Aledo (Texas) football coach Tim Buchanan said the district has completed its investigation and found "no grounds" for bullying after a parent from the losing team filed a complaint following Aledo's 91-0 win over Fort Worth Western Hills on Friday.
Aledo, The Associated Press' No. 1-ranked Class 4A team in the state, led 56-0 at the half and went on to the lopsided victory despite playing mostly second- and third-team players in the final two quarters. Buchanan said he had his punt returner fair-catch balls after he had two long returns (including a touchdowns) in the first half. He put in his backups and simplified the playbook, but that didn't stop his team from scoring points in bunches.
A parent of one of the Western Hills players filled out a bullying form on the school district's website, accusing the coaching staff of not trying to do all it could to ease up. By law, the district had to investigate. Buchanan said he was scheduled to meet with the superintendent and others within the district office Wednesday as part of completing the investigation.
"I'm ready to coach another football game," Buchanan said. "I told somebody the other day that this is the equivalent to the state championship week with the media coverage."
Buchanan appears to have a team capable of getting to that state championship week this year, although his focus is just on this week.
"I've tried to insulate this from the kids," Buchanan said. "I told them Monday morning that we need to focus on one thing: Fort Worth Southwest."
Southwest is 5-2 this season, and Buchanan expects a tough challenge. So he was busy Wednesday morning looking at more film and worrying about something other than media interviews.
"It's a distraction, but we preach all the time about ignoring and overcoming that," Buchanan said. "That's how we'll approach it."
Western Hills coach John Naylor, whose team dropped to 0-7, didn't have any issues with how Buchanan and his staff handled the game, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the athletes played hard and didn't "talk at all."
"They're No. 1 for a reason, and I know Coach Buchanan," Naylor told the newspaper. "We're fighting a real uphill battle right now."