GRASS RANGE — Cooper Streit put together his best performance on the season's biggest stage.
The Chester-Joplin-Inverness senior scored five touchdowns and made the game-sealing interception to propel the Hawks to a 46-38 win over Grass Range-Winnett in double overtime of the 6-Man state championship.
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After C-J-I's Levi Nelson scored on a 3-yard run in the second overtime and the Hawks converted the two-point kick the lead stood at 46-38. On Grass Range-Winnett's first offensive play of the second overtime, Streit jumped in front of a Randy Olson pass intended for Jace Bantz for the interception to end the game and give the Hawks their first state championship in program history.
"I saw (Bantz) coming across. My eyes lit up I was so excited. I knew we had that and I had to go make a play," Streit told MTN Sports.
"A win like this is great for the program. The community, they all come together. I think we had the Yogo Inn in Lewistown full (Friday) night. They all showed up. It shows what our program means to our community and what the sport of football means to it," C-J-I coach Jim Vinson said.
C-J-I had to play from behind for the majority of the game, as Grass Range-Winnett took a 30-16 lead into halftime. The Hawks turned to a heavy dose of the ground game in the second half, controlling possession and the clock and keeping the potent Ranger offense on the sidelines.
Streit scored his fourth touchdown of the day with 1:08 to play on a pass from quarterback Ryland St. John to tie the game at 30. The one-point conversion attempt was no good, leading to overtime where Streit proved heroic once again.
"Resilience is the key word," Vinson said of his team. "We knew this was going to be a dogfight."
Bantz had four touchdown receptions for Grass Range-Winnett, three of which came in the first half. His fourth touchdown came in the first overtime period. Vinson knew Saturday would be a "dogfight" but his defense stepped up to the task when needed most.
"We had to move our linebackers and safeties to have a little more height to deal with (Bantz). I've said forever he's one of those guys you coach very hard to try to limit production, and it's very hard because he's such a phenomenal athlete," Vinson said.
This is the first football trophy for both C-J-I and Grass Range-Winnett.
