Goddard senior Jaden Cohens makes a tackle in the Lions’ 22-16 upset win over No. 1-ranked Andover Central on Friday. Steve Adelson Courtesy
1. Goddard stuns unbeaten, top-ranked Andover Central
It didn’t take a shootout from a high-octane offense to take down the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A.
Goddard used a different formula, one true to its identity, to score a road 22-16 win over Andover Central, as the Lions returned a kickoff and an interception for touchdowns to pull off Friday’s top stunner in the area.
It was fitting for Goddard to secure the victory with a defensive stop inside the 10-yard line in the final seconds of the game. It was the third straight win by the Lions (4-1) in the AV-CTL Division II rivalry, while Andover Central (4-1) suffered its first defeat of the season.
“Here at Goddard, we don’t try to be flashy or fancy,” Goddard coach Tommy Beason said. “We put our very best players on defense because we believe in it. Our offense didn’t do enough to win it for us (Friday), but we score in all three phases and then get two fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter. That’s who we are.”
Goddard’s offense went quiet after an opening-drive touchdown, but it didn’t matter because Erv Phillips returned a kickoff for a score and Giovanni Hernandez, a reserve cornerback who had played sparingly this season, scored on an interception return to build a 22-3 lead entering the fourth quarter.
From there, Andover Central nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback.
Brandt Stupka hauled in a touchdown pass from Jace Jefferson for the Jaguars’ first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, then Brody DeGarmo raced down the field on the ensuing kickoff and recovered a squib kick. Not long after, Jefferson and Stupka connected again in the end zone to trim Goddard’s deficit to 22-16 with seven minutes still to play.
Jefferson hummed Andover Central down the field inside Goddard’s 10-yard line in the final 90 seconds. But on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Goddard unleashed middle linebacker Preston Hagel on a blitz and the senior bull-rushed his way to Jefferson, forcing him to scramble and tripping him. That forced Jefferson to throw a wild pass that was deflected and intercepted by Elliott Walk to seal the game.
“Preston Hagle is a creature out there,” Beason said. “He should be playing big-time college football. There were a lot of great players out there (Friday) and he was the best player on the field. He was just unbelievable for us.”
Despite an early-season setback to rival Eisenhower, Friday’s win keeps Goddard (3-1 AV-CTL Div. II) alive for a possible shared league title. Eisenhower (4-0) plays at Andover Central (2-1) on Oct. 18.
“This is a huge win for our program, but it’s not necessarily the biggest part of our season,” Beason said. “We talked about it after the game how we want this to be a stepping stone. It shows us what we can do. We proved we can win a big game, but now let’s string them together. We feel like we’re playing defense as good as anybody right now, but our offense needs to come around.”
Eisenhower senior receiver Carter Pabst scored the game-winning touchdown to lift the Tigers to a last-minute win over Andover on Friday. Tre'Von Evans Courtesy
2. Eisenhower comes up clutch on final drive for dramatic win
With the game on the line, Eisenhower quarterback Derek Morgan only had eyes for one receiver.
Carter Pabst showed why, as the senior hauled in all four targets on the game-winning drive and scored the go-ahead, 4-yard touchdown to lift Eisenhower to a 21-17 home win over Andover.
The fourth-quarter rally kept Eisenhower (5-0), the No. 5-ranked team in Class 5A, unbeaten, while Andover (2-3) has lost three games by a combined 12 points this season.
“We actually weren’t getting the ball to Carter very much early in the game, but he’s not a guy who ever complains,” Eisenhower coach Darrin Fisher said. “He just wants to win. He’s a team player. But when it’s his time and his number gets called, you know he’s going to come through. He’s just a special, special kid.”
Before Friday’s totals were calculated, Pabst was among the state’s leaders this season in receiving. He had caught 23 balls for 603 yards and seven touchdowns through four games.
Pabst saved his best for last on Friday, as Andover held a 9-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Eisenhower went in front on a 32-yard touchdown catch by Pabst on a perfect go ball thrown by Morgan.
But Andover, under first-year coach Jamie Cruce, proved resilient, as the Tojrnas reeled off a 13-play, 7-minute drive capped by a Noah Noyes touchdown and a Ben Reynolds 2-point conversion to go up 17-14 with 4:37 remaining.
“They’re a really well-coached team and they’re a tough team to stop,” Fisher said of Andover. “But when we got the ball back, we didn’t want to hit the panic button and just go straight to the air. We wanted to stick to our normal offense and stay on the ground.”
