Godley vs. everybody
GODLEY WILDCATS
Godley’ s jump from 4A Div. II to Div. I is a hefty one. Not only does head coach Danny Dudgeon see a significant jump in the physicality of opponents, he anticipates the road to the postseason being very difficult in what he called“ one of the hardest districts in the state for 4A Div. I.”
“ Honestly, I could see it being one of those deals where the tiebreaker may come down at the end to see who gets the slots into the playoffs,” said Dudgeon.
Slotted amongst an 8-team District 4-4A with Alvarado, Decatur and state favorites Springtown, the mentality across the program is its“ Godley versus everybody.”
A move to Div. I and a district schedule featuring four other playoff teams is exactly what Dudgeon was anticipating since his arrival to Godley in 2024. To prepare for the move, the Wildcats purposely booked a tough preseason slate.
Over the past two years, the first three weeks of the season were Alvarado, Paradise and Stephenville. All three went four rounds deep in 2025, with Stephenville hoisting the 4A Div. I state-title trophy.
“ If you don’ t play good people, you don’ t prepare to beat good people,” Dudgeon said.
Godley suffered losses to each of those teams last year, which made it hard for the Wildcats to watch them make deep postseason runs.
“ When we see these teams go as far as they did, we think to ourselves, that should have been us. We should have been right there,” said linebacker / defensive end Brett Fancher.
Along with a bi-district loss to Graham, Godley’ s week one matchup this year, nothing was more motivating for the Wildcats than to prove they belong in the mix.
“ We feel like we’ re definitely a playoff team,” wide receiver / cornerback Coby Ball said.“ We graduated a lot, but we’ re going for a district title.”
Bouncing off his teammate’ s proclamation, Fancher said,“ I think we have competition with every team in our district. I don’ t think there’ s really a team that we look at as they’ re going to wipe the floor with us.” The key to Godley’ s success in 2026 lies in the large class of sophomores and juniors that get their first taste of varsity football.
With a roster of only 15 seniors, Dudgeon emphasized the urgency of the underclassmen to get on the same page on a shortened preseason schedule.“ They’ ve got to grow up now. We don’ t have any time to wait on them.” A luxury for the Wildcats that hasn’ t
22 johnson county gridiron 2026
been the case for the program is the numbers it possesses, allowing for players to focus on one position rather than playing both sides.
As a member of the large underclassmen group, offensive lineman Jack Van Wart is the only lineman with varsity experience.
When asked about Godley’ s youth, he said he has full confidence in Dudgeon and the coaching staff to put the best 11 out on the field, regardless