Aledo’s district win streak was in jeopardy vs. Midlothian. Did the Bearcats pull through?
Senior cornerback Nathan Fingar’s 82-yard fumble recovery in the games’ first overtime helped Aledo stave off a herculean Midlothian effort Friday night as the state’s Class 5A Division 2 top-ranked team won 34-28.
The Bearcats (4-1, 3-0 District 5-5A) won their state record 86th district game in a row, a streak that began in 2007.
Demarco Roberts forced a fumble off a Midlothian’s attempted pitch, a game that was a back and forth affair all night.
Midlothian (4-2, 2-2) used the help of five different running backs, totaling 275 yards on the ground, led by Ethan Hill’s 98 yards and one score, his first putting the Panthers up 7-0 with a 1-yard plunge.
The Panthers opened the game on a 17-play drive, but it took Aledo three plays to tie it as quarterback Jake Bishop hit Money Parks on a 43-yard pass. It was tied at 7 after the first quarter.
Midlothian took the lead with a 2-yard run from Jeremy McCoy, but it took the Bearcats less than five plays to tie it as running back Demarco Roberts found the end zone on a 16-yard score for a 14-14 tie.
The score remained the same until late in the half when Nick De Los Santos hit Nathan Humphrey with a 15-yard score and Midlothian took a halftime lead at 21-14.
Each team scored once in the third as Bishop connected on a 39-yard strike to Jo Jo Earle, tying the score at 21, but the Panthers had the lead, thanks in part to McCoy’s second score, this time on a 3-yard run, and for the first time since Week 1, the Bearcats went into a fourth quarter trailing, at 28-21.
Midlothian seemed to have the game won, but a forced fumble with under two minutes to go on a fourth down and a recovery by Max Lucas gave Aledo new life.
The offense needed only seven plays before Bishop hit Parks from 11-yards out for the game’s tying score that put the game into overtime. Leading the charge for Aledo was Bishop, who threw for three scores and 166 yards through the air.
Midlothian was led by De Los Santos’ 143 total yards and one passing score.