Brayden Pappas also delivered a handful of key plays on the final drive to help put Eisenhower in scoring position. But every time Morgan dropped back to pass, it was evident he was looking for his main target.
After a penalty moved the Tigers within four yards of the end zone, Morgan faked a hand-off, rolled out to his right and found Pabst streaking open across the goal line for the game-winning score.
Andover had 90 seconds to work with on its final drive, but never passed midfield because of sacks by Eisenhower’s Makai Tagatac and Jameson Turner.
“This was a game about adjustments and our guys really locking in,” Fisher said. “We have some really good seniors who have been in that situation before, so it’s nice to have that kind of leadership out there when you’re down and the game is on the line. They came through for us.”
3. Collegiate bounces back for blowout, ranked win
After a 47-6 loss at Andale last week, Collegiate coach Troy Black knew this week would tell him a lot about the make-up of his team.
It was the second straight game against a ranked Class 3A opponent, only this time, the No. 6-ranked Spartans were the dominant side in a 42-12 rout of No. 8-ranked Pratt on Friday. Collegiate (4-1) also picked up a key victory in a brutally tough District 7, while Pratt (4-1) dropped its first game of the season.
“I was kind of worried about our psyche after last week because we felt good going into that game and it just went backwards on us fast,” Black said. “But we played up to our potential (on Friday). I was very happy and very proud of our kids. We’ve seen that level in them, but we just haven’t been able to put it together for more than moments and spurts. We finally did that against a really good football team.”
While throwing the ball has not been a team strength this season, Collegiate quarterback Harrison Simon had his best game to date against Pratt. He connected throughout the game with a receiving core that featured Sebastian Hines-Turner, A.J. Batiste, Jack Grace and Roman Hourani.
Pratt entered averaging 44.3 points on offense, but Collegiate’s defense limited the scoring on the explosive offense. Black singled out a pair of first-year linebackers in Jaden Parker and Cooper Arneson, who blossomed on Friday, for a big reason why Collegiate played so well defensively.
“I know Pratt is a run-dominant team, but they really have hurt people when they throw it,” Black said. “They’re kind of like Andale. They’ll lull you to sleep, then hit you with a play-action. I thought we did a great job of covering all of the passes and we put some good pressure on them when they did try to throw the ball. I thought we played physical, which is something that we’re not really known for. I was really proud of that.”
With versatile senior star Seth Dugan back to full health, Garden Plain rolled to a resounding 38-14 win at Haven to gain the early advantage for a Class 2A District 5 title.
Dugan excelled in all three phases of the game, as he scored two touchdowns on offense, kicked two field goals, including a school-record 50-yarder, and spearheaded a defense that muted a Haven offense that entered averaging 46.5 points.
The No. 10-ranked Owls (3-2, 2-0) handed Haven (4-1, 1-1) its first loss of the season.
“Seth missed our first three games and I think he’s as dynamic of a player as there is in 2A,” Garden Plain coach Todd Rice said. “He’s just getting back in his groove, but he’s already a big difference-maker for us on both sides of the football.”
Garden Plain was dominant from the start, as Dugan scored from 35 out on a pass from Brady Brack and the Owls never looked back. A pair of rushing scores from Emrick Hays widened the gap, while Dugan tacked on a 27-yard field goal and then Brack scored again to put Garden Plain up 29-0.
But the highlight of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Dugan drilled a 50-yard field goal to break the school record.
“That’s impressive enough, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that he played almost every snap on both sides of the ball,” Rice said. “It’s not like he’s just kicking. So to see him do it all for us and then go out there at the end of the game and make a 50-yarder on top of everything on his place, that was just a really cool moment.”
5. Derby routs Hutchinson behind sophomore’s big day
It wasn’t too long ago when a small, shifty sophomore running back made Derby’s offense dynamic.
The Panthers have found lightning once again in their backfield with sophomore Arieus Finley, who rushed for a career-high 195 yards to help Derby to a dominant 36-3 win at Hutchinson.
In top-ranked Derby’s 5-0 start, the 5-foot-5 running back is averaging better than 11 yards per carry with 584 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. And that’s with hardly any second-half action.
Hutchinson (3-2) has proven to be a solid team this season, but was worn down by Derby.
While Finley’s big plays were putting the Panthers in striking distance, senior quarterback Drew Kemp was finishing drives for Derby. He scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half for a 15-0 lead, then threw for two more touchdowns after halftime to polish off the victory.
This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 6:06 AM.
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