MORAN — Even without one of its senior leaders, Crest High’s offense remained a well-oiled machine Friday.
The Lancers, playing without star running back Holden Barker because of a broken hand, relied on a trio of other seniors to keep things running along.
Leading the charge was quarterback Ethan Godderz who accounted for 351 yards (unofficially) of total offense and six touchdowns as Crest pummeled rival Marmaton Valley 74-26 in a key district matchup.
The victory keeps the Lancers (5-1 overall) spotless at 3-0 in district play. The Wildcats fell to 2-1 in districts and 3-3 overall.
“Having Holden out is a big loss,” Godderz said. “He’s such an all-around good player. But having Stetson Setter back is a big deal for us. We just kept our composure and held our heads high.” (Setter missed much of 2021 due to injury).
Godderz ended the game with a flourish, guiding a pair of scoring drives in the final minute of the second quarter.
First, he scored on a 38-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left.
Then, after Crest’s Trevor Church intercepted a Wildcat pass with 17 seconds on the clock, it gave the Lancers one final shot at ending the game at intermission.
After an incompletion, Godderz raced for 17 yards to set up a final play from the Wildcat 34 with 3 seconds left.
Godderz deftly avoided a charging Wildcat lineman before arcing a perfect spiral into the arms of a diving Jack White in the end zone for a touchdown.
The score ended the game because it pushed the point spread beyond the 46-point threshold to trigger the Kansas eight-man mercy rule.
“That was awesome,” Godderz admitted. “I saw that defensive end coming, and I knew I couldn’t stay in the pocket. I just trusted my receiver and threw it down there. He made a great play.”
Unofficially, Godderz ran for 256 yards on 14 carries with a trio of scores, and threw for 95 yards and three more touchdowns.
“Ethan almost rushed for 1,000 yards last year,” Lancer head coach Nick McAnulty said. “He’s more than capable.”
To compensate for losing Barker — McAnulty is uncertain when he will return to the lineup — McAnulty turned to Crest’s stable of talented seniors, led by Godderz.
Stetson Setter pulled in a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for 59 yards on four carries with a touchdown. Avery Blaufuss, meanwhile, rushed for 62 yards and recovered a score. He also recovered a fumble in the end zone for another touchdown as Crest led 40-20 at the break.
