Senior Shane Los may not have felt good most of the week, but he was not about to miss a chance to play in last Friday night’s Division 7 district championship game against Gobles.

The senior quarterback delivered as he helped guide the Ranger offense to 498 yards of total offense in a 42-21 win over the Tigers at Decatur High School.

It was the first time in school history that Cassopolis has won back-to-back district championships.

The Rangers (10-1) will host Concord (9-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Raiders’ field.

“Shane does a great job of running our offense,“ said Cassopolis coach Dan Purlee. “Shoot, he’s thrown for about 1,300 yards this year. We haven’t thrown for 1,300 yards in the last 20 years. He’s been huge. He runs the T and executes that really well and has the ability to throw the ball.”

Los ran for three touchdowns (3, 2 and 2 yards) and hit Brandon Anderson with a 50-yard scoring strike. He finished the night 8-of-9 for 148 yards.

“I came down with a little stomach flu,” said Los, who was all smiles after the victory. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I know Purl has come up short quite a bit, so this is a big win. It means the world to Purl who has been coaching for a long time and is one of the best coaches I have ever had.”

Gobles (8-3) did not make it easy on Cassopolis in the first half.

The two teams traded touchdowns with the Rangers leading 12-7 after the first quarter and 20-14 at halftime.

KyJuan Lewis gave Cassopolis a 6-0 lead on a 1-yard run and Los’ first rushing touchdown allowed the Rangers to reclaim the lead at 12-7.

In between, Gobles quarterback Tyler Hunt scored on a 1-yard run and kicked the extra point to give the Tigers a short-lived 7-6 advantage.

Hunt would beat the Rangers’ defense for a 54-yard touchdown run as the Tigers went up 14-12 early in the second quarter.

Los’ second touchdown, a 2-yard quarterback keeper, would put Cassopolis up 20-14.

With the offense rolling, it would be up to the defense to find a way to stop Hunt and the Tigers.

And that they did late in the first half.

After the Rangers went ahead, the defense forced a turnover as Hunt Parsons picked off a Hunt pass at the 8-yard line to stop the potential go-ahead touchdown.

While Cassopolis dominated the second half and pulled away from Gobles, the Tigers briefly reclaimed the lead (21-20) when Michael Myers scored the first touchdown of the second half on a 14-yard run.

The Rangers answered quickly as Tyrese Hunt-Thompson capped off a drive with a 12-yard run to put Cassopolis out in front for good 26-21.

Anderson’s touchdown reception and Los’ final rushing touchdown sealed the victory for the Rangers, who will be seeking the school’s first regional title.

“We felt coming in that we’d be able to move the ball,” Purlee said. “The key was moving it and not turning it over. We needed to sustain long drives and get points out of them, keeping the ball out of their hands. We normally hit a lot of big plays, but tonight we controlled the clock and that was huge.”

 

CASSOPOLIS 42, GOBLES 21

At Decatur

Gobles           7          7          7          0 – 21

Cassopolis    12       8          14       7 – 41

C – KyJuan Lanier 1 run (kick failed).

G – Tyler Hunt 1 run (Hunt kick).

C – Shane Los 3 run (run failed).

G – Hunt 54 run (Hunt kick).

C – Los 2 run (Los run).

G – Michael Myers 14 run (Hunt kick).

C – Tyrese Hunt-Thompson 12 run (run failed).

C – Brandon Anderson 50 pass from Los (Los run).

C – Los 2 run (Micha Welch pass from Los).

Varsity records: Gobles 8-3, Cassopolis 10-1.