GREAT FALLS — For the first time in the history of the Chester-Joplin-Inverness co-op, the team will be competing for a 6-Man football championship.
The Hawks defeated Lincoln this past Saturday 61-22 to punch their ticket to the state title game, where they'll face undefeated Grass Range-Winnett.
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"I'm super excited, but I know it's going to be a lot of work," senior Cooper Streit said following Saturday's win. "We're just ready to play this game. Biggest game of my life, and I just hope to seize the opportunity."
"This feels unreal," senior Ryland St. John said. "I mean, losing in the quarterfinals the last few years, never thought it would get this far. It's just crazy to think we're in the state title game."
C-J-I came in to Saturday's semifinal ready to go, scoring on its very first play of offense as St. John connected with Streit for a touchdown.
"We wanted to bring the energy and then they came back and scored, but we just knew that we had to keep on it, keep our foot on the pedal and keep going," Streit said.
"We were just trying to prove a point that we could start off fast and we knew they wouldn't expect a pass right away," St. John said.
Streit scored three touchdowns in the win, two of which were passes from St. John.
The two C-J-I seniors have a big connection, St. John said.
"We're family," St. John said. "Nothing's going right, I just look for him down there, and he's there, open."
Similar to the quarterfinals, the Hawks also faced a deficit, trailing the Lynx 22-15 after the first quarter. But in the final three quarter, C-J-I outscored Lincoln 46-0.
"This team's got a lot of grit," Streit said. "We know it's not over until that final buzzer rings. So we're going to play until that point and you just got to stop it."
"Our team is just full of fighters, we just give it our all," St. John said.
Next up for C-J-I is Grass Range-Winnett in the 6-Man state championship.
"We know they've got athletes. We know they're a great team. We're just excited to play another great team and hopefully come out on top," Streit said.
"I want to put my name in the books for sure, so this is a big deal, but we've got to go finish it."
The Hawks face the Rangers in Grass Range on Saturday at 1 p.m.
