Published: August 29, 2007 03:00 pm            

Bearcats’ road to success poses challenges

ALEDO — While the senior-laden Aledo Bearcats were able to run through their regular season schedule last year with a 9-1 record, a majority of the teams they faced were young and inexperienced at the varsity level.

It would seem that the table has turned, to some extent, in 2007.

The Bearcats have another large number of senior players, but all those young teams they faced last year are more experienced, bigger, faster, stronger and more mature, creating a challenging road for the Bearcats with one peculiar trait.

For the first four games of the season, including the district opener against Stephenville on Sept. 28, the Bearcats never leave Parker County. The Bearcats open the season with two straight home games against the Brewer Bears and Class 5A North Crowley Panthers. Then Aledo travels west 17 miles on Interstate 20 to its first away game of the season against Weatherford.

The first Aledo road game outside Parker County does not happen until Oct. 5 when the Bearcats tangle with the Everman Bulldogs. But Aledo head football coach Tim Buchanan doesn’t feel it matters all that much where the Bearcats play, especially to start the season.

“There is no more pressure at home than there is on the road,” Buchanan said. “These kids, especially this crew, have been in pressure games since they were sophomores, some of them since they were freshmen. They know what is expected of them from the coaches, the community. I think they relax more when they are at home.

“The ones who have not played before, they will be nervous and it will take them a while to get used to playing in front of big crowds. If they are very good, they will be like the rest of us and not notice the crowd after the opening kickoff.

“I never noticed that we have had a crowd until I see the gate receipts the next week. Hopefully, our kids are the same way.”

Even though the Bearcats travel outside of Parker County for their four other road games, none of them are further than an hour away, something that is not lost on Buchanan.

“You never know, one team to another, how [the team] is going to travel,” Buchanan said. “It is an advantage not to drive to Brownwood or Abilene for a district or non-district game, as far as getting ready to play. With the way our district lays out, even if you make the playoffs, you are not going to travel until the [state] quarterfinal game or something like that. It works out pretty good.”

Buchanan feels North Crowley and Brewer will better this year, but he doesn’t have a clear read on Weatherford yet.

“If they were not having a new coaching staff — it could make them better, could make them worse,” Buchanan said. “I have no idea. I don’t know anything about their coach, but I know, if they stay healthy, they are going to be a good team.”

Once district starts, it will be anyone’s guess as to who will win the district title. Last year, it was not until every game had been played that the district title and the playoff spots were decided. Buchanan hopes that is not the case again, but he feels that it could happen again.

The Bearcats’ regular season begins Friday at the new Bearcat Stadium against the Brewer Bears with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

        

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