A year ago, Aledo moved up to 5A Division I and didn’t miss a beat, destroying College Station for the state title.
The Bearcats are hungry to repeat this year, but to do so, they’ll have to get by some new faces at the state level.
Here’s what to watch for in the 5A Division I state semifinals.
Aledo Bearcats (14-0) vs. Forney Jackrabbits (13-1) Friday 7:30 p.m. at Midlothian
Before this season, Forney hadn’t even won a playoff game since 2015. Now, the Jackrabbits are in their first state semifinal since 2002. A win on Friday and they’d move on to play for their first state championship since 2000.
It speaks to the remarkable growth Forney has shown under head coach Jeff Fleener. When he took over before the 2021 season, the Jackrabbits were coming off an 0-9 campaign. After back-to-back 7-4 seasons to start his reign, they have burst onto the scene at the state level this season. Last week, they scored an emotional double overtime victory over Lancaster to secure the regional title.
Final | Forney 43, Lancaster 41
Forney wins on a two-point conversion and reaches the state semifinals for the first time since 2000. pic.twitter.com/v9zT8qP1Ah
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) December 2, 2023
For the Jackrabbits, they love to pound the football with sophomore running back Javian Osborne (2,154 yards and 37 touchdowns). They are far from one dimensional though as senior quarterback Kyle Crawford stepped in well to the full-time starting role after splitting time last year. Fellow senior Kofi Eduful tends to be his go-to target when Forney needs a play in the passing game.
On the other side of the ball, Forney has some dudes on defense. Their leading tackler is sophomore Landry Hopkins and they also have three-star linebacker Kelvion Riggins (82 tackles) and Oregon commit Aaron Flowers at safety.
But can they do enough to hang with Aledo? TCU commit quarterback Hauss Hejny showed off his dual threat ability last week against Abilene throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 105 yards and another score in Aledo’s 56-21 win. He has quite the trio of backs that can line up alongside him in highly touted sophomore Raycine Guillory (1,236 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns), senior Hawk Patrick-Daniels, and LSU commit Davhon Keys (31 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week).
Keys though is primarily a linebacker where he leads the Aledo defense with 148 tackles. The Bearcats also have a cornerback duo of Arkansas commit Jaden Allen and Arizona State commit Chris Johnson Jr., so Crawford will certainly be tested in this one.
Forney’s most likely path to victory is to contain Hejny. He did have two interceptions last week, so if they can frustrate him and force those errors, it may be their ticket to pulling off the upset.
Smithson Valley Rangers (13-1) vs. Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers (12-2) Friday 7 p.m. @ Corpus Christi
On Friday night, Veterans Memorial will become The Valley’s first team since 2003 to play in a state semifinal game. The Chargers will take on Smithson Valley, which hasn’t played for a state title since 2004. Overall, it’s a massive opportunity for both programs.
The Chargers looked dead and buried last week down to Miller 28-7, but they roared back to win 35-28. Just like last week, Veterans Memorial is going to lean on its rushing attack. It rushed for 339 yards in the regional final and has racked up over 4,500 yards on the ground this season. Expect running back Gilbert Trillo, fullback Alvin Trevillion, and quarterback Michael Montoya to split the carries. Trillo had 137 rushing yards last week, while Montoya had four touchdowns on the ground.
Defensively, they do have a knack for forcing turnovers. They had two a week ago. Trillo leads the secondary with six interceptions on the season. Expect Jaime Martinez to anchor the defense at linebacker (158 tackles, 10 TFLs).
Smithson Valley, meanwhile, got its revenge against College Station in the regional semifinals after it suffered a heartbreaking loss to them a year ago. Last week, it knocked off A&M Consolidated 31-24 after rallying from a 17-0 deficit.
Just like Veterans Memorial, it is going to want to pound the football. According to Smithson Valley’s media team, Brad Sowersby rushed for 245 yards last week. If they do want to let the ball fly, they have quite the weapon out at receiver in Texas commit Freddie Dubose.
This game will likely be a physical one where every yard is at a premium. Whoever can establish their dominance in the trenches will have the inside track to earning a long-awaited berth in the state title game.
