Aledo rolls past Tyler John Tyler into state title game

Quarterback Luke Bishop rushed for 149 yards, Jess Anders added 115 more and the Aledo defense suffocated Tyler John Tyler from the start in a 44-14 victory Saturday in the Class 5A Division I semifinals at Hanby Stadium.

The Bearcats (14-1) will play either Austin Vandegrift or Temple for a state championship at noon Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Aledo stormed to its second straight title-game appearance, and fifth in six years, behind a steady rushing attack that rolled up 383 yards on 58 carries.

The Bearcats won the Class 4A Division II title championship last year and three straight titles from 2009-2011.

Aledo’s defense on Saturday never let Tyler’s stars get going.

Tyler senior Jeremy Wilson, who needed 284 yards rushing Saturday to tie Earl Campbell’s single-season school record, finished with 30.

Quarterback Geovari McCollister, who gave McKinney North fits a week ago, was 9-of-18 passing for 75 yards.

“We’re not bad,” first-year coach Steve Wood said of his defense. “We knew they were going to throw and catch some passes, but we had to take away [the run game]. We couldn’t let them run the ball, then have them pick us apart throwing it.”

The pressure from the Bearcats came early and often.

Aledo forced three-and-outs on Tyler’s first two possessions, following the first with a 27-yard touchdown run by Ryan Newsome.

The Bearcats were stopped on fourth-and-2 on their second possession, but followed that with an interception from Patrick Peek at the Aledo 5.

Later in the quarter, McCollister scored on a 4-yard run to make it 10-7. But Aledo answered with an impressive drive led by Bishop, who delivered one of the best performances of a career that includes last year’s 16-0 championship season.

The senior evaded pressure on third-and-7 to hit Newsome for a 10-yard gain.

Bishop then snuck through the middle of Tyler’s defense for a 13-yard gain before drawing a personal foul to push Aledo to the Lions’ 5.

Three plays later, he finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.

“Aledo’s bread and butter has always been that we’re going to hammer you, we’re going to pipe it down your throat,” Bishop said. “We knew they had not played a team like us. We were testing them out, and we proved that we’re hard to stop.”

Bishop hit Anders for a 30-yard touchdown pass before the half, sending the Bearcats up 24-7. They drove 83 yards on eight plays to take a 30-7 lead to begin the third quarter.

Tyler’s last chance came in the fourth quarter as Aledo led 30-14 and faced fourth-and-1. But again, Bishop delivered, running a sneak up the middle for 3 yards.

“We can throw it, but we knew we needed to control the time of possession,” Wood said. “We couldn’t give them so many snaps.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2014 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Aledo rolls past Tyler John Tyler into state title game."