High School Football: Cubs 48, Blue Streaks 6
HUMBOLDT Dagen Goodner has been a fixture on the gridiron for Humboldt since his freshman year.
One the best Ive ever seen at the high school level, his coach, Loran Wyrick, said Friday night, after Goodner had been muchly responsible for the Cubs taking Neodesha to the woodshed for a good lickin.
Goodner is mentioned foremost because after playing middle linebacker well enough to get a state nod the past two years, he adopted a new role this season and came away from the game was a new title, quarterback. He ran the Cubs offense amd took liberties to pick up yardage when circumstances dictated.
The final was 48-6.
Midway through the second period, with Humboldts offense clicking a tribute to Goodner and its defense stuffing anything the Blue Streaks threw at it, Neodeshas players gave every indication the game was history.
Dagen played some wildcat (ran from the quarterback slot) last year, Wyrick allowed, but there is a world of difference between taking a snap and looking for a hole and running an offense.
He was at his best in the third quarter, albeit with the game iced, when he and other starters dashed onto the field a last time before yielding to younger players.
Goodner gave every indication he was handing the ball to his running back. The Neodesha defensive end sucked in, so I pulled the back and took out around the end.
Two defensive backs were between him and the goalline. Not to worry. Goodner shifted gears and raced past both, untouched, and scooted 68 years for Humboldts final touchdown.
I worked on my speed this summer, he said, knowing quarterback was in his feature.
It showed, several times but more so on that dash that covered always exactly two-thirds of the field.
Unofficially, Goodner had 11 carries for 130 of Humboldts nearly 400 rushing yards.
Junior Conor Haviland drew raves for his performance, as he accumulated 158 yards on 10 touches. Haviland is expected to have such productive games: He runs hard, has an uncanny sense of knowing where he and opponents are, and, most importantly, has flat-out sprinter speed.
Put Goodner and Haviland together, add several others Kyler Allen, Tucker Hurst, a horse of a fullback, David Watts, a bruiser whose football talents are being mined at new levels each week,and a handful of up-and-comers and the Cubs outburst Friday night should not be seen as an anomaly.
HUMBOLDT came to the game a favorite, having been picked as just one of three teams in the region considered as possibilities to go undefeated, a forecast Wyrick would just as soon not have his charges dwell on.
