There is no high school football program in Texas that can match all that the Aledo Bearcats have accomplished. Most notably, they have won a dozen state championships, with the next nearest being nine.
From there, the list of records, both state and national, seems endless. From being the only team to score 1,000 points in a season (2013) to holding the longest district winning streak ever (127 and counting), if it’s happened on a high school football field, it’s hard to imagine Aledo not being involved.
The vast majority of these accomplishments have occurred over the past decade and a half. However, there was one team a half century ago that would fit in perfectly fine with the modern-day Bearcats.
The 1974 season marked the first time Aledo got a taste of greatness, playing for the program’s first state championship before falling 19-18 to Grapevine in the Class 1A final. And while they didn’t bring home the coveted trophy, they were a two-point conversion away from being remembered as the first team to win a state championship in Aledo football history.
Instead, that distinction would go to the boys golf team in 1978.
It’s not always championships that create memories. The 1974 team is still talked about today.
In fact, current Bearcats head coach Robby Jones said the phone line to a fax machine in the school district was once 1974.
“It was one of the first things I was told about when I got here (in 2000 as an assistant),” Jones said. “We’d won state in 1998, but that was only the second time we’d gotten there and 1974 was the first.
“That season is still special. I suppose it’s kind of gotten swallowed up in all the championships we’ve won now, but that was one heck of a team.”
With this being the 50th anniversary of that team, it was mentioned a little more often this season, of course. But even before, when someone would ask about how long Aledo has been great, someone else would slip in a reminder not to forget the 1974 Bearcats, arguably one of the best teams ever not to win state.
So just how good were the 1974 Bearcats? They had a defense that was nothing short of phenomenal, posting 10 shutouts and going 11 games without giving up an offensive score (Cedar Hill scored on a safety in the season opener).
In fact, it was six games into the season before an opponent scored on the Bearcats. They escaped against Lake Dallas with a 19-15 victory, their closest game of the season, except for the state championship.
As for the offense, They were pretty prolific as well, scoring 40 or more points seven times, including one five game stretch when they outscored their opponents 334-6.
In all, the Bearcats outscored their opponents by an average of 39-4 en route to a 14-1 record.
The 1974 season began with a 20-2 victory against Cedar Hill, followed by four straight shutouts of Northwest (20-0), Joshua (25-0), Glen Rose (47-0) and Sanger (12-0).
District featured something familiar to today’s Bearcats fans, a perfect run. The team went 5-0, defeating Lake Dallas (19-15), Southlake Carroll (56-14), Boyd (77-0), Coppell (65-0) and Millsap (94-0).
In the postseason, the roll continued. Bi-district was a 42-6 win over China Spring, regionals was a 20-0 win against DeLeon, then came a 46-0 victory against Princeton in the state quarterfinals, followed by a 22-0 triumph of Jim Ned to reach the state final.
In the championship game, Aledo was on the verge of a title and could have settled for a tie and a co-championship. However, coach Charles Lawrence opted to go for a two-point conversion that did not succeed.
It would be Lawrence’s last game at the helm of the Bearcats. In two seasons his teams were 22-4 with two district championships.
Also worth noting is this was a time when districts were winner-take-all. Only the league champion went on to the playoffs.
Case in point, the 1975 Bearcats, coached by Jim Smith, finished 9-1 but missed the postseason after placing second in district to Lake Dallas.
A glance at the stats sheet from that 1974 final without seeing the final score and one would immediately think Aledo won handily. The Bearcats dominated the Sandies everywhere except the scoreboard.
Aledo had a 21-9 first downs advantage, a 380-241 yards gained advantage - including 257-145 rushing. Neither team threw an interception. Aledo recovered two Grapeland fumbles and only surrendered one of their own.
The Bearcats even had a penalty advantage, committing just two for 25 yards to four for 35 yards against Grapeland.
Still, after trailing by just a point (7-6) at the half, a bad third quarter left Aledo in a hole, 19-6, entering the final period. A fourth-quarter rally with a 14-yard touchdown run and a 29-yard TD pass was squelched when a run for two was stymied with 51 seconds remaining.
When the Sandies recovered an onside kick, Aledo’s dream of a perfect season came to an end.
A district of growth
The entire district was Class 1A then, the second smallest of all in the University Interscholastic League. Only Class B was smaller and the largest was Class 4A.
Now look at how those school districts have grown. Southlake Carroll and Coppell are in Class 6A, Aledo is 5A on the verge of being 6A in the near future and Lake Dallas is 4A. Also, while not having grown as much, Boyd and Millsap are now in 3A.
Yes, we remember the 1974 Bearcats football team as we close the door on the 50th anniversary. But they are worth remembering for much more than simply a passage of time.
Of course the question comes to mind of how would they fare against any of today’s teams? I’m reminded of the time Michael Jordan was asked how his 1996 Chicago Bulls team that went 72-10 would have done against the 2016 Golden State Warriors who were 73-9.
Jordan responded that he thought it would be a close game, but the Bulls would win. He followed with saying, “Of course, we’re all in our fifties now.”
It was a different style of football back then, but just like today, the Bearcats played it greatly. And, just like today’s teams, the 1974 squad has earned its special place in Aledo folklore.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here