MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the Aledo (Texas) Bearcats have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its fourteenth year honoring football.

This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Bearcats ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!

In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Fort Bend Marshall 55-19 in the UIL Conference 5A D2 state championship contest on Friday, December 21 marked the completion of an incredible 16-0 season — and earned Aledo an invitation to the Tour of Champions.

Fort Bend Marshall played with the champions for a quarter and a half before the Bearcats scored 41 unanswered points and cruised to their eighth state football title at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Buffaloes scored on a four-yard run with 10:23 left in the opening half to get within 14-12 of Aledo, but didn't score again until the waning moments of the fourth quarter and trailing 55-12.

Jase McClellan scored on runs of 42, six and two yards and caught a 22-yard pass from Jake Bishop to put the Bearcats up 28-12 at halftime. Tre Owens then opened second half scoring for Aledo with a three-yard plunge before Devan Daugherty latched onto a 20-yard scoring strike from Bishop and Bishop hit pay dirt from seven yards out. Jojo Earle caught a 27-yard strike from Bishop to score the only Bearcat points of the fourth quarter. Bishop completed 14 of 17 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 69 yards and a score on only seven carries.

McClellan led the Bearcat running attack with 149 yards and three scores on 21 rushes. Earle caught six balls to lead Aledo receivers with 79 yards and a score, while McClellan and Daugherty scored on their only catches of the game. Wyatt Harris led the Bearcat defense with six tackles, while Owens and Will Greenwood had five stops apiece. Oliver Crow played his way into two tackles for negative yards, while Greenwood recovered a fumble. Aledo out yarded the Buffaloes 489-269 and gave up just 10 first downs for the title contest. Aledo opened postseason play with a 48-13 win over Seagoville before knocking off Lovejoy 62-28. Then, following a 28-14 triumph over South Oak, the Bearcats kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 26-16 win over Reedy. Aledo bumped Rider from state championship contention with a 63-7 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Fort Bend Marshall.

Steve Wood's club opened the season with a 40-0 blanking of Guyer. Then, following a 51-14 win over Bentonville (AR), Aledo upended Centennial 63-16 to start the season 3-0. The Bearcats did not lose a game all year and outscored their competition 811-209. Aledo posted two shutouts on the year and held 10 foes to 14 points or less, while scoring a season-high 66 points in a win over University.

Having won all 16 games in 2018, the Bearcats set themselves up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Aledo ranked No. 2 in MaxPreps' Texas Region II Rankings, the Bearcats are the top team in MaxPreps' Texas Division 5A-2 Rankings and the fourth best club in all of Texas. Aledo is ranked No. 31 in MaxPreps' National Rankings!

These incredible season achievements have earned the Aledo Bearcats an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium for a National Signing Day Assembly as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Wednesday, February 6 at 4 p.m.