After scrapping everything midseason, Goddard riding one of Kansas’ top defenses
Tom Beason hit the reset button.
After Goddard’s offense was shut out in Week 5, a 27-2 loss to Maize, the Lions threw everything out the window and started again. Seven days later, they scored 40.
Goddard needed overtime to score 17 points and beat Andover Central in Week 2. The Lions could only put 12 on the scoreboard a week later against rival Eisenhower. The Maize game was the last thread that needed to be pulled.
“We kind of scraped everything, rebuilt what we wanted to be and just restarted the season,” Beason said. “We had never run a set with a true tight end. We invented it halfway through the year.”
Although the offense has gone through a wave of production, Goddard has always had a constant this season. The Lions’ defense is one of the best in Kansas with stats to back it up.
Goddard has allowed the fourth-fewest points in Class 4A. The other three teams ahead of the Lions haven’t played as difficult of a schedule, and Goddard is only 38 points away from the strongest unit in the class.
Goddard has talent at every spot on its defense, but Beason said a lot of the Lions’ defensive struts come down to his staff’s work.
“We feel like the game plan we come up with on Sundays when those guys are working, they just get it figured out,” he said. “They usually have a few questions going into the week, but by Thursday night, my coaches look at me and they’re like, ‘We got it.’“
There is no greater example of scheming around an opponent — maybe in all of Kansas — than junior nose guard Zeke Howell. He stands 6-foot and weighs 190 pounds. Howell is often outweighed by more than 30 pounds.
He has the most sacks in Class 4A, and last week in Goddard’s 28-14 win at No. 2 Wellington, he set the school record for sacks in a season and a game. Howell finished the game with 6 1/2 sacks and 17 1/2 on the year.
He is strong, but with his size, he shouldn’t have that many sacks. But he does because Goddard has learned to outsmart its opponents.
“Once I can get the feel on how they play and I start getting through, that’s when I start getting in the zone,” Howell said. “And once I get one, that’s when it really starts going with the adrenaline and everything. ... I think it’s all about technique. It doesn’t really matter how strong you are.”
Goddard has just enough players to platoon its offensive and defensive units without much crossover. During the Lions’ offensive struggles, it started to wear on the defense, Howell said.
So the change came at the right time.
When Goddard travels to No. 1 McPherson (11-0) on Friday for its state semifinal, it will be the Lions’ third straight final four game. This will be the first time they come in with two losses, but those two losses could have been the kick the Lions needed to turn its season on its head.
“I feel like a lot of people would have assumed we would take a big step back this year,” Beason said. “I don’t know statistically if we’re not actually better, which is odd. It shouldn’t be that way, but it just goes to show how much the kids buy in.”
Since losing to Maize South at home in double overtime, Goddard hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in a game.
While a Derby and Maize, a couple of other AVCTL teams, continue to garner recognition for their earned defensive success, the Lions continue on with players like Howell, junior cornerback Nalell Kapten and junior lineback Dhimani Butler.
Butler and Kapten are two of the top defensive players in the Wichita area and have helped provide stability through a tumultuous season. And though undefeated McPherson will be the favorite with its record-setting offense, the Goddard defense will likely keep the Lions in the game as the offense continues to hit its stride.
“It feels like an All-Star team really,” Butler said.
This story was originally published November 15, 2018 at 12:11 PM.