Aledo looks to continue historic run in state title game
Since the start of the 2009 season, the Aledo Bearcats have won 85 games and lost only six. They’re 30-1 in the playoffs, and have outscored their opponents by more than 3,000 points.
They’ve strung together winning streaks of 29, 17 and, currently, 13 games. They’ve produced five first-team all-staters, a Gatorade National Player of the Year and two brothers who have combined for more than 16,000 total yards at quarterback. And they’ve totaled 42,966 yards of offense, which would be enough to make the 24-mile trek from Aledo High School to Porcupine Stadium in Springtown.
On Saturday, they’ll have a chance to add a fifth state title in six years.
Aledo (14-1) plays Temple (13-1) at noon in the Class 5A Division I championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Bearcats beat Tyler John Tyler 44-14 last week to earn a chance to defend its 2013 title — they beat Brenham 38-10 to win the 4A Division II championship last year.
“When kids expect to win, when they walk out onto that field, that’s a huge, huge battle for coaches to win,” said Aledo coach Steve Wood, who was promoted from defensive coordinator in July. “It’s a perfect time. And I’m not naive enough to not realize that.”
That winning mindset might have been forged before 2009, but that’s when it began to pay off.
Aledo won three straight titles starting that year, an era defined by running back Johnathan Gray. In addition to his national award as a senior, he was selected to the Associated Press Sports Editors first-team all-state three times.
Gray signed with Texas in 2012 after breaking the national record for career touchdowns (205).
Aledo’s second-round loss to Denton Guyer in 2012 was the Bearcats’ lone playoff loss the past six seasons.
Last year’s team went 16-0 and set a national scoring record with 1,023 points. They made national news during that season after beating Fort Worth Western Hills 91-0. It was one of seven games in which the Bearcats scored 70 points or more.
This year’s team hasn’t been as dominant, but it has been good enough to reach the championship game and possibly win it.
After losing 10 starters on defense, Aledo is holding teams to 16.3 points a game, while scoring 48.1 per game.
But Saturday afternoon, there will be only one line on their résumé that matters.
“We understand what the expectations are,” said Luke Bishop, who has has followed in his brother Matthew’s footsteps (2009-11) and quarterbacked Aledo the past two seasons. “In Aledo, if you don’t win state, you’re considered a disappointment. We realize we’re good enough to go win it, and we’re confident that we got this.”
Ryan Osborne, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @RyanOsborneFWST
Other dynasties
Southlake Carroll: 4 titles in 5 years (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Lake Travis: 5 straight titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Sealy: 4 straight titles (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
Abilene: 3 straight titles (1954, 1955, 1956)
Aledo stats back to 2009
State championships: 4 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013)
Overall record: 85-6
Playoff record: 30-1
Playoff appearances: 6 (second-round exit in 2012 to eventual state champion Denton Guyer)
Total yards: 42,966
(472.2 per game)
2009: 6,706
2010: 7,590
2011: 8,362
2012: 5,033
2013: 8,474
2014: 6,801
Total points: 4,534
(49.82 per game)
2009: 604
2010: 781
2011: 885
2012: 519
2013: 1,023
2014: 722
Total points
allowed: 1,323
(15.56 per game)
2009: 225
2010: 218
2011: 354
2012: 133
2013: 148
2014: 245
Winning streaks
29 (2009-2011), 14 (2011-2012), 17 (2013-2014)
Notable players
Johnathan Gray
Gatorade National Player of the Year (2011)
First-team All-State: 2009, 2010, 2011
9,920 yards rushing, 174 rushing TDs (career)
Bishop Brothers
Matthew Bishop, QB (2009-2011): 9,573 total yards, 102 touchdowns.
Luke Bishop, QB (2013-2014): 6,864 total yards, 85 touchdowns.
Ryan Newsome
Wide receiver/punt returner (2013-2014): 3,854 all-purpose yards, 9 punt returns for touchdowns.
First-team all-staters
Johnathan Gray, RB: 2009, 2010, 2011
Michael Wilson, OL: 2010
Latham Johnson, OL: 2011
Ernie McQuade, OL: 2013
Johnathan Durham, DB: 2014
This story was originally published December 20, 2014 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Aledo looks to continue historic run in state title game."