Wooten 2-2-44-1.
Receiving: W — Dane Perkins 2-46, Andrew Harris 1-21; A — Michael Mann 2-72, Shea Wood 2-48, Preston Bartley 2-33, Todd Christian 3-22.
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