Last year, Aledo stumbled in the state semifinal. This year, they passed the test and head to the 5A Division II title game after they defeated Mesquite Poteet 38-14 at Ford Center.
“Its unbelievable, its not even real, its not really supposed to happen,” Aledo head coach Stephen Wood said about his team making another state championship game. “We are very fortunate that we have great football players, great coaches, and great supporters.”
The Bearcats (15-0) pulled away in the fourth quarter with their ground game and defense, as they shut out the Pirates in the second half. Quarterback Dillon Davis put the icing on the cake as he kept it himself for a two-yard touchdown run to make it 31-14 with just over five minutes left in the game.
“That six minute drive was huge,” Wood said, “They (Poteet) never got the ball, the combination of the freshman running back (McClellan) and the offensive line was what won us the game.”
Aledo struck first, on a three-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Jase McClellan after the Bearcats defense forced an interception on Poteet’s first possession on the night.
The Pirates score their 14 points on the night in a nine second stretch in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Kaleb Fletcher connected with Da’Michael Smith for a 78-yard touchdown tying the game at 7. The very next play, Kid Dickerson picked up a Dillon Davis fumble after he was hit and ran it in from 19-yards for a score and gave his Pirates a 14-7 lead.
“We knew we had to score on the next drive after we gave up that fumble, and we came in with a chip on our shoulder with not making it to state last year,” McClellan said. “The offensive line like usual was amazing tonight, so lucky to have them.” He finished Friday night’s game with 183 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
The Bearcats face Corpus Christi Calallen in the 5A Division II final Friday night at 8:00pm at AT&T Stadium.
“I don’t know if we are even that much better than that football team over there,” Wood said when referring to Poteet. “They are the best team we played all year.”
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