Aledo extends Pennington Field domination with playoff rout of Lucas Lovejoy

There’s no place like home.

But for the Aledo Bearcats, Pennington Field is a nice substitute.

The Bearcats ran their record to 12-1 at the stadium with Friday’s 62-28 victory against Lucas Lovejoy in a Class 5A Division II area-round playoff game.

Aledo (12-0) advances to the third round of the postseason for a sixth consecutive year.

The Bearcats are in the playoffs for a 23rd straight season, while this was the 10th time in 11 seasons for Lovejoy (8-3).

“I like playing here. For one thing, we’re 12-1,” Aledo coach Steve Wood said with a laugh. “But it’s close to home. The kids are comfortable. The fans like it. It’s not like we’re going to a strange place.”

The only time the Bearcats have lost at Pennington was in 2008, in the area round to Everman.

Against Lovejoy, the Bearcats were never in trouble. They got a career rushing day out of star running back Jase McClellan, who finished with 306 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries.

“I didn’t realize it was that many yards, but I knew the yardage was piling up,” McClellan said, adding that this was his first 300-yard game. “It felt good. I liked playing into the fourth quarter.”

McClellan has seen limited second-half action this season. Wood said, however, he believes if McClellan had played more during the season we might have seen this kind of performance earlier.

“I don’t think he carried more than about 14 times in any previous game. If we’d left him in a lot of other games, he might have already done this, but it was one heck of a game,” Wood said.

McClellan had touchdown runs of 2, 14, and a pair of 1-yarders. He has 36 touchdowns on the season.

Perhaps the game’s most critical moment came late in the first quarter. A kickoff landed on the field and was untouched by anyone on the Lovejoy team. A horde of players from both teams dove for the ball, and underneath the pile Aledo’s Ryan Anderson had possession at the Leopards’ 19-yard line.

Three plays later, Aledo quarterback Jake Bishop connected with Jo Jo Earle for a 13-yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 lead with 3:07 left in the opening period.

“That was huge. There’s a big difference between being down 14-0 and having the ball, and being down 21-0 at that point. It knocked the wind out of their guts,” Wood said.

“It was a big play from Ryan, but that’s what he does,” McClellan said.

Anderson later scored a pair of touchdowns from 2 and 16 yards in the second half.

Bishop added another touchdown pass of 6 yards to Fay Hampton. He now has 20 TDs and one interception this season. Bishop also scored on a 6-yard run early in the game to put the Bearcats up 14-0.

Game was over when: Leading 14-0, Aledo’s Ryan Anderson fell on an untouched kickoff at the Lovejoy 19-yard line with four and a half minutes left in the opening quarter. Three plays later the Bearcats scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jake Bishop to Jo Jo Earle for a 21-0 advantage.

Play of the game: The aforementioned kickoff recovery, though not an onside kick, worked even better than one as it gave Aledo the ball deep in Lovejoy territory, opening the door for the Bearcats to take complete command of the game.

Offensive player of the game: Aledo running back Jase McClellan was nothing short of dominant. He finished with 306 yards on 26 carries with four touchdowns, giving him 36 on the season.

Defensive player of the game: Anderson, whose recovery of the untouched kickoff squelched any hopes of the Leopards getting back into the game.

Unsung hero of the game: Lovejoy wide receiver Beau Iovinelli hauled in nine catches for 154 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown. He accounted for more than half of the Leopards’ receiving yards.

What’s next: Aledo will face Dallas South Oak Cliff or Frisco in the third round, date and time TBA.

This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 5:20 PM.