Halfway through the 5A Division II State Championship, Aledo running back Jase McClellan was struggling. The Bearcats led 28-20 over Fort Bend Marshall, but 13 carries for 58 yards was well below his lofty expectations.

McClellan was dealing with nagging lower body injuries after a grueling playoff run, but it was no excuse. The Alabama signee and blue-chip running back knew he needed to step up. 

“When we were in the locker room, I felt like I had to come out and make some plays to help our team,” McClellan said. 

On Aledo’s first drive of the second half, McClellan took his third carry of the drive, faked right and then exploded through the left side of the line. He cut back and flew 63 yards for a touchdown that broke the game wide open. 

“There always that chance of him breaking on off,” Aledo quarterback Jake Bishop said. “Sometimes I’ll just watch him watch for a hole and hit it like that one. I saw him find a hole and hit it. When he makes a play like that, it’s a game changer.” 

The play really was a game changer. With the touchdown, Aledo took a two-touchdown lead over the Buffaloes and started to pull away in a tightly-contested state championship game. 

“He’s an athletic and physical kid,” Fort Bend Marshall coach James Williams said. “He runs hard and all the kids around him block very well. He was patient today. He found holes and hit them very well. He’s got a bright future.” 

After the Aledo defense forced another stop, McClellan broke off another 31-yard run to set up a field goal to make the lead 18, and added an 18-yard score early in the fourth to maintain the lead and ice the game. 

“I’ve said all along that this kid is the most fierce competitor I’ve ever seen,” Aledo coach tim Buchanan said. “If he has an injury, it doesn’t even matter. He was begging me to put him in on defense. He loves to win.” 

McClellan rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns in his final game as a Bearcat, including 160 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in the second half. The 45-42 win over a stacked Fort Bend Marshall squad sent Aledo to its third title in four seasons, and made the program the most successful 11-man Texas high school football team ever with its ninth championship.

“This one feels the best,” McClellan said. “The 2020 class just finished it out.”