Aledo keeps its record district win streak intact with rout of NRH Richland
One of the biggest threats to Aledo’s national-record, 132-game district winning streak came a year ago when North Richland Hills Richland took the Bearcats to overtime before succumbing.
Aledo remembered it, and refused to repeat it.
The Bearcats jumped all over Richland in the first half en route to a 72-10 victory in a District 3-5A Division I game on Thursday at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Center. The win extends their district winning streak to 133 consecutive games.
“Yeah, it was definitely on our mind,” said Aledo quarterback Lincoln Tubbs, of Richland nearly ending the streak last season. “We knew what was at stake, and we knew how big of a challenge this was going to be. It put an emphasis on the mindset we had going into this game.”
Aledo (8-0, 6-0), No. 1 in the state in Class 5A Division I according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, escaped with a 48-42 win last season against Richland. The Bearcats were also pushed to the brink two weeks ago against No. 5 Denton Ryan, trailing 14-2 in the third quarter before rallying for a 15-14 win.
Tubbs was unstoppable, especially in the first half as the Bearcats rolled up 524 yards before the break. Tubbs rushed 10 time for 134 yards and a 3-yard touchdown and threw for 269 yards, completing 12 of 19 passes with TD passes of 51, 43, 51 and 10 yards.
Aledo scored points on all eight of its first-half possessions and finished with 646 yards of total offense on the night.
“I think we all went out there and executed our jobs as best as we could, and it all goes back to our preparation,” said Tubbs, who didn’t step foot on the field in the second half. “Every single part of the team was on point today. We were just thriving.”
Aledo scored 34 points in the second quarter. Tubbs’ 43-yard scoring pass to Bayne Martin gave the Bearcats a 24-0 lead with 10:45 left in the second quarter, and his 3-yard scoring run gave upped the lead to 31-0 with 4:15 before the intermission.
Aledo scored 28 points in the final 4:15 of the second quarter to lead 51-7 at halftime.
“For me, personally, the fact that they pushed us and almost beat us wasn’t really on my mind, but you could tell that we had a little more hunger out there coming off of last year’s game,” said Aledo receiver Kaydon Finley, who finished with seven receptions for 168 yards and TDs of 51, 51 and 10 yards. “We couldn’t really let them come out here and hang with us so we put our best game forward. The score talks for itself.”
Aledo, the top team in the Star-Telegram Class 5A rankings, had not allowed more than 14 points in a game this season and against Richland (6-3, 5-2), No. 5 in the Star-Telegram 5A rankings, it was no different.
“We’re just very special on defense,” said junior cornerback Alex Patton, whose 37-yard pick-6 gave Aledo a 58-7 lead early in the third quarter. “We’ve been locked in since day one. We have unfinished business and want to get back to the state championship game, and win.”
Aledo coach Robby Jones agrees.
“You know, you can’t pat yourself on the back too much, but after tonight I’m gonna give these guys a little credit. ... We’re pretty good on defense,” said Jones, who’s team gave up 224 yards of total offense. “That was a really good running back, and we only gave him one good run. He also hurt us with a screen pass, but it was a pretty good job by our defense.”
The running back Jones was referring to was Richland’s electric Jayshon Gibson. The Royals picked up 149 yards on four plays with 75 more yards coming on 54 plays with Gibson accounting for a 65-yard scoring run and a 28-yard screen pass.
Aledo kept the junior corralled the rest of the time. Gibson rushed for just 73 yards on eight carries and had two receptions for 38 yards.
“Them threatening the streak was definitely on our minds, and we knew that we had to lock in,” said Aledo running back Kaden Winkfield, who finished with 86 yards rushing on five carries, opening the scoring with a 44-yard run and adding a 22 yarder late in the second quarter. “We talked about it all two weeks, especially on our break. We had to get our minds straight.
“Everything was working tonight and I think having a team dinner yesterday, some bonding time, helped everyone’s mindset coming into the game. We tried something new, and it really brought us together as a team and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM.