Green is perfect: Derby captures third undefeated season in history with state title

Dax Benway looked toward the Derby stands and spread his arms with his head cocked back.

The scene was too much after the Panthers captured their third undefeated season in school history with a 24-16 win over Blue Valley North in the 2018 Class 6A championship game.

“I don’t even know what to think,” Benway said. “I’m sure previous teams have set that goal like the 2016 team and the 1994 team, but this senior class, we know how to win together. We set our eyes on it, and we did it.”

Even in Derby’s rarified air, the 2018 Panthers were different. Derby’s 22 seniors reached four state championship games and won three of them with a pair of undefeated seasons.

Coach Brandon Clark has created a juggernaut.

“This means nothing to me; it’s all about the kids,” Clark said. “I was talking to our defensive coordinator (Mitch Pontious) yesterday. We couldn’t care less how many state championships we win as coaches. We wanted this so bad for our kids.”

Saturday, it was about junior running back Tre Washington and senior quarterback Hunter Igo. Together they combined for 450 yards, three touchdowns and one game-changing fumble.

Early in the third quarter, Washington ripped off a 30-yard run but was caught from behind and stripped. It was the only turnover of the game.

Igo found him.

“I told him, ‘This game ain’t over. We’re going to need you,’ “ he said.

Washington said that fumble helped refocus him. He didn’t want a repeat of last year.

Derby lost to Blue Valley North in last year’s title game. The Mustangs scored 49 points on the Panthers’ defense in that game. In 2018, North got past midfield only twice in the second half.

Washington said to win it for the seniors is a special feeling.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “I’m so happy and joyful. ... Coming into the game, I’m not going to say we knew we weren’t going to lose, but we knew we didn’t want to.”

The win didn’t come without trial. Senior linebacker Cade Lindsey was hurting throughout the game and said at one point, he felt his ankle pop three times. He came out for a play and went right back in.

“We’re tough around here,” Lindsey said. “It’s what we do. We like to get beat up.”

Blue Valley North had put together a magical run dating to the 2017 season, when the Mustangs beat Derby in the title game. Led by Wisconsin-bound quarterback Graham Mertz, North rattled off nine straight wins after a 0-3 start but fell one short of a repeat.

Mertz, who transferred from Bishop Miege after his sophomore year, said the relationships at North stand out. He said North “is the spot.”

“It’s taught me how to face adversity and overcome it,” he said. “Not playing at Miege really hurt. Going to North, it really helped me mature in the offseason. And it showed me how to be a man.”

Mertz credited the job coach Andy Sims has done at North. He said the Mustangs are a state power now after back-to-back title games. Sims said his players shouldn’t hang their heads.

“Hats off to these guys, they’ve had a fantastic season,” he said. “Nobody wants to lose a state title game whether it’s close or by a blowout. There’s no good words of wisdom in that regard except that, ‘Be proud of your accomplishments. Take pride in one another.’ And I think there’s a lot of teams that wish they could be here.”

Derby’s defense was just too much. Coming into the title game, the Panthers hadn’t allowed more than 7 points to any postseason opponent. Their defense had been hoisted as the best in Kansas and one of the best in recent history.

It — and they — lived up to expectations Saturday ... and through all of 2018.

“We dreamed of this every night, thought about the loss and wanted to be undefeated no matter what,” senior linebacker Jackson Syring said. “We wanted to leave here without a broken heart like last year, and we did it.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2018 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Green is perfect: Derby captures third undefeated season in history with state title."