Since February, everyone has had this game circled. It is finally time to actually play the game.
Two of the brand names of Texas high school football. Thirteen combined state championships. Perennial contention for titles. Division I talent factories. Legendary coaches.
This game has everything.
And that includes a national record 109-game district win streak on the line, facing arguably its most perilous moment in its 15-year history.
The Aledo Bearcats have not lost a district game since Oct. 5, 2007. They in fact lost back-to-back district games that year, to Stephenville and Everman. The second loss, 35-28 to Everman in early October, was the last time they lost to a district opponent.
The kids who played in that game are now in their mid-30s.
This Friday night, Aledo and Ryan square off in a game that will be broadcasted by Friday Night Football, on the WFAA YouTube channel and WFAA+:
And the game figures to be a tightly contested affair that features some of the best athletes in the state.
Ryan is led by all-world linebacker Anthony Hill, the 5-star prospect who is committed to Texas A&M. Hill is the leader of a Ryan defense that features Division I prospects at all three levels.
The Raiders defense will have to slow down an Aledo offense led by a quarterback who is starting to click in a major way. Hauss Hejny had only one incompletion in the Bearcats win last week against Burleson Centennial.
Around that one incompletion, he had 13 completions for 272 yards and four touchdowns, to go along with a 12-carry, 176-yard, two-touchdown day on the ground.
Not too shabby.
Hejny, along with running back Hawk Patrick-Daniels and wideouts Jaden Pope, Kaydon Finley, and Gavin Olenjack present an offense that has averaged 60.2 points per game during their six-game win streak.
On the flip side, Denton Ryan's offense is led by quarterback Khalon Davis, running back Kalib Hicks, and wide receiver Jordyn Bailey. The first two, however, have battled injuries of late, and are question marks for Friday night. If they can both play, the Ryan offense is very dangerous.
But it won't be until closer to kickoff that their status is fully decided. If Hicks can't play, expect to see a lot of Bailey and Martayous Hurd carrying the football for the Raiders. Brody Quillin is the backup quarterback for the Raiders. He has played admirably in Davis' place this season.
Aledo's defense features its own collection of Division I talent at all three levels, led by four-star cornerback and Texas commit Jaden Allen. Middle linebacker Dahvon Keys and defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh are also sure-fire Division I talents with multiple scholarship offers.
Before the season, Aledo head coach Tim Buchanan told The Community-News that his defense "might turn into one of the best we’ve had.”
Over the course of their six-game win streak, the Bearcats have allowed only 14.2 points per game.
The Raiders are coming in off a loss. It's exceptionally rare that one can write that sentence. But Ryan lost to Burleson Centennial in their last game, on Oct. 7, 23-16. It was the first district loss for Ryan since November of 2014 against Denton Guyer.
The loss snapped Ryan's 52-game district win streak, which ties for the 18th-longest district win streak in Texas high school football history.
What a way to bounce back it would be, to take down the goliath of all district win streaks.
Our Friday Night Football broadcast hits the air at 6:50 p.m., followed by kickoff at 7 p.m.