Seniors lead Goddard Eisenhower football back to semis, best season in school history
In its first 10 years of existence, Goddard Eisenhower never had much of a reputation as a football school.
Given their history and a 3-win season last year, the Tigers seem like the ultimate underdog story with their 10-1 record and Class 5A semifinal showdown against Kapaun Mt. Carmel played at Wichita Southeast on Friday in the Kansas high school football playoffs.
Maybe to outsiders, but not to this senior class that has powered Eisenhower to its best season in school history.
“Honestly, we’re exactly where I thought we were going to be,” Eisenhower senior Lucas Dickman said. “I wouldn’t say we’re an underdog story, but it is awesome to see how everything has unfolded because this is exactly what we planned.”
The seniors on Eisenhower believed they could achieve something no other class had done because they had gone through something different from any other class.
Their journey in high school began in quarantine, as the players were separated from the junior-varsity and varsity teams during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020.
Going through an experience like that created a unique bond, one that has only strengthened over time.
“We built so many memories that year because we had to basically do everything together on our own,” Eisenhower senior linebacker Max Brown said. “That’s what made us so tight. We don’t really have any cliques. We’re all just one big group of friends. We’ve been through so much together as a class and that made us tight-knit.”
While a 7-win improvement from last season is drastic, Eisenhower coach Darrin Fisher knew the team didn’t have far to climb to become a winning team. After all, five of the team’s six losses last season came by a combined 15 points.
Winning close games hasn’t been the secret to success this year for Eisenhower — the Tigers, with a 24-point average margin of victory, have played so well that they have avoided them altogether.
“Seeing these kids have success after all of the hard work they’ve put in, it’s such a treat,” Fisher said. “This summer we spent a lot of time as coaches with our players trying to develop the culture. A lot of that has to do with our seniors. I think that has been the biggest change this season has been those guys taking ownership.”
Eisenhower has four captains this season, two on offense (Dickman, Nate Hamm) and two on defense (Brown, Mac McDonald).
The coaching staff gives them credit for the culture shift this season.
“I think all of us were (mad) about how last season went,” McDonald said. “We knew we had to come together and believe in each other to get over that hump. We make sure everyone is giving their 100% every day in practice. If someone is slacking off in practice, we make sure they are up to our standard.”
Eisenhower has forged its new identity on speed and power.
The defense, which includes other senior standouts in Nicholas Griffin, Hunter Houser and Brody Hall, is the fastest unit Fisher has had at Eisenhower and allowing just 12 points per game this season.
The offense loves to set the tone early on the ground, as Dickman has rushed for 1,509 yards and 14 touchdowns, but the emergence of junior quarterback Derek Morgan, a first-year starter, has allowed Eisenhower to maintain a balance. The Tigers feature a big-play threat in junior receiver Carter Pabst, who has 703 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
To reach the program’s first state championship game, Eisenhower will have to win against a powerhouse program in Kapaun that plays a similar style under coach Weston Schartz. The Crusaders are led by a dynamic running back in Omari Elias, have a capable passing game and their defense has delivered timely stops this season.
To come out on top in the biggest game in school history, Eisenhower is trusting the same methods that led the seniors to this moment in the first place.
“I remember in the summer the coaches told us that at the end of the day, it was up to us to determine the success of the team,” Dickman said. “I think it was pretty simple: we were all just tired of losing. We wanted to make a change and make Eisenhower known as a football school. I think we’re doing that with our brotherhood. I think it really all comes down to that culture.”
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