Texas UIL Championship 4A-5A roundup: Aledo joins the Texas elite

ARLINGTON, Texas — Paced by the creative running style of junior Jase McClellan, Aledo (Texas) joined the elite programs of Texas high school football with a convincing 55-19 victory over Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) Friday night in the UIL Class 5A Division II state championship game.

Witnessed by an AT&T Stadium crowd of 26,155, Aledo (16-0) became the fifth UIL schools with eight state titles along with Celina, Katy, Carroll (Southlake) and six-man power Richland Springs.

McClellan, a 5-10, 201-pound junior orally committed to Oklahoma, accounted for four touchdowns, three by rush and one as a receiver, in helping Aledo to a 28-12 intermission advantage. His 42-yard touchdown run on Aledo's second offensive play gave the Bearcats a lead it would not relinquish. Two short scoring runs and a 22-yard reception of a Jake Bishop pass followed. He finished with 171 total yards, with 149 coming on the ground.

"I just try to focus on getting in the end zone and winning the game,'' McClellan said.

"The bigger the stage, the more Jase likes it,'' said Aledo coach Steve Wood. "He's gotten so much bigger and stronger than when we won his freshman season. He's physically gifted, but there are a lot of great athletes. He's got something more.''

Marshall (15-1) stayed close early. A hit by linebacker Jerrell Mayweather produced a fumble that teammate Frank Miller recovered in the end zone to cut the Aledo lead to 7-6, but the point-after failed. Later in the half, a 4-yard scoring run by quarterback Malik Hornsby capped a 77-yard, six-play drive to trim the Aledo lead to 21-12.

The game spiraled away from Marshall in the third period. Aledo on its first possession went 60 yards in eight plays with McClellan's backup, Tre Owens, finishing with a 3-yard run.

Fumble recoveries by Aledo's Reagan Rice and Will Greenwood led to two more scores, Bishop's 20-yard pass to Devan Daugherty and a 7-yard touchdown run by the junior quarterback. Bishop threw for one more score to Jojo Earle in the final quarter and finished 14 of 17 for 174 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed seven times for 69 yards with three finishing in in the end zone. Devon Achane led Marshall with 95 rushing yards and caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Hornsby in the final minutes.

The win was vengeance for the Bearcats. Aledo suffered its only loss over the last three seasons by one point to College Station in last year's title game. "After that loss, we worked hard to improve,'' McClellan said. Wood was aware of Aledo's status with now eight titles.

"I tell our kids all the time how fortunate we are to be in the right place at the right time,'' the coach said. "We always have great kids and great assistant coaches, but there are places all over the state that have them, too.'' Cuero 40, Pleasant Grove (Texarkana) 28
Jordan Whittington, in the words of his coach, "put us on his back and carried us'' with 377 total yards and six touchdowns to lead Cuero (15-1) to the UIL Class 4A Division II title in Friday's triple-header opener.

Whittington, a 6-1, 198-pound University of Texas wide receiver signee, eclipsed Eric Dickerson's 311-yard Class 4A title game record, rushing for 334 yards on 28 Wildcat formation carries. He added 43 receiving yards including a touchdown catch on the final play of the first half and led his defense with eight tackles.

WATCH JORDAN WHITTINGTON'S RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE: Click here

"It was a special performance,'' said Cuero coach Travis Reeve, "one for the ages.'' Pleasant Grove (13-3), the defending 2017 state champ, was led by junior Bruce Garrett, who had 223 rushing yards and three scores.

La Vega (Waco) 35, Liberty Hill 21
Donta Stuart ignited a 28-point second-half explosion with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to put La Vega (14-2) on a path to its second UIL Class 4A Division I state crown in the last four seasons. "I saw a gap and said ‘here we go,''' said Stuart. Sophomore quarterback Ara Rauls connected with Malachi Wright on scoring passes of 90 and 61 yards later in the third quarter for a 28-7 lead that proved to be enough. On the longer of the two, Wright used a quick spin to turn a short throw into a race along the La Vega sideline. Speeding down the same sideline six minutes later, Wright gathered Rauls' lofted toss in stride with three steps on his defender. Liberty Hill (13-2), which owned the statistical edge in a 7-7 first half, got 85 rushing yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns from junior quarterback Jacob Cearley.