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Aledo Alumni Report

Aledo grads ‘bowl-over’ NCAA Div. I audiences

Former Bearcat Filiaga wraps up college career with win

Chuck Filiaga finished his college career as a starter on the offensive line for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, helping them to a 9-4 record and a Pinstripe Bowl victory. Now the former Aledo Bearcat awaits his chance at a possible professional career. He is shown playing against Rutgers..
Chuck Filiaga finished his college career as a starter on the offensive line for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, helping them to a 9-4 record and a Pinstripe Bowl victory. Now the former Aledo Bearcat awaits his chance at a possible professional career. He is shown playing against Rutgers..
Bruce Kluckhohn
Posted

Chuck Filiaga's final college football game was played in a way he'd always known, winning.

The former Aledo Bearcat, an offensive lineman on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, helped his team to a 28-20 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Syracuse. It wrapped up his college career and lifted the Gophers to a 9-4 record, in which he played in all 13 games.

Filiaga was also named third-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches.

Filiaga had been at Michigan the previous five years, but thanks to redshirting and the COVID-19 pandemic, enjoyed a total of six seasons of college ball. During his time at Michigan, he appeared in 39 games and started eight, helping the Wolverines to a 12-2 record and a College Football Playoff semifinals berth in 2021 before falling to national champion Georgia in the semifinals.

In his debut at Minnesota, he started at right guard against New Mexico State, where he helped pave the way for the offense to gain 485 total yards and rush for five touchdowns. He also helped pave the way for Minnesota to gain 679 yards of offense (third most in school history) against Western Illinois. In another highlight, he did not allow a sack and protected for an offense that controlled the ball for 41 minutes and racked up 375 yards of offense against Rutgers.

Next up for Filiaga could be a career in the NFL. Aledo Athletic Director Steve Wood, who coached him in high school, believes he will get a chance.

“He has all the qualities,” Wood said. “I feel like someone will give him an opportunity. Hopefully it will work out for him.”

At Aledo, Filiaga helped the Bearcats to a 16-0 record and the Class 5A Division II state championship in 2016. As a senior, he led an offensive line that helped the offense produce 3,851 yards through the air and 4,656 yards on the ground, blocking for two 1,000-yard rushers. He was a member of the PrepStar Top 150 Dream Team and was named first-team All-USA Texas as a senior.

Filiaga is just one of several athletes from Aledo and the area to help their college team in a NCAA Division I bowl game.

"I'm not surprised at all," Aledo coach Tim Buchanan said. "They learned a good work ethic while they were here and now they're taking it to the next level."

 

Jase McClellan, running back, junior, Aledo/Alabama

Jase McClellan rebounded well after missing most of 2021 with an injury. He was the second leading rusher on the Crimson Tide (11-2) this season with 112 carries for 655 yards and seven touchdowns, including an 81-yard TD in a 20-19 win at Texas. He also caught 14 passes for 174 yards and three scores, with a long pass of 65 yards.

In the Crimson Tide’s 45-20 victory against Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl he carried seven times for 42 yards, including a 17-yard TD, along with catching a pass for 10 yards.

McClellan was also named to the watch list for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which is presented each year to the top college football player from the state of Texas.

Despite having his sophomore season cut short, McClellan was leading the Crimson Tide in touchdowns with five at the time of his injury. He finished with 191 yards rushing and caught 10 passes for 97 yards. He also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

As a freshman on Alabama’s 13-0 national championship team in 2020 he saw action at running back and on special teams, including in both their 31-14 semifinal win over Notre Dame and their 52-24 title game win over Ohio State. Among his 245 rushing yards was the team’s longest run of the season, 80 yards.

McClellan, who led Aledo to state championships in 2018 and 2019, was one of the nation's top running back prospects. He was the MaxPreps All-Freshman Team National Player of the Year and was the state championship game MVP as a freshman in 2016.

