A big hit: Defense once again has Goddard moving on in playoffs
The Goddard football program’s recent rise to power has come through a commitment to being the more physical team.
Even with tremendous roster turnover (and a coaching change), the Lions keep winning with the same formula. Goddard is moving on in the Class 4A playoffs following its 21-7 victory over Andover Central on Friday, thanks to a swarming defense that delivered a second-half shutout.
Goddard will play in the quarterfinals for a third straight season when the Lions (8-2) travel to Wellington (8-2) next Friday for a 4A quarterfinals matchup.
“Our defense is who we are, that’s the heart of our team,” Goddard coach Tommy Beason said. “It was (Friday), it will be next week, and hopefully we keep getting to play after that.”
No one encapsulated the identity of Goddard better than junior linebacker Dhimani Butler on Friday. With the defense’s leader Kam’Ron Gonzalez out with an injury, Butler assumed control of play-calling duties and a bigger leadership role for the first time.
Butler responded with a dominant performance. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound linebacker showed the instincts to recognize what Central wanted to do, the athleticism to beat blockers to the spot, and the ferocity to deliver hits so hard that he caused one fumble — and many more plays to go for a loss. He even added a rushing touchdown on offense.
“He played lights out, and I think he actually knocked some lights out,” Beason said. “Dude is an animal. I’m sure glad he plays on our team.”
Andover Central coach Tom Audley had this to say of Butler: “He took over. He was all over the place.”
Of course, Butler wouldn’t be able to excite crowds with big hits if it weren’t for his defensive line of Trent Willert, Zeke Howell and Easton Shaner-Palmer taking on blocks that allow Butler to roam free.
And when Butler runs free, he hits big.
“It feels amazing,” Butler said. “It feels amazing to be on this defense, and it feels amazing to be a Goddard Lion.”
“When our D-lineman take on double teams, then he can just run as fast as he can and lay people out,” said Goddard safety Spencer Steele, who had an interception and fumble recovery on Friday. “When he does that, then it gets all of us juiced up for the next one.”
But Central brought its own stout defense, and for the first half the offenses struggled to finish.
Goddard took a 7-0 lead when Kyler Semrad connected with Carter Morrow, but Central answered back when Shomari Parnell found Xavier Bell in the first quarter. The Jaguars nearly took a lead into halftime, but Parnell’s fade in the end zone to Bell was picked off by Steele with 34 seconds left.
“I don’t know if I got greedy, but I thought our kid had it,” Audley said. “Give Goddard credit. The kid made a great play on it. That was a big play in the game.”
Goddard’s offense seemed to carry over that confidence after halftime, as Semrad led back-to-back scoring drives to open the third quarter to stake claim to a 21-7 lead. Nothing else was required because the Lions’ defense was motivated to keep their second-half shutout, as they came up with two turnovers to prevent Central’s offense from ever threatening.
“You could tell that was a team that’s been to the playoffs and state games,” Audley said. “They played like they wanted to get back there in the second half.”
For Goddard, it was its seventh playoff victory in the last three seasons.
“We believe that ‘D’ wins games and obviously it showed (Friday),” Steele said. “They only scored seven points in four quarters. That’s outstanding for a defense.”
Central (5-5) finished with its best winning percentage since the 2015 season when it played for the 4A title.
“I’m proud of the seniors and the way they led us this year,” Audley said. “But we’ve got a good group of juniors and younger players coming back with some confidence now. We’ve got to get in the weight room and get a little strong, a little faster and a little bit better next year.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 11:39 PM.