ARLINGTON – Grayson Rigdon is the greatest player in UIL Texas 6-man history.
If he hadn’t already cemented his legacy in the state – he did on Wednesday. Rigdon rushed for six touchdowns, threw for three and caught one as the Benjamin Mustangs defeated the Oglesby Tigers 82-34 in the Class 1A Division 2 state championship at AT&T Stadium.
Benjamin, the #1 state-ranked team in 1A D2, caps a 15-0 record with its second consecutive championship. The Mustangs went to state for the first time last season and came away with a 68-20 win over Loraine.
Oglesby made the final for the first time in program history.
The Tigers, #2, end at 13-1.
Rigdon was voted the offensive game MVP of the 1A D2 final for the third straight season. It’s his third championship. He was voted the honor as a freshman while at Strawn and helped the team to a 73-28 win over Motley County.
Then he came to Benjamin as a sophomore and accounted for over 300 yards and seven touchdowns against Loraine. Rigdon had 222 yards rushing, four touchdowns, 159 yards passing, four touchdowns and a 45-yard TD catch with Strawn in 2021.
On Wednesday against Oglesby he was back being Rigdon.
The junior superstar finished the game with 263 yards rushing and six touchdowns on just 15 attempts. He was also 7 of 7 passing for 116 yards and three scores – and he caught a 60-yard touchdown pass. Defensively he had 10 1/2 tackles, an interception and two forced fumbles.
But early on, Oglesby was matching up with Benjamin.
The Tigers scored first on a 48-yard TD run by Kyler Fossett, but the try failed leaving it 6-0 with 8:36 left in the first quarter. Rigdon’s first score came from the 7 and after the kick, the Mustangs led 8-6. Fossett came back with a 33-yard TD run followed by two Rigdon touchdowns from 22 and 15 yards to push the Mustangs ahead 22-14.
Fossett scored from the 1, but the kick was blocked as Benjamin’s lead was 22-20.
Rigdon threw a 36-yard TD to Keegan Hayes to make it 28-20 with less than two minutes left in the opening period. Johnny Gomez scored on a 1-yard run to help Oglesby tie it at 28 with 8:42 to play in the second quarter.
But Benjamin began to pull away.
The Mustangs scored the next 32 points to go up 60-28 with 36 seconds left in the half. Rigdon scored on runs from 4 and 8 yards, followed by a 68-yard fumble return by Weston Weatherford. Rigdon’s 36-yard run gave Benjamin the 32-point lead late in the quarter.
Fossett helped the Tigers end the drought with a 2-yard TD run to make it 60-34.
But even with two seconds on the clock, it was enough for Benjamin. The kickoff bounced into the end zone for a touch back and on the last play of the half, Hayes scrambled, found space and tossed up a pass to Rigdon.
Rigdon beat one man, caught it, broke the tackle, bobbed it, secured it and tip toed down the sideline to complete the 60-yard touchdown. The Stangs led 68-34 at the break.
Rigdon threw two more touchdowns in the second half – 32 yards to Tallon Hayes and 24 yards to Keegan Hayes, which walked it off and ended the game at the 5:52 mark of the third quarter.
Keegan Hayes was voted defensive game MVP with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Tallon Hayes chipped in 4 1/2 tackles. Tallon also had 39 yards on three catches.
The Tigers were led by Fossett’s 243 yards rushing and four scores.
Through three state championship games, Rigdon has 17 touchdowns (rush, receiving) – which is the most by a single player in six-man state championship history. He tied the record of 13 when he scored his third rushing TD of the day.
Overall, Rigdon has accounted for 740 yards rushing and 15 TDs in three games, 15 of 16 passing for 363 yards and 9 TDs – plus two TD catches on two receptions.
