As Benjamin rolled to the 68-20 mercy rule win over Loraine on Wednesday, fans at AT&T Stadium quickly became familiar with two Mustangs with the ball in their hands – offensive MVP Grayson Rigdon and Brody White. 

The duo combined for 315 of the Mustangs’ 363 total yards of offense, and accounted for 16 of the 17 offensive plays Benjamin ran, with acres of synthetic turf in front of them for most of the day. 

But on the final play of game, as the team in purple claimed its first state title, an unsung hero crossed the goal line to seal the contest – offensive lineman John Wolffarth.

Wolffarth had been downfield all day, blocking for the stars, but found himself in unfamiliar territory as White unloaded a long ball in his direction. In fact, the ball wasn’t even supposed to come his way.

“That play was actually set up to be a screen underneath because I figured they’d been reading it all night and Brody [White] was on the right side,” Benjamin head coach Nathan Hayes said. “I told John to run the wheel route, because if they didn’t cover him, he would be open. Everybody came to the line to blitz and Brody was covered and Grayson made the smart move and saw John wide open.”

Wolffarth was wide open when he caught the ball, but the work wasn’t done. He hauled in the pass at the 15-yardline, cut right, and then still had to outrun Loraine’s Johnathan Lujan to paydirt.

“It was really just adrenaline, I don’t know how to explain it,” Wolffarth said. “It just happens.”

While not as fleet of foot as Rigdon and White, Hayes had faith in Wollfarth for such a big play. The senior had a few runs as a fullback during the regular season, but none were as big as the unexpected 49-yard touchdown reception on the final play of the game.

“He’s a running back-type kid. He can run the football and he runs it hard. He needed more touches this year,” Hayes said.

The title-clinching score was quite a reward for the senior, whose final play in a Mustang uniform sealed the gold medals and trophy. 

“I thought it was just perfect,” Hayes noted.