Grandview won a state championship over the course of about three minutes in the third quarter. And naturally, star quarterback/defensive back Dane Jentsch was right in the middle of all of it.

Pottsboro drove the length of the field and was just one yard away from punching it in for a game-tying touchdown on fourth down. The Cardinals ran to the boundary, but Jentsch read it perfectly, flew off the edge to lead a tackle for loss and a turnover on downs. 

Grandview started backed up at its own three-yard line. After Tremayne Gullatte pushed the back to the five-yard line, Jentsch completed a 40-yard pass to get the Zebras out of harm’s way. Three plays later, Jentsch took the ball himself 40 yards to the six-yard line. Jentsch took the snap, looked to draw and pitched it at the last second to Gullatte for a touchdown. 

Three plays later, Jentsch picked off Pottsboro quarterback Braden Plyler. He pointed to a coverage tip that Grandview head coach Ryan Ebner gave him during halftime. The eight-play sequence swung the game by two scores. Ultimately, the sequence helped the Zebras put away a 42-35 victory in the 3A Division I State Championship Game on Thursday afternoon. 

“When you have a player like that, you know you’re never out of it,” Ebner said. “You’re always in that situation at the end of games. It seems like these guys, including Dane, always find that spot.” 

For the second year in a row, Jentsch earned both Offensive and Defensive MVP awards. He passed for 218 yards and rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on the ground. On defense, he posted five tackles, a combined tackle for loss and an interception. While walking off the field, though, Jentsch passed the offensive award over to Gullatte. 

“Five touchdowns in his first state championship game? He earned it,” Jentsch said.

That kind of unselfish play is ultimately why Grandview has been able to build itself from a program that never won a ring into back-to-back state champions. And next year, Jentsch will be back to try and give Grandview a prestigious third championship in a row, which would permanently push him into Texas high school football history. 

“Every year, things just got a little better and a little better,” Ebner said. “They just wanted to be better than the year before them. I feel like the difference between our old teams and these last two teams is their bond.”