 

Wes Harris, offensive line, senior, Aledo/TCU

Wes Harris started all 15 games this season to help the Horned Frogs reach the national championship game before falling to Georgia. With him on the line, the TCU offense averaged 39 points and 455 yards per game. He also blocked for the Heisman Trophy runner-up, quarterback Max Duggen.

As a redshirt freshman in 2018, Harris played in 11 games, more action than he would see in the next three seasons combined. He started five contests, including the Cheez-It Bowl, a 10-7 win over Cal.

Injuries limited Harris to a total of 10 games in 2019-21, but in his final year of eligibility he was able to stay healthy and help the Horned Frogs to one of the most storied seasons in their history.

At Aledo, Harris won three state championships in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Wyatt Harris, linebacker, senior, Aledo/TCU

Wyatt Harris played in six games this season and posted four tackles. As a junior he was second-team Academic All-Big 12.

In his junior season in 2021 he started the opening five games and played in eight contests overall. He totaled a career-high and team-best nine tackles to go with an interception and 47-yard return against SMU in a 42-34 loss.

Harris saw action in nine games as a sophomore. As a freshman he played he played in nine games and started six of the final seven.

As a Bearcat, Harris was a member of state championship teams in 2016 and 2018, while the Bearcats finished as state runners-up in 2017.

 

Colt Ellison, defensive end, senior, Aledo/TCU

Colt Ellison saw action in four games this season.

In 2019-20 he was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.

As a junior in 2021, Ellison played in 11 games and had a 28-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown at Oklahoma State in a 63-17 loss.

In his sophomore season he saw action in the final eight games of the season. He played in the final six games of his freshman season, including three starts.

At Aledo, Ellison played alongside Wyatt Harris on two state championship squads.

 

Money Parks, wide receiver, sophomore, Aledo/Utah

Money Parks played in all 14 games for the Utes (10-4), helping them win the Pac-12 Conference and reach the Rose Bowl. He caught 26 passes for 414 yards with two touchdowns, along with rushing six times for 36 yards.

In the Pac-12 championship game, he caught four passes for 88 yards and a 57-yard touchdown in a 47-24 victory against USC.

While he played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2021, he only caught one pass - but it was for a 12-yard touchdown. He played in one game in 2020 before redshirting.

Parks helped Aledo to the 2019 state championship.

 

Chris Wright, linebacker, redshirt freshman, Aledo/North Texas

Chris Wright played in two games and registered a tackle for the 7-7 Eagles, who lost 35-32 to Boise State in the Frisco Bowl.

Wright helped Aledo to state championships in 2019 and 2020.

 

Jason Llewellyn, tight end, freshman, Aledo/Oklahoma

Jason Llewellyn saw action in 10 games, primarily on special teams for the Sooners, who finished 6-7 with a 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl.

While with the Bearcats, Llewellyn helped Aledo win a state title in 2020.

 

 

Other Parker County Participants

 

Baylor Cupp, tight end, junior, Brock/Texas Tech

Baylor Cupp played in 12 games for the 8-5 Red Raiders, who defeated Ole Miss 42-25 in the Texas Bowl. He had 12 catches for 132 yards with a pair of touchdowns.

Prior to arriving at Tech, Cupp spent three seasons at Texas A&M, where he appeared in 10 games. He redshirted his freshman season and missed the entirety of the next season with an injury. He earned the team's Academic Excellence Award in 2020.

At Brock, he helped the Eagles to the Class 3A Division I state semifinals in 2018 and to the state finals in 2017.

 

Cash Jones, running back, redshirt freshman, Brock/Georgia

Cash JonesJones saw plenty of action as a reserve running back and on kick return coverage units in 11 of 15 games for the back-to-back national champion Bulldogs. He also had one carry for a 36-yard TD in a 55-0 win over Vanderbilt.

At Brock, Jones was a 2020 Whataburger Super Team member and Tom Landry Award Nominee. He was also Mr. Texas HS Football Player of the Year semifinalist.

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