Freshman Grayson Rigdon rushed for 226 yards and four touchdowns, threw for four more and caught another one to lift Strawn to a 73-28 victory over Motley County in the Class 1A Division I UIL Football State Championship at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday.

The game ended in a mercy rule with 3:09 left in the third quarter as Strawn won its fifth state title under head coach Dewaine Lee.

After Strawn (15-0) fumbled twice in the first quarter, thanks to some terrific defense by Motley County DL Wyatt Perryman and Kayden Roys, who also scored the first touchdown for the Matadors, the game seemed to be going Motley County’s way.

That all changed when Rigdon put his stamp on the game.

Rigdon forced two fumbles and recorded 12.5 total tackles to suffocate the Matador offense. Capitalizing on his defensive plays, Rigdon had 17 carries for 222 yards and four touchdowns, threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns, and caught a 45-yard touchdown pass. He earned offensive MVP honors for his performance.

Strawn’s Lorenzo Garcia claimed defensive MVP honors for his role in holding Motley County to only 294 yards compared to Strawn’s 469. The key to Strawn’s victory was the three fumbles recovered by Jett Milsop, Kadin Parsons, and Griff Rigdon.

Motley County (14-1) still put up a fight with Jake Richards rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 48 yards and a receiving touchdown. Roys and Demitic Sims both threw for a combined 116 yards, and each had a touchdown. Perryman caught two passes for 49 yards and had five tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss.