Friday Night Lights: A Brotherly Combo

After a promising start to the 2015 football season, the Chester/J-I Hawks have the look of a state championship contender and big reason for that has been the play of brothers Brandon and Cory Richter.

Brandon Richter, who is in his senior season for C/J-I, is the Hawk’s quarterback. Cory Ricther, on the other hand, is a wide receiver. He is also the backup quarterback and one that is ready to take over when his brother is gone.

“I have been learning from him my whole life,” Cory Richter said of his brother Brandon. “He’s taught me a lot of great things, a lot of things about mechanics and fundamentals. Everyone on our team knows that if we are open, he’s going to get us the ball.”

The Hawks, who missed the playoffs a season ago, boast a talented group of players, none more so than senior running back Justin May. Yet, Brandon Richter opened eyes this past weekend, when he compiled an eight-touchdown performance in a dominating win over Belt.

The elder Richter threw for four touchdowns, ran for three and even caught as the Hawks rolled up more than 70 points against a perennial Northern C playoff contender.

“In the last two weeks, Brandon has done some things that I have never seen a quarterback do at C/J-I,” Hawks head coach Jim Vinson said. “He had eight touchdowns and that was against a good football team. They are a team that people think could be in the playoffs. And in our first game (against Fort Benton), he completed 100 percent of his passes. Now, we only threw the ball five times or so, but anytime a high school quarterback completes all of his passes, it’s a big deal, it’s hard to do.”

And so far this season, Richter’s numbers have been quite impressive. Through two games, he has completed 16-of-19 passes for 201 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. His completion percentage is above 86 percent, and he also has four rushing touchdowns.

“Our line has played great, they have been giving me a lot of time, our backs and receivers have gotten open,” Richter said. “My teammates really have done a lot to help me.”

Of course it helps when one of your teammates is also your brother. And it especially helps when you play quarterback and he is a wide receiver. That’s the situation for C/J-I and when Brandon Ricther throws the ball, a lot of times it is headed to Cory, who caught 17 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns a season ago, as well as four for 46 and two touchdowns this season.

“We have been playing together since we were like four years old,” Brandon said. “So we have a pretty good connection and know what the other is going to do.”

Like Brandon, Cory is a two-sport star for the Hawks, as the junior plays on the basketball team in addition to playing football. And last season in the semifinal round of the District 9C boys basketball tournament, he made a memory of his own, knocking down his first six 3-point attempts of the game, as C/J-I gave defending state champion Box Elder all it could handle before faltering.

“We were all shooting the ball really well that game,” Cory said. “It’s all about the team. That gets you pumped up and ready to play and that plays a huge part in it.”

So far, the entire Hawk’s team has been pumped this season as C/J-I has been crushing opponents early on, and in wins over Fort Benton and Belt, the Hawks have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 120-24. And they will look to continue their strong start tonight when they will travel to Power to take on Power-Dutton-Brady.

“I think if we just keep playing as a team we can achieve a lot,” Brandon said. “I think that we are good enough to make a deep run in the playoffs, but it would be really cool if we could win a state championship.”

Regardless of how the season ends, Brandon will be moving on and the Richter brothers, for the first time in a long time, will be separated, at least on the playing field.

“I will definitely miss the team,” Brandon said. “And not just Cory but all the guys. I will miss being on the bus trips and doing that stuff. I remember when we all used to play when we were kids. That was really fun, that’s one of the things I will miss the most.”