Denton Guyer’s offense struggled to find a rhythm in its 21-14 loss against the 12-time state champion Aledo Bearcats on Friday night.
Last year, Guyer escaped Aledo with a 35-30 win to open the season. This year, it was a much more defensive game.
“Anytime you go on the road in a hostile environment and play a team of that caliber, you just have to anticipate you’re going to get their best,” said Guyer Head Coach Reed Heim. “We have to get better, and we will, because our guys are hungry and they work really hard and they know we’ll have to come into an environment like this again this season.”
Before the season, Heim said a big difference coming into this season would be a much less experienced starting offense. That played a big role in the season opener against such a high-level opponent.
“That [lack of experience] played into it,” he said. “It was Zephyr Kreye’s first start at quarterback, so I know he’ll get better. He’s determined to be great and nobody is more disappointed than he is tonight.”
Kreye struggled with the pass game in the first half, only converting for six passing yards. He ended the night with 93 passing yards and one passing touchdown. However, he also finished with a solid 62 rushing yards.
“He doesn’t have the most speed, but he is willing to run and he’s tough,” said Heim. “He’s going to get you what he can get you, so we’re not afraid to run him.”
Guyer running back Kaedyn Cobbs scored the first touchdown of the night for Guyer, a 37-yard rush that cut the deficit in half at the beginning of the third quarter.
“We saw some flashes of some great runs,” said Heim. He’s tough and grinned it out and he did a really great job of creating some momentum and keeping us in the game.”
Aledo responded a couple of drives later with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Kaden Winkfield, his second of the game.
Guyer tried a comeback with about four minutes left in the game when Kreye found wide receiver Carter Morgan for a 49-yard receiving touchdown on fourth down, making it a one-score game again, 21-14.
Aledo was forced to punt after going three-and-out, giving Guyer one last chance to tie the game with just under three minutes left in the game.
Kreye ran for 15 yards on two plays, but then threw three straight incomplete passes, turning the ball over on downs to Aledo, who kneeled the ball three times to run out the clock.
“Kudos to them,” said Heim. “Coach [Robby] Jones is a really great coach and it’s a great program he’s got over there.”
Heim said he believes that teams will improve the most between games one and two in a season because the players get live-game experience.
“I think we’ll be fine, we just have to make sure we keep our heads up and keep up the confidence we had going into this game,” said Heim. “We just have to remember that’s a good football team we lost to and get ready for Martin next week.”
Next week, the Wildcats will play on the road again, this time against Arlington Martin. Both teams will go into the matchup at UTA Mavericks Stadium looking for their first win as Martin lost 48-17 to Lake Travis.
Regional coverage
The season opener between Guyer and Aledo was streamed regionally on Victory+, a free streaming service that broadcasts the Dallas Stars for free and the Texas Rangers, for a fee.
Heim said the extra attention didn’t affect the players’ on-field play, but he thinks the game would have been a good one to watch on TV.
“I think that this game is one you would hope to get in a televised game,” he said. “At least regionally. If you’re a football fan, I’m not sure what you’re doing during a back-and-forth game like this other than being glued to it and I hope the viewership enjoyed it.”
Victory+ will feature a game of the week this season, highlighting one matchup that will be regionally streamed on the site.
