Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it was first published.
Click here to view the box score. See photos from this game here.
ARLINGTON — Each time Aledo running back DeMarco Roberts made his way to the end zone during the Class 5A Division II state championship, fans in the stands of AT&T Stadium held up six fingers to signal his jersey number.
But as the final minutes of the fourth quarter ticked off the clock, Aledo supporters switched to flashing all 10 fingers to celebrate the record-breaking number of championship titles their team claimed with a 56-21 win over Crosby on Friday.
The Bearcats were led by a dominant performance from Roberts that included 255 rushing yards and six touchdowns, which head coach Ted Buchanan joked after the game wasn’t enough for the Offensive MVP.
“He’s a little disappointed in me right now. He wanted to break Johnathan Gray’s record in the state championship game,” Buchanan said, referring to the eight touchdowns Gray scored in Aledo’s 2010 state title game.
Roberts, who signed with Lamar University and is slated to play cornerback in college, joins two other players in an elite club of Aledo running backs who have led their teams to three state titles. Johnathan Gray, who went on to play at Texas, and Jase McClellan, who currently plays for Alabama, both finished their high school careers at Aledo with three rings.
For a brief moment in the first quarter, Aledo looked like it would have to rely on its passing game to move the ball. The Crosby defense contained Roberts for one drive, but quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi found Alabama signee wide receiver JoJo Earle to put the Bearcats on the board.
Though Roberts took over scoring duties for the rest of the game, Earle finished the night with 134 receiving yards and 92 rushing yards, while Fowler-Nicolosi threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
Trailing 14-7 at one point, Aledo rattled off 42 straight points to clinch the record-setting title. Buchanan credited the momentum shift to the Bearcats adjusting to the speed of Crosby’s play and kicker Clay Murador’s successful execution of a fake punt late in the first quarter. The sophomore, who Buchanan called “the fastest kid at Aledo High School,” rushed 21 yards to pick up a first down on fourth-and-12.
“They didn’t realize how fast (Murador) was,” Buchanan said. “That was probably the play that changed the game.”
From that point forward, Roberts and the Aledo offense ran through the Crosby defense with little resistance. Crosby head coach Jerry Prieto said his team knew that the Bearcats had multiple weapons on offense, but they still struggled to contain Roberts.
“Man, that kid plays a whole lot bigger than he is,” he said of Roberts after the game. “There was a lot of times where he ran through some tackles. It wasn’t just running through wide-open holes. He ran through a lot of tackles tonight, played really hard, and he deserved offensive MVP.”
Crosby quarterback Deniquez Dunn accounted for two touchdowns, 124 passing and 104 rushing yards. Wide receiver Jaylen Herman caught the Cougars’ lone passing score, and running back Reggie Branch added a score and 117 yards on the ground.
On the defensive side of the ball, Aledo’s Grant Mooney was named Most Valuable Player after recording a sack, an interception, one pass breakup and two tackles for loss.
The win marks championship No. 7 for Buchanan, who returned to the sidelines last season after briefly retiring from coaching to be Aledo’s athletic director. It’s the Bearcats’ second three-peat after their winning streak from 2009-2011 and eighth title since 2010.
Aledo is 291-42 overall since claiming its first championship in 1998. Buchanan said winning it all at the conclusion of a season that, due to COVID-19, was unlike any other in Texas high school football history makes it more memorable.
“I compared it to winning an argument with your wife,” he said. “It’s really special when it happens, but you don’t want to try it again.”
Aledo head coach Tim Buchanan: “How about these kids?”
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) January 15, 2021
Then...
😂 😂 😂 @SportsDayHS | #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/VTNnNHP3ny
10 rings
Aledo won its record 10th UIL state championship on Friday. A look at the Bearcats’ 10 titles:
| Year | Class | Opponent, score |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5A Div. II | Crosby, 56-21 |
| 2019 | 5A Div. II | Fort Bend Marshall, 45-42 |
| 2018 | 5A Div. II | Fort Bend Marshall, 55-19 |
| 2016 | 5A Div. II | CC Calallen, 24-16 |
| 2014 | 5A Div. I | Temple, 49-45 |
| 2013 | 4A Div. II | Brenham, 38-10 |
| 2011 | 4A Div. II | Manvel, 49-28 |
| 2010 | 4A Div. II | La Marque, 69-34 |
| 2009 | 4A Div. I | Brenham, 35-21 |
| 1998 | 3A Div. I | Cuero, 14-7 |
Most UIL championships by school
| Team | Total |
|---|---|
| Aledo | 10 |
| Richland Springs* | 9 |
| Celina | 8 |
| Katy** | 8 |
| Mart | 8 |
| Southlake Carroll** | 8 |
| Abilene | 7 |
| Brownwood | 7 |
| Carthage | 7 |
| Plano | 7 |
—
*Richland Springs is a six-man team
**Both Katy and Southlake Carroll will play for titles on Saturday
Scenes from the game
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