After falling short of championship, Aledo football targets 13th state title
For the majority of Texas high school football programs, winning a district championship and making a trip to the regional final would mean that it was a great year.
Aledo, however, has much higher expectations.
The Bearcats are 12-time state champions — the most of any school in Texas. Every season, Aledo’s standard remains the same: compete for a state title.
Four-star senior wide receiver Kaydon Finley, a Notre Dame pledge, said last year’s team fell short of its expectations and potential.
“We weren’t really bought into the program,” Finley said. “I think this year from us, you can expect a good, long season. Everybody is bought into to the tradition, and we’re gonna go get 13.”
Aledo head coach Robby Jones said he saw the same complacency from last year’s team. However, he said they’ve righted the ship heading into this season.
“I think this summer and offseason, we saw a lot more focus on making sure that we were here and doing what we were supposed to be doing,” Jones said. “We kind of lost focus with that last season, especially during the summer months. And I think we were a little complacent, and we talked about that — we can’t be complacent. We need to make sure that we’re focused up and we’re doing exactly what you’re being asked to do each and every day.”
The Bearcats return 13 starters and are a favorite to compete for the Class 5A Division I state championship. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football ranks them No. 1 in Class 5A Division I.
Aledo’s quarterback competition
Aledo has one of its biggest games of the year in Week 1 against Class 6A powerhouse Denton Guyer. Jones said the team needs to fine-tune a few things but that it will be ready for the challenge.
“We’re going to be breaking in new quarterbacks, and that’s always a concern,” Jones said. “How do they go out and compete and handle the situation? But we got a lot of returning starters, so I feel like those returning starters, they’ll be ready for it.”
With Georgetown pledge Gavin Beard transferring to All Saints, the Bearcats have two options at the QB position: senior Lincoln Tubbs or junior Nash McElree. Jones, who will make a decision before the Guyer game, said both are throwing the ball equally well during practice.
Jones mentioned that Tubbs has a slight advantage due to his elite speed. Whether McElree or Tubbs is the starter, Finley expects either to thrive.
“I’m confident in their ability to throw the ball, run the ball,” Finley said. “And just making decisions in the game. They both have great leadership skills. They’re both great guys.”
Aledo’s talent to watch
Leading the charge offensively is Finley, who received Star-Telegram All-Area First Team honors as a junior. He tallied 1,432 yards and 21 touchdowns on 81 receptions.
“We’re expecting him to duplicate that and possibly do better,” Jones said. “We’re going to need him to do that. He’s one of our main weapons. The best football player we have on the offensive side of the football. So he’s got to go make plays.”
At running back, keep an eye on Kaden Winkfield to shine. Last year, he rushed for 888 yards and 13 touchdowns. With star running back Ray Guillory now in college at Utah, Winkfield will have ample opportunity, and he’ll operate behind a loaded offensive line that includes UTSA commit Payton Williams and returning starter Ryan Campbell.
“We don’t have one bad offensive lineman on the team,” Finley said. “All of them are pretty aggressive. They love the game, and they’re willing to do anything they can to win the game for the person to the left and the right of them.”
On the defensive line, Tulsa pledge Carson Dempsey leads a very talented unit that also includes senior Cooper Cyphers, junior Tymon Meeks and senior Decker Sanders.
“They get off the ball so well,” Jones said. “That first initial punch into the offensive line and getting a little bit of push and changing the line of scrimmage. We saw that all spring, and hopefully they do it against everybody else.”
At linebacker, senior Chase Wilburn’s talent shines. He made 92 tackles last season, leading the Bearcats. This year, he’ll move to the middle and take on increased responsibility, including getting the defense set.
“I think we’ve got the top front seven in the state of Texas,” Wilburn said. “Just my opinion. I think I put that group up against anybody. I expect a lot for myself and this defense.”
In the secondary, Army pledge Lamel Swanson should make big plays.
A lot on the line for Bearcats
Aledo football hasn’t gone back-to-back seasons without a state championship since 2008. The 2025 season could be the Bearcats’ last in Class 5A, depending on the 2026 realignment.
The team will also put a historic 127-game district win streak on the line. The program briefly mentions the streak every now and then but doesn’t focus on it.
“We talk about the standard,” Jones said. “Doing things the right way, and being here every day, and putting in the work, trying to outwork our opponents, things like that.”
The stakes are high, yet Aledo elects to focus on what it can control: Becoming the best football team possible with the talent it has. At practice, the coaching staff emphasizes a need to get the task at hand done with full effort.
“Finish every rep. Finish every practice,” Jones said. “One of the other things that we saw last year was practice would start stalling out towards the end.”
Drills may seem repetitive, but in the end, fundamentals often win football games. To Jones, games usually come down to a few simple things: Winning the turnover battle, making and preventing big plays, catching passes and making tackles.
Mastering the easy things is a game-changer, especially in one of the tougher districts in Texas. The level of competition last year was high, and Jones said he expects more of the same this season.
Aledo defeated Denton Ryan in district play but fell to the Raiders in the playoffs. The Bearcats will also face Richland, a program that lost a lot of talent but is bound to have rising stars.
What does it take for players to buy in?
Dempsey said the talent is similar to last year, but this team is different.
“We just have a lot more guys that have bought in this year,” Dempsey said. “They have been buying in for the past couple of years. Last year, we had a really talented team but not everyone was bought into the program.”
What does buying in look like? It’s about reaching maximum potential on and off the field.
That involves personal growth and coming together as brothers to play for something bigger than yourself. To Wilburn, something as simple as sending Bible verses in the group chat contributes to that.
“I feel like this team has got a lot closer to God,” Wilburn said. “We’ve implemented Jesus Christ more into what we do.”
If the Bearcats are to win their 13th championship, they understand that it will take personal sacrifice from everyone involved. Dempsey said the team is willing to do whatever it takes.
“We’ll be together as a team every step of the way,” he said.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 10:58 AM.
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