Demons’ 14-year playoff absence ends with late-season turnaround

The Dodge City High School football program's 14-year absence from the state playoffs is something of a phenomenon. The streak-busting playoff run of 2008 was put together by a bunch of players who weren't even alive to see the end of what many Demon football fans say were the glory days of the program.
    Crowds at this year's home games at Memorial Stadium have been regaled with the lore of some of the best football teams in DCHS history during intermission, while the current team has been in the locker room, trying to figure out how to pull together a win in what have usually been close games at half.
    It's safe to say that the players on the 2008 Red Demon football team aren't experts at what made the tradition-laden teams in the Riekenberg and Masters eras tick. It's taken all their energy to get the ship righted after starting the season 1-4 and sneak into the playoffs.
    Whatever their ties are to the Demons who came before them, team members are happy to be the ones to get Dodge City football back where they, and an involved fan base, think the program needs to be: the playoffs.
    "It's incredible," said senior receiver Zane Albrecht during a team function Thursday. "We just want to see how far we can take this thing."
    Senior lineman Jeremiah Lee added: "Whether it's your senior year or not, this is a great team to be a part of. It means a lot for everyone."
    To a man, the players in large part agree on what has helped them turn things around from a dismal start: a midseason switch to a 3-4 defense that has put playmakers where they need to be on the field. Even offensive players credit the defense with turning things around.
    "The 3-4 defense played a big part in turning it around," said junior receiver Landon Head. "I knew we had the talent to do it — it was just a matter of figuring out how to win."
    Albrecht added: "You could really tell a difference in the defense after it was installed. It fits our guys."
    But the Red Demon offense has also been stabilized during the recent weeks' push for the playoffs. A healthy offensive line has given depth to a rushing attack that was lacking earlier in the season, and it has given balance to an offense that was too often predicated on throws that quarterback Ty Thomas made while running for his life.
    "It's definitely a happier offensive line lately," said junior guard Mason Pooler with a relieved demeanor, as if he knew all along his team was of playoff caliber. "We're playing heavier and doing the things we knew this team could do on offense."
    Albrecht said that since Pooler and sophomore tackle Jesse Trent have come back from injuries this season, the offensive line has gotten its groove back.
    As the offensive line gets closer and closer to full strength, it will take a small part of the extra load off the shoulders of trench-players like Lee, who has played on both lines during the latter part of the season.
    Though coach Justin Burke said earlier in the week that he will pull out all the stops in all three phases of the game in order to give his team its best shot at a playoff win, he admitted that he may have maxed out the players he used on both sides of the ball in last week's win against Garden City.
    Players like Lee and sophomore defensive end/running back Bruce Campbell will at least have rotations on the lines against Heights, allowing them to get a play or two off at a time.
    Strategy aside, the players have come together to do what no Dodge City High School football team that they can remember has been able to pull off.
    "It feels like we kind of run DC," Albrecht said.
    But getting to this point is only the first step in the process.