Sally Sexton
ARLINGTON — With all of the flair and luxury afforded at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, the structure itself is hard to miss. But most of that was overlooked Friday night, as the Aledo-Stephenville Class 4A Division II Region I Area playoff game took center stage.
The hype and contest itself did not disappoint, as the Bearcats took the thriller in overtime, 26-23.
“I’d much rather win by about seven or eight touchdowns,” said Aledo head coach Tim Buchanan. “My blood pressure got so high that I almost passed out twice. It’s just a great feeling to win.”
All bets were off as the two schools pulled out all the stops in an effort to top the other.
Stephenville got the ball first in overtime, driving hard and fast to Aledo’s 9-yard line, but a crucial stop on third-and-seven by the Bearcat defense forced the Yellowjackets to kick a 26-yard field goal, swinging the momentum their way.
With the pressure on, Aledo responded by running Jonathan Gray four straight times to advance the ball to the 13-yard line. Facing fourth-and-one, the Bearcats went for all the marbles, as Matthew Bishop found a seam on the left side to sneak into the end zone, eliciting frenzy in the Aledo stands.
“I didn’t think we could make a field goal. We’ve been having trouble making field goals,” Buchanan said.
The Bearcats will move on to regional play, meeting the winner of Hereford-El Paso Parkland.
Both team defenses flexed their muscles early, saving the drama for the second half and further as Stephenville led, 13-6 at halftime.
“The offensive line did a great job in the second half. First half, we didn’t do too well but in the second half we played well,” Buchanan said. “The defense was what carried us the first two quarters.”
The Aledo defense continued to hold after the break, forcing the Yellowjackets to three-and-out on the first drive of the third quarter.
A squibbed punt allowed the Bearcats decent field position in Stephenville territory, and the combination of Matthew Bishop’s arm and Gray’s legs put the ball on the Yellowjacket 11-yard line. Gray took the handoff, easily breaking through to the end zone, and tying the contest at 13.
The score stayed even, despite a takeaway by Aledo, until the beginning of the fourth when Stephenville had a minor breakthrough.
Defensive back Dillon Hawkins wrestled a ball away from a Yellowjacket receiver for the game’s only turnover.
Just three minutes into the period, Stephenville drove on five plays to hit pay dirt when Connor Washington found Cole Stokes for a 30-yard touchdown reception.
It took Aledo a little less than two minutes to play catch up, as Gray ran three times for 53 yards, capped off by a 12-yard touchdown scamper. Andrew Kocurek made the extra point, tying the game at 20-20.
The defenses took over once again, as neither team would score the rest of regulation.
Aledo faced a critical moment near the end of the fourth quarter, when Stephenville’s defense put the Bearcats in a corner. Facing fourth-and-one with 37 seconds on the clock, Aledo gambled. With Trey Ozee under center, the senior ran a quarterback keeper for the first down, giving the Bearcats the opportunity to run out the clock.
“When we lined up, Trey told me ‘I’ve got the quarterback sneak,’” Buchanan said. “And with Danny Heiss and those guys pushing him, and our O-line, we got a good push and got the first down.”
Stephenville led in all statistical categories, as Aledo was held to one of its lowest passing games of the season. Quarterback Bishop was 6-of-7 in the air for 68 yards and a touchdown. He would rush for 28 more yards, overshadowed by Gray, who had 31 carries for 172 yards and one score.
“We called several pass plays but we just kept going backwards,” Buchanan said. “In the second half, we mixed it up a lot more. We’d run, then throw, then run, then throw.”
Aledo 26, Stephenville 23
SHS 3 10 0 7 3 - 23
AHS 6 0 7 7 6 - 26
Scoring summary:
First quarter
AHS- Cameron Cunningham 93 punt return (kick failed)
SHS- German Chavarria 21 field goal
Second quarter
SHS- Chavarria 34 field goal
SHS- Connor Washington 9 pass to Cole Stokes (Chavarria kick)
Third quarter
AHS- Matthew Bishop 11 pass to Trey Ozee (Andrew Kocurek kick)
Fourth quarter
SHS- Washington 30 pass to Stokes (Chavarria kick)
AHS- Jonathan Gray 12 run (Kocurek kick)
Overtime
SHS- Chavarria 26 field goal
AHS- Bishop 13 run
Team statistics
AHS SHS
First downs 15 21
Rushing 44-198 32-214
Com-Att-Int 6-7-0 21-37-1
Passing Yds 40 201
Punts-Avg 5-37.8 5-33
Fumbles 0 0
Penalties 5-45 5-35
Individual leaders
Rushing
AHS- Gray, 31-172; Bishop, 10-28, Trey Ozee, 2-2. SHS- James Myles, 24-162; Shylo Pankey, 3-45; Washington, 2-3; Tyler Jones, 1-1; Aiavion Edwards, 1-3.
Passing
AHS- Bishop, 6-7-0, 40. SHS- Washington, 21-37-1, 203.
Receiving
AHS- Gray, 2-13; Stetson Stockard, 2-22; Ozee, 1-11. SHS- Charlie Riola, 6-71; Stokes, 5-60; Pankey, 2-31.
