Goddard’s title hopes slip away in overtime
As Saturday’s Class 5A championship game neared an apparent climax, Goddard’s cheerleaders couldn’t keep from peering over their shoulders toward the field where the Lions were an inch away from a state title.
By the time it was over, the Goddard faithful couldn’t bear to watch.
Goddard fumbled just short of the goal line in overtime and missed an extra point in double overtime. Mill Valley scored on its first double-overtime play and made the kick for a 35-34 win at Smith Stadium.
Mill Valley repeated as 5A champion and Goddard came agonizingly close. After the Lions stopped Mill Valley on the first possession of overtime, any points would have brought their first state title.
“Just the back-and-forth, you thought you had it won,” Goddard coach Scott Vang said. “Then we tried to go over the top and fumbled the football. Sometimes bad things happen. We tried to do something a little different, and it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
Goddard’s fumble didn’t end the game. Much like during regulation, when Goddard never had the lead and scored a touchdown with a two-point conversion with about four minutes to go, the Lions had an answer.
They took the ball at Mill Valley’s 10-yard line to start double overtime. After quarterback Blake Sullivan was sacked on the first play, he connected with Jordan Cooke on a 15-yard touchdown to put Goddard ahead 34-28.
The first attempt at an extra point bounced off the left upright, but Goddard got another chance thanks to a Mill Valley penalty. The next try sailed wide right.
“Gut-wrenching,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t take the state title, but it was a heck of an experience.”
The experience was more encompassing than Saturday’s game in a season that nearly came full-circle – Goddard won its first game this year in double overtime against Olathe Northwest, a game that came down to the final kick.
After a loss the next week against Derby, Goddard won 10 straight games. No. 11 was an inch away, which seemed well within the grasp of an offense led by Sullivan and running back Kody Gonzalez.
They combined for 338 rushing yards and made big plays when Goddard needed them most. Sullivan got past two interceptions and tied the game with a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, while Gonzalez scored from 37 and 61 yards.
“I’m confident that those kids are going to make a play and we’re going to find something,” Vang said. “We knew that would happen. Some of those mistakes weren’t (Sullivan’s), some of them were some other guys’. Our kids are resilient. They played really hard, they just didn’t finish it off at the end of the game.”
Mill Valley followed up last year’s perfect record with a more challenging path that saw the Jaguars enter the playoffs with a 5-4 mark thanks to a difficult Eastern Kansas League schedule.
Their battle-tested nature showed as they continually responded to Goddard scores and forced the fumble when their season was on the line. Quarterback Brody Flaming passed for 200 yards, rushed for 122, and was steady during crucial situations.
Usually, it’s myth and legend over many years that creates a one-point state-championship win with the deciding points happening in double overtime, but it was reality for Mill Valley.
“It’s crazy,” Flaming said. “I’m still trying to think of what happened. It’s a great feeling. I love this feeling, and I want to have another one.”
Goddard, meanwhile, will work toward chasing the feeling. Two seasons ago, a playoff berth was a figment of the imagination as a young team was often run off the field by superior opponents.
This season, Goddard became that team, winning by an average of 34.5 points during its 10-game winning streak. For the seniors, memories of being a fingertip away may haunt them for a while. For everyone else, a second chance beckons.
“Work harder, man,” said Sullivan, a junior. “We’ve got to hit the weight room even harder. We’ve got to get bigger and stronger and get back to this point.”
Mill Valley | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | — | 35 |
Goddard | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 6 | — | 34 |
G—Gonzalez 37 run (run failed)
MV—Hartman 19 pass from Flaming (Matchette kick)
MV—Rice 16 pass from Flaming (Matchette kick)
G—Sullivan 4 run (Cole kick)
MV—Hartman 17 pass from Flaming (Matchette kick)
G—Gonzalez 61 run (Cole kick)
MV—Rice 21 pass from Flaming (Matchette kick)
G—Sullivan 1 run (Sullivan run)
G—Cooke 15 pass from Sullivan (kick failed)
MV—Rice 10 pass from Flaming (Matchette kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing—Mill Valley, Flaming 27-122, Young 22-41; Goddard, Gonzalez 25-188, Sullivan 31-150, Driskill 2-11.
Passing—Mill Valley, Flaming 16-29-1-200; Goddard, Sullivan 8-17-2-79.
Receiving—Mill Valley, Rice 8-78, Hartman 5-98, Talley 2-23, Matchette 1-1; Goddard, Mocaby 5-49, Cooke 3-30.
This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Goddard’s title hopes slip away in overtime."