Bearcat practices going well as season approaches

With the start of the regular season a week away, the Aledo Bearcats are well into preparation to begin defense of their 2023 state championship — the most recent in their state-record history of 12 state titles.

In each of the past two seasons the Bearcats have won the Class 5A Division I championship. They won three straight in 5A Division II from 2018-20. Their list of titles includes overall 5A titles, as well as 4A and 3A championships.

Practices began on Aug. 5 with 91 freshmen eager to put their imprint on the legendary program. A week later sophomores through seniors turned out.

“Practice has gone well. The kids have retained a lot of stuff that we worked on in the spring and summer workouts,” head coach Robby Jones said. “I think the kids are ready to be finished with the UIL acclimation period and get back to normal practices without limitations.”

With school beginning earlier this season, only the freshmen were able to get in extended workouts before having to start classes. And during that week, coaches also had teacher in-service meetings from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., so practices began at 5:15 a.m.

On Aug. 12, practice began at 5 a.m. for the first day of sophomores through seniors.

The program held an intra-squad scrimmage on Aug. 17. On Aug. 22 they played in their lone preseason scrimmage at Mansfield Timberview, which is coming off a 9-2 season in Class 5A Division II and returns six offensive and six defensive starters.

But then, it should come as no surprise the Bearcats scheduled a tough scrimmage opponent. They open the regular season with two very tough opponents, 6A perennially power Guyer in Denton on Aug. 30 before hosting 6A newcomer Lancaster on Sept. 6, a program that reached the 5A Division I Region II final in 2023.

Aledo head football coach Robby Jones addresses players during an intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 17.

On top of that, Aledo will be playing in arguably the toughest 5A district in the state this coming season, 3-5A Division I. The Bearcats, who return three offensive and four defensive starters, are preseason ranked No. 1 in the state, with Denton Ryan (8-3, second round of playoffs) preseason No. 2 and Richland (12-1, third round) No. 7.

Both Ryan and Richland are well-equipped for another strong run as the Raiders return eight offensive and seven starters, with the Royals returning eight on both sides of the ball.

The Bearcats will take a 30-game win streak into their season opener, one shy of the school record of 31 set in 2016-17. Their last loss was 44-14 to Guyer at home in the second game of the 2022 season. Aledo won last season's contest 48-45 in Denton.