How a new football coach helped Bishop Carroll football regain its swagger
For nearly a decade, every Bishop Carroll football team that lined up against Derby left the field with the same result.
Loss after loss, season after season — eight straight in all — including even the 2017 state championship team that went 12-1 with its lone blemish coming against the Panthers.
That streak finally ended this past Friday, when Carroll stunned Derby, the No. 4-ranked team in Class 6A, and emerged with a 24-20 road victory that felt like more than just another regular-season win.
For first-year head coach Chris Jaax, a Carroll alum brought home to restore the program’s edge, it was a signature moment that could very well mark the Golden Eagles’ return to relevance.
“To see how excited the kids were after the game and how excited the coaches and the parents were,” Jaax said, “it’s just a sign of how much it meant to beat such a quality program in Derby.”
It wasn’t long ago that a night like that seemed far away. Carroll had stumbled through the past two seasons with a combined 5-13 record, its proud football tradition drifting through the unfamiliar territory of mediocrity. The swagger that once defined the program, by simply putting on a Carroll uniform, had faded.
Jaax, who once played in that same uniform, made his mission clear from the beginning: bring back that belief.
“The biggest thing was to make sure our kids were confident in what they were capable of,” Jaax said. “We had to remind the kids of who we believe we are and what the team is capable of.”
Bishop Carroll football responded to adversity
The turning point of the season actually came three weeks ago following a loss.
Carroll had dropped to 3-3 following a humbling 35-13 loss to its bitter rivals from Kapaun Mt. Carmel, the marquee game on the schedule that was supposed to be a measuring stick for Jaax’s first year.
“That was a game that the kids obviously look forward to and so does the community,” Jaax said. “It was a big showcase for us, so when it doesn’t go your way like that, you’re curious how the kids were going to respond.”
Rather than splinter, the Golden Eagles responded with resolve.
Jaax met with his team captains — John Corrigan, Zach Helten, Landon Steven and Ridge Trail — to gauge the locker room’s pulse following the loss. The captains reported disappointment, but not defeat.
“It really sucked losing to Kapaun,” Corrigan said. “But we have bounced back and come together. The energy that we’ve put out the last two games, just even on the sidelines, we’ve got a lot of momentum right now.”
The message was clear: the season wasn’t over. It turns out, it might have just been beginning.
How Bishop Carroll football reclaimed its identity
What followed was Carroll’s best stretch of football in years, as a 24-0 shutout of Wichita East was followed by the breakthrough at Derby.
The shutout win over the Blue Aces was particularly gratifying after Carroll had lost to East by a combined 124-27 the previous two seasons. This time, Carroll returned the favor with its first shutout win since 2021.
“I think the new coaching staff has given us all a sense of new energy,” Corrigan said. “I think having younger coaches, we have more of a connection with those guys. But really, we just had to get back to the way we play football.”
The Carroll way has always been built on physicality and discipline. This year’s defense has rediscovered both. Steven, the leading tackler at safety, and Helten and Mitchell Frank up front have led a unit that is blossoming at the right time.
“It starts with practice,” Steven said. “Everybody is confident. No one is worried about who we’re playing or how good the other team is going to be. We’re worried about making ourselves better.”
That daily edge, Jaax and the players agreed, has been the foundation of the turnaround.
“Every drill in practice is competitive,” Steven added. “We’re always competing with each other, whether something is on the line or not. We’re always going hard and wanting to win in practice, and I think that carries over to the games.”
Bishop Carroll football’s breakthrough win at Derby
The Derby game offered one more test of belief. After giving up an opening-drive touchdown in a hostile environment, Carroll could have folded — a lesser team certainly would have given the circumstances.
Instead, the Golden Eagles answered with a methodical scoring drive, then closed the first half with two more touchdowns to open up a 17-7 lead. Senior running back Cooper Herrman’s third-quarter touchdown run stretched it to 24-7, which allowed Carroll to hold off a furious Derby rally in the fourth quarter and finish the job.
“We’ve put together our best two games in our last two games, and that’s exciting,” Jaax said. “We are playing really physical right now on offense and defense. You can see the confidence in our kids playing together on defense, then we’re starting to consistently move the ball and finish drives with points on offense.”
Herrman has become the steadying force in the backfield, running behind a veteran offensive line anchored by Quentin Mauler, Sam Murphy and Zane White. And Corrigan, who stepped in at quarterback after Jonah Mull’s early season injury, has steadily improved as a playmaker as the season has progressed.
At 5-3, Carroll earned the No. 8 seed in the Class 5A West playoffs and will host Valley Center (4-4) on Thursday. The Golden Eagles refuse to look ahead, but a potential road trip to undefeated, top-seeded Great Bend looms in the second round.
Still, the Golden Eagles are riding their first real wave of momentum in years. The defense is peaking. The offense is balanced. And more importantly, Carroll football has its swagger back.
“We’ve got a lot of great football players and we have the potential to be a great football team,” Jaax said. “Our goal is to play for state championships here. We’re going to take it one game at a time, but I think we all have those beliefs in what they’re capable of. I think our kids can see how much progress they’ve made and how much growth they’ve made as a team, and they’re excited for the playoffs.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 6:03 AM.
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