Photo by Brian McLean
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
ALEDO— The 2025 football season kicked off for the most prestigious program in the state on Friday night. In what has become an exciting non-district rivalry, the 12-time state champion Aledo Bearcats hosted the Denton Guyer Wildcats. Until this game, the Bearcats had never defeated Guyer at home. However, that streak came to an end as the Bearcat defense stood tall and made the plays when needed to give Aledo a 21-14 win on opening day.
“We’re happy to come out with a victory over a very good Guyer team,” head coach Robby Jones said after the win. “They’ve got a really good defense. That defense, that’s one of the reasons why we may have struggled offensively. And of course we’re breaking in a couple new quarterbacks and new running backs, but you’ve got to give those guys some credit.”
While the defense already looked state championship ready, the offense had some new faces to break in and it took some time. Lincoln Tubbs and Nash McElree both saw reps at quarterback and both made plays when they had to, including one play when McElree threw to Tubbs for a key first down. On top of that, the Bearcats also had two new faces at running back with Kaden Winkfield and Brady Powell both getting some good reps.
Things did not start well for Aledo. After receiving the opening kickoff, Winkfield fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and gave the ball to the Wildcats. Guyer was able to get the ball to the Bearcat 27 yard line before an incomplete pass gave it back to Aledo.
Tubbs and McElree swapped reps on the ensuing drive until the Bearcats faced a crucial third down play. McElree took the snap and drilled a perfect pass to Tubbs on the slant to set up first and goal. Two plays later, Powell took the handoff and punched it in from two yards out for the score to give Aledo a 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, McElree threw an interception deep in Aledo territory to give the Wildcats excellent field position. However the Bearcat defense stood tall again and Guyer had to settle for a field goal that ended up being blocked by Aledo’s Alex Patton.
Once again, the Bearcat offense rode the momentum of the defensive stop and drove down the field into Guyer territory before Winkfield broke back against the defense and raced 23 yards to paydirt.
Both teams went three-and-out on their next two possessions, making the halftime score 14-0 in favor of Aledo.
The second half started with a big swing in momentum as Guyer needed only four plays to finally get on the board when Kaedyn Cobbs broke free and raced 34 yards to the end zone.
After the teams traded punts, Winkfield broke away to give Aledo a big play deep into Guyer territory before finishing the job himself just a few plays later with a one yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation to give Aledo a 21-7 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Guyer was able to get the ball inside the Bearcat 30 yard line early in the fourth quarter, but could not convert on fourth down. This time it was the Wildcats’ turn to come up with the big defensive stop to get the ball back. Eight plays later on fourth down, quarterback Zephyr Kreye connected with Carter Morgan over the middle. Carter avoided a tackle and raced 49 yards to the end zone to keep Guyer in the game at 21-14.
A quick three-and-out from Aledo gave the Wildcats one more chance, but the Bearcat defense once again stood tall and turned Guyer over on fourth down to solidify the 21-14 win and the first home win against Guyer.
Aledo’s defensive performance earns them an early 1-0 record going into their road matchup at Lancaster(0-1) next Friday, while Guyer drops to 0-1 and will be on the road again next Friday against Arlington Martin(0-1).
