Bearcats open season with matchup against powerhouse North Crowley

The Aledo Bearcats are no stranger to tough competition. It’s what’s helped them win 12 state championships. 

Following a district realignment sending them up to Class 6A, the expectation still remains the same, and it’s to hoist championship gold in December inside AT&T Stadium.

The journey back to Arlington for the Bearcats will begin with a Week 1 non-district road matchup against the North Crowley Panthers, another team that’s established itself as a football powerhouse in the state of Texas.

This is the first time both programs have faced one another since Sept. 7, 2007. The Bearcats won that game, 28-7.

While this year’s game has generated lots of buzz, locally and even nationally, head coach Robby Jones is adamant about having a simple approach going into it.

“It’s just another game on our schedule,” Jones said. “It’s a big-time game against probably one of the most talented teams in the state of Texas, so we’ve gotta make sure that we go out and do what we’re supposed to. Everybody has a job, and you’ve gotta go do your job as well as you can do it.”

Despite both teams being consistently in the hunt for state titles, they’re each coming off an uncharacteristic playoff exit. The Bearcats lost to Frisco Lone Star in last season’s state semifinals, and the Panthers fell to the Allen Eagles in the regional finals.

Both teams also enter the season in a similar new slate. The Bearcats have almost an entirely new roster, replacing all but five starters from last season. The Panthers have a similar predicament following former head coach Ray Gates departing to join Neal Brown’s coaching staff at University of North Texas, along with transfer quarterback Jacob Torres coming in to be the new starter.

However, despite navigating roster changes, Jones still maintains confidence in his individual players to help lead his team to a Week 1 win. Jones specifically shined in on his expectations for the secondary, defensive line, and rushing attack.

“You’ve gotta look at Jordan Hall; he needs to have a good game covering their top receivers. You’ve also gotta look in the back end as well. Cooper Hull needs to have a good game. Our defensive line, which is probably the strong point of our team, they’ve gotta have a great game. Offensively, we need a lot of production out of Jeremiah Johnson and Izzy Roberts in the run game. We’ve gotta go out and grind out some first downs, get the clock rolling, and try to get things in our favor.”

There’s a lot of outside buzz regarding Aledo’s district move up and how it could fare for the Bearcats’ title hopes this season. Jones and his Bearcats hope to make a statement this week with a win.

“A win this week is gonna show people that all of the doubt they’ve had about us is wrong,” Jones said. “We’ve played some really talented 6A programs in the past, and we’ve held our own against those programs. We feel like we can go out and compete with just about anybody in the state of Texas.” Aledo will kick off the season at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 at Crowley ISD Stadium.