Banner Night

    Regaining some of that early-season swagger Friday night, Dodge City High School took winless Goddard out behind the woodshed and administered an unmerciful spanking to the Lions.
    In a first-round Class 6A district football game, the Red Demons hammered out a 31-7 victory at the Goddard District Sports Complex.
  Senior tailback Jace Banner was the catalyst, accumulating a career-high 202 yards in 30 carries and scoring three touchdowns to lead the Red Demons' offensive assault.
    "I had a great push from the offensive line, it was the best of the year," said Banner, who now has 938 rushing yards on the season. "They did their job up front, which allowed me to get to the linebackers and the secondary and make my cuts."
    When push came to shove, the Demons hit the Lions in the mouth and never let up. So much for Goddard's blitz package, which never was a factor.
    Instead, Dodge ran the ball down the Lions' throat, with Banner assuming the starring role.
    "I thought (Banner) did a good job of following some blocks," Dodge City coach Justin Burke said. "I thought the line did a pretty good job in the run game.
    "In the passing game, we struggled early and then we were able to adjust. Jace did what he was supposed to do. He ran hard and was able to do some things that only he can do."
    The Demons (5-2) drove 52 yards in eight plays during their opening possession for a 6-0 lead with 5:57 left in the first quarter.
    Banner had a 29-yard gain on their second play from scrimmage, perhaps a tell-tale indication of what was in store the remainder of the game. He capped the drive by going airborne from 1 yard out, diving over a mass of Lions and into the end zone.
    "He's a pretty special back, and he used his blocks and used his ability on top of it," Burke said of Banner.
    Early in the second quarter, Dodge City defensive back Keanu Espinoza made the first of his two pass interceptions on the night, curtailing a Goddard drive at the DCHS 20.
    Banner then carried the ball five of Dodge's next six plays during an 80-yard scoring drive. He had gains of 13, 6 and 54 yards before he was dropped for a 2-yard loss at the Goddard 5.
    On the next play, Banner scored from 5 yards out for a 12-0 lead with 5:44 remaining in the second quarter — the same lead the Demons would take into the dressing rooms at halftime.
    Burke opened up the spread-offense passing game in the third quarter, resulting in southpaw quarterback Ty Thomas throwing a 10-yard scoring pass to a leaping Landon Head at the 9:14 mark. He followed that up by throwing a 19-yard scoring toss to Zach Harvey at the 1:02 mark, extending Dodge's lead to 24-0.
    Thomas finished 13 for 20 for 138 yards. His top target was senior wideout Zach Harvey, who had eight catches for 110 yards.
    Goddard (0-7) scored its lone touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown by Tyler Hilton.
    Banner capped his night with a 14-yard touchdown bolt in the game's final minute.
    "We knew we had to get this win to get to 1-0 in districts and we had to come out strong, so we can finish the season strong," Demons linebacker Laton Dowling said. "We came out hungry after losing two games that we knew we should have probably won.
    "We've been practicing hard all week, and the coaches have been pushing us hard all week to never let up. We have to push it to the very end and never stop."
    In a nutshell, the Demons have their swagger back.
    "We're playing with a sense of urgency now," Banner said. "We realize that these could be our last three games, and we don't want that.
    "We want to play six or seven more weeks, until Thanksgiving. We're looking forward to playing Maize next week (at home)."