Aledo makes UIL state history with 11-man record 9th championship, 8th in 11 years
Aledo is all alone in UIL 11-man state history.
And the Bearcats weren’t going to be denied Saturday during a title rematch from a year ago.
With a heavy dose of Jake Bishop in the first half and Jase McClellan in the second half, Aledo gave Fort Bend Marshall fits on its way to a 45-42 victory in the Class 5A Division II title game at AT&T Stadium before 29,138 in attendance.
Aledo (15-1), ranked No. 1 in the final Dave Campbell’s 5A D2 state rankings, captures its state-record ninth football title, breaking a tie with Southlake Carroll, Celina and Katy. The Bearcats win their eighth title in 11 years and are tied with 6-man Richland Springs, which won Wednesday, for the UIL record in any classification.
And the Bearcats did it in Tim Buchanan’s return as head coach.
“When I first came back, it was because of the kids. Love being around kids. They get you excited to wake up in the morning and go to work,” said Buchanan, who won his sixth title with Aledo. “We replaced the entire offensive line and had a bunch of new faces on defense, but it was exciting to watch the kids grow and get better every week.”
McClellan, a 4-star running back, rushed for 218 yards and touchdowns of 63 and 17 yards in the second half to help the Bearcats pull away from the Buffalos. He signed his letter of intent with Alabama on Wednesday.
“Went into the locker room and felt like I had to come out and make some plays,” said McClellan, who’s been battling injuries all season. “I had to put the pain aside and do it for the team.”
McClellan, who has played in the state final all four years, winning three titles, scored from 63 yards to put Aledo ahead 35-20 with 7:56 left in the third quarter. Micco Little kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 38-20 lead late in the period.
“Our coaches saw some things up front that we could do to get Jase loose, and it worked out well,” Buchanan said.
McClellan added his 17-yarder midway through the fourth that gave the Bearcats a 45-27 lead, but Marshall was able to score three touchdowns in the final 13 minutes to make it close.
The Buffs got two TDs from Texas A&M commit Devon Achane, from 17 yards late in the third quarter and 2 yards in the fourth to get Marshall within 45-34 with 4:15 to play.
Aledo couldn’t run out the clock when it turned the ball over on downs at the 1:44 mark.
Four plays and 74 yards later, the Buffs narrowed the deficit to three on an 8-yard TD pass from Malik Hornsby to Brandon Tryon. But Marshall didn’t recover the ensuing onside kick, sending Aledo to victory formation.
“This is the best one,” McClellan said. “The 2020 class was able to finish it out, and it’s the last football game for a lot of the guys, so glad we were able to win another state championship.”
Aledo had its way with Marshall’s secondary in the first half with three TD passes from Bishop. Utah signee Money Parks, who finished with six catches for 132 yards and two TDs, scored on a 28-yard screen play to give Aledo a 7-0 lead with 8:37 left in the opening quarter.
Five minutes later, Aledo added to its lead, 14-0, when star junior receiver Jo Jo Earle was wide open for a 40-yard touchdown catch from Bishop, who threw for 244 yards on 11-of-16 passing.
Then Bishop found Parks for a second time down the Aledo sideline for 34 yards as the Bearcats took a 21-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
“Worked on the game plan all week, got our timing down. JoJo and Money are great route runners, and I always know where they are,” said Bishop, who won his third title, the second as a starter. “I just throw it up and give them a chance to make a play.”
Marshall started slow, but the offense began to roll when the Buffs scored late in the first quarter as Hornsby ran in from the 10 to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Marshall, which opened in 2002, went in for the tie after a Tryon 13-yard run early in the second quarter, but the extra point was missed, leaving Aledo with a 14-13 edge.
Then Hornsby snuck in from the 1 to get Marshall within 21-20 with 90 seconds left until the break.
Bishop scored on a 1-yard run to give Aledo a 28-20 lead at intermission, capping off an 8-play, 58-yard drive that started with 1:26 left on the clock.
“Marshall is so explosive and well coached, and a great football team,” Buchanan said. “We knew we couldn’t give them much time, or they could score multiple times, and Jake did a good job managing the clock.”
Aledo’s other state titles came in 1998, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, when it beat Marshall 55-19.
“You gotta win (at Aledo),” said Bishop, who was voted title game Offensive MVP. “There’s no other option.”
DeMarco Roberts, who had a game-high 10 tackles, was voted Defensive MVP.
This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 2:02 PM.
