ARLINGTON, Texas — The College Station Cougars have lost in the Class 5A Division 1 title game for the second straight year after losing to the Aledo Bearcats 52-14. College Station defeated Aledo back in 2017 for the very first state championship.
Heartbreakingly, the Cougars lost in overtime in last year's title game. Fortunately for College Station, this one was over quickly, with Aledo scoring 21 points in the first quarter.
The Bearcats would go on to score an additional 24 points and continue to shut out the Cougars to take a 52-point advantage before the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Cougars would find some success late in the game though. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Cougar quarterback Arrington Maiden hit wide receiver Paden Cashion over the seam for a 23-yard touchdown to score the first points of the game for the purple and black.
After a successful two-point conversion and onside kick, College Station would go one to move the ball down the field before Maiden would hit Cashon once again, this time on a screen pass before the wide receiver dived his way into the end zone.
For the second year in a row, the Cougars had to settle for second-best and return home with a silver medal. First-year head coach Stoney Pryor and company were doubted before the season began based on all the great players who had graduated from the state-final team a year ago as well as a season-ending injury to their star running back Marquise Collins, but the purple and black shocked those doubters with a fantastic season.