The No. 1 Aledo Bearcats’ march through the 2025 postseason continues after they followed up an 80-12 bi-district championship over Saginaw with a 42-0 triumph in the area round against Tascosa. In that game against the Rebels, which took place in Big Spring, the Bearcats saw Tascosa possess the ball for all but two minutes of the opening quarter as the opposition ran 28 plays through one and a half quarters. Despite their best efforts, though, Aledo was able to make the proper adjustments that allowed it to begin pulling away with a flurry of points and a bevy of stops, outscoring Tascosa 14-0 on just nine plays.
“They had to be able to adapt and change mid-game, because they (Tascosa) were doing some things differently in their blocking than what we had seen on film,” Bearcats head coach Robby Jones said. “We have the video technology now but, with our pressbox being on the opposite side of where our film deck was, we were getting a little bit of a delay – normally our video is instant. The offense was scoring the ball so quickly, so the coaches were having a hard time getting enough time on the sidelines to get all the adjustments made. By halftime, we were able to make all the adjustments that we needed, and you saw a big change after halftime with them not being able to move the ball against us at all.”
Aledo, which outgained Tascosa 398-126, got plenty of playmaking that came in clutch moments – including a Tymon Meeks fumble recovery that stifled Tascosa while it faced 3rd-and-goal from the Aledo 9 halfway through the second quarter.
“That’s the big thing. You can’t sustain a program if you don’t have kids that are buying in year in and year out,” Jones said. “We’ve got to continue having those kids that are buying in and doing everything that they’re asked to do. If we don’t do those things, you’re going to see our program start to slip, so it’s very important to have everybody buying in and doing what they’re asked to do.”
The Bearcat offense has been red hot, averaging 67.5 points per game while the defense has surrendered 24 total points across the team’s last six games. Coming into their latest postseason battle, Aledo (12-0, 10-0) is confident in its ability to affect the game from all angles.
“We feel comfortable running the ball or throwing the ball right now, and that’s a big thing going into big football games like we’re about to be going into,” Jones said. “Being able to run the football is going to be huge. When you get deep in the playoffs, that’s normally what separates the men from the boys, and we want to make sure that we are continuing to be able to run the football. But, whenever we feel like we need to throw the football, we need to go attack with the ball through the air.”
Arlington Heights (11-1, 7-1) is in the middle of its best season and has already matched its best postseason result since 1973. The Yellowjackets have a high-octane offense predicated on the run, which has averaged more than 311 rushing yards and 54.3 points per game. Junior running back Carson James leads the backfield with 2,310 yards (9.4 yards per carry) and 38 touchdowns on the ground while rangy, 6-foot-4 BYU commit, Antonio Johnson, is a threat to make plays from either side of the field.
“They’ve got a big offensive line and they like to run the football,” Jones said. “They’ve got a big, bruising running back (Carson James) who is tough to get on the ground, and they’ve got a quarterback (Carmelo Carter) that has some elite speed and can get after it. We’ve got to make sure we’re doing our best to shut down the run and then take care of the passing game. They do have a receiver that plays safety (Antonio Johnson) that’s committed to BYU. You’ve got an athlete out there that can go get the football, so we’ve got to focus really hard on stopping them while having a fast start ourselves and establish ourselves right away.”
Just as they have accomplished in their first two playoff wins, Aledo hopes that a fast start combined with suffocating defense can prove to be a winning formula for this regional semifinal matchup.
“The longer you let somebody have the confidence that they can play with you, the longer they’re going to stick in the game,” Jones said. “We’ve got to do a good job of stopping them early on defense and putting points on the board on offense. The guys are excited about being in the third round of the playoffs and getting almost to that exact point where we were last year. It’s a long season and, if you can’t get excited about being here at this point of the year, then those are the teams that kind of start falling off.”
The Bearcats and Yellowjackets will face off at 1 p.m. Friday at Crowley ISD Multipurpose Stadium for a spot in the Class 5A Division I regional final, where the winner will face the victor of the Richland-Denton Ryan matchup in the other semifinal contest.
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