The Aledo Bearcats finished off non-district play last week with their first win of the season against Euless Trinity. That win was aided by strong offensive and defensive play.
District play begins Friday, Sept. 18, for the Bearcats when they’ll meet the Granbury Pirates (2-1) in Granbury.
The Pirates boast a dynamic offense, putting up more than 50 points in their two wins of the season against Cleburne and Irving, in which they scored 54 and 55 points, respectively. The offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Caleb Johnson, who has thrown for 435 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 277 yards and seven touchdowns. Running backs Spencer Taylor and Kobe Barrington have rushed for a combined 602 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receiver Lukas Rodriguez has accounted for six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown through two games played.
Aledo aims to neutralize the Pirates’ run game in Week 4.
“It starts up front. Our defensive line has done a really good job against the run all season, so we’re expecting them to step up again and put a stop to the Granbury run game,” Bearcats head coach Robby Jones said. “They’ve got a dual-threat quarterback, and we have to make sure that we’ve got assignments on him as well. Relying on the front four, like we have all season, should be able to help take care of their run game.”
Defensively, the Pirates have forced three fumbles, along with combining for 127 total tackles on the season. Rylan Hager leads the team in total tackles with 17, with Crew Sherrill and Zay Neal right behind him with 15 and 12, respectively.
Aledo is coming off of a win over Euless Trinity, where they stymied the Trojans’ offense, holding them to seven points. Offensively, the Bearcats shined, led by strong performances from quarterback Tre Williams who finished with 220 yards passing and two touchdowns and wide receiver Kane Lanier who had eight receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bearcats want to keep playing to their strengths in this week’s district opener.
“Each week, we try to build upon getting better,” Jones said. “We showed last week what we’re capable of when we play up to our potential, so we want to continue that. The goal this week is to go out and have a fast start. That was key to us last week, even though the first series didn’t go like we wanted. Once the defense made the stop on fourth down, the offense got rolling. We want to build on that and keep going.”
With district play beginning, Aledo is riding a historic 135-game win streak in district play, dating back to October 5th, 2007.
That streak will be tested against a tough Granbury team.
Aledo will take on Granbury on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at Pirate Stadium.
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