PUEBLO – Whether as a part of a co-op or not, the Stratton Eagles have played in the last six 6-man football state championships.
 
But in the past three title games, the Eagles have traveled all the way to Pueblo only to finish runner-up each time. For seniors like Alex Cruz, those silver trophies have continued to represent dissatisfying endings – each more frustrating than the last – to otherwise dominant seasons.
 
On Friday at the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl, the Stratton football team ended its streak of second-place finishes with an 83-18 victory over Fleming in the 2022 championship game. 
 
“We didn’t want to lose this year, so we came out ready to go,” said Cruz, who was named National Football Foundation Most Outstanding Player following the game. “I finally got one under my belt, so it feels pretty good. And being here to represent just Stratton, I like it a lot more. It feels really good. We’ve struggled in this game and now we finally get a win.”
 
Just as they have been all season, the Eagles were dominant from the outset of Friday’s game. 
 
Cruz, who finished with 248 yards and five touchdowns for top-seeded Eagles, had 10 carries for 174 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. Junior teammate Cyler Notter had 6 carries for 93 yards and three touchdowns before the midway break, at which point the Eagles led 68-18 over the No. 2 Fleming Wildcats, and were able to cruise through the second half with a running clock.
 
The Eagles, who lost to Cheyenne Wells in the 2021 title game, last won the title in 2018 as Stratton/Liberty. The last time Stratton won a 6-man state title not as a part of a co-op with another school was in 2002. On the 20^th anniversary of that championship season, head coach Jesse McConnell said it made the 2022 title run more special to claim the championship trophy as just “Stratton.”
 
“It means a lot,” McConnell said. “Stand-alone Stratton’s last state title was 20 years ago in ’02. I think they got runner-up in ’06 but ’02 was the last one. So, it means a lot. It really does. But even more than that, I think the kids were thinking about the past years where we didn’t quite finish the way we wanted to. We’ve been to Pueblo twice (before this year) and we got whooped twice, so it’s good to leave this place with the memories the kids deserve.”
 
This year’s title was the seventh all-time for Stratton.
 
Finishing the season unbeaten, Stratton (14-0) outscored its 2022 opponents 822-196, which is an average margin of victory of 44.7 points. The Eagles defense allowed an average of just 15.25 points per game in the postseason.
 
Fleming (10-3) won an overtime thriller over No. 3 Granada, 68-60 in the semifinals, to reach Friday’s title game. The Wildcats averaged 64 points in their three playoff games prior to Friday’s championship game.