Four plays into the varsity football jamboree, Friday, Aug. 23, the Pioneers suffered a blow with the injury of a player head coach Matt Irvin describes as a key leader on both sides of the ball.
Blake Goddard, senior, went down with a Liz Frank injury, a tear of the ligament between two bones in his left foot while making a tackle. It seemed his final season was over before it had even begun. Losing Goddard, a starting quarterback, linebacker and captain, was also a major obstacle to the team.
“We had an all-state player leave the quarterback position the previous year in Jordan Bishop, and we liked the fact that he was both a run and pass threat. We felt like Blake would definitely be able to fill those shoes and Will would have a presence for us as well, but Blake’s injury forced us to rethink how we were going to run our offense,” Irvin said.
According to Goddard, the initial diagnosis was a foot sprain, but upon having an MRI, the scans showed that the injury was much worse. The nature of Goddard’s injury requires surgery that will insert a screw to hold the ligament in place, followed by seven months of physical therapy in order to gain back full strength in his foot.
“[Goddard’s doctor] walked in the room and basically told me he would put a screw in it right then and call it a season,” Goddard said.
Goddard asked if there was any way he would be able to play and the answer was yes. His doctor gave him a release to attempt playing which Goddard eagerly accepted. After about three weeks, the coaches and Goddard decided that his foot was in good enough condition to play.
He decided to forgo his surgery until the first week of December and play his senior season. Goddard played linebacker, the position where schools such as Missouri State, Kent State, University of Wyoming and Utah State wanted to see him play before they committed to him.
Goddard made a surprise appearance at quarterback, however, in the district semifinals, Nov. 6, after having not been on the offensive side all year, scoring two rushing touchdowns in a 34-0 rout of McCluer North.
Scholarship offers from Missouri State and Kent State still stand, but other schools have eased away from Goddard because of his injury. Goddard plans on making contacts with Wyoming and Utah State after the season, saying his school of preference right now is Wyoming.
This being said, the Pioneers were without their starting quarterback, which meant that Wil Hadler, junior, who had never started a game of varsity football, had to take the reins of an offense that averaged 38 points per game in 2012.
“I definitely think a lot of teams target us and circle us on the schedule because they want to beat the defending state champs. But we want to prove just as bad that we can do it again,” Hadler said.
Hadler played quarterback for last year’s JV squad, and started in Turkey Day, throwing four interceptions in a 29-21 loss. Hadler believes he has made great strides in the maturation of himself as a football player since last season.
“I make much quicker decisions this year. I know all the line calls and I communicate a lot with my players so that we’re always on the same page,” Hadler said.
As for this season, Hadler has surprised many with his performance, including Goddard, who sees a very bright future for Hadler at the varsity level.
“I knew [Hadler] could go in there and manage the game and really take care of stuff, but he’s far exceeded my expectations. He’s done very well and has become somewhat of a star on our team,”