James Albritton/The Community News: Senior Aaron Corby returns a Boswell punt 55 yards to put the Aledo Bearcats up 13-0 in the first quarter of tonight's game.

By Tony Eierdam

Aledo scored 28 first-quarter points on its way to a 44-0 blowout victory over Boswell Friday night in District 6-4A action at Bearcat Stadium.

The win lifts the state-ranked No.4 Bearcats to 5-0, and 2-0 in district play.

The Bearcats scored all 44 points in the first half, thanks in huge part to a stingy defense that created three turnovers and forced five punts in the first 24 minutes of play.
Aledo scored a touchdown on its first four possessions, and in between also had a punt returned 55 yards for a score by senior Aaron Corby. AHS piled up 248 yards of total offense in the first half, including 193 on the ground.

Senior quarterback Tanner McDonald led the Bearcats' ground attack with 91 yards on eight carries in the first half, including a pair of TDs.

Also in the first half, freshman running back Jonathan Gray contributed 65 yards on seven carries with a touchdown, and senior Jole Hasley rushed six times for 33 yards. Gray finished the night with a team-leading 137 yards on 18 totes.

Defensively, Dillon Hawkins grabbed an interception, with Garrett Young and Jon Koontz each recovering a fumble. Kuntz's recovery came after a jarring hit by Cy Wilson on an unsuspecting Boswell ball carrier. Wilson finished with three sacks and two forced fumbles.

"I was extremely happy with the first half," Bearcats head coach Tim Buchanan said. "Offense, defense and special teams played extremely well for the entire first half. We rested some starters in the second half, and I was hoping to stick it in the end zone with the No. 2s. They played well but just couldn't get it in the end zone.
"Defensively, not only was I pleased with the shutout, but the defense gave the offense a short field all night (by recording turnovers).
"It was a team effort, and we had a chance to play a lot of people. I think everyone who suited up stepped on the field."

After holding Boswell to -2 yards on their first possession, the Bearcats took a 7-0 lead with 10:17 remaining in the first quarter on a 28-yard run off left tackle by McDonald on Aledo's second play from scrimmage. Chase Rutherford booted the extra point.

The Bearcats struck again with 8:36 left in the first on a 55-yard punt return by Aaron Corby after the defense again held Boswell to -2 yards to go up 14-0.

McDonald scored the third touchdown of the opening period on a 19-yard keeper. The extra point was blocked, leaving the Bearcats with a 20-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

The Bearcats were not through in the first quarter, however, as freshman Johnathan Gray ran ran for an 8-yard touchdown and Joel Hasley followed-up with a two-point conversion to put Aledo ahead 28-0 with 1:12 left in the quarter.

In the second quarter, Joel Hasley broke three tackles on a 42-yard pass play from McDonald early in the second quarter. Rutherford's extra point put Aledo up 35-0.

Aledo went up 41-0 when Aaron Ates, with a huge hole off left tackle, sprinted in from 10 yards out. The PAT failed on a fumbled snap.
The Bearcats closed the scoring when Chase Rutherford kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1 second on the clock to close out the half.

There was no scoring in the second half.

For the complete story, with more comments from Buchanan and thoughts from the Bearcats, please see the Oct. 10 issue of The Community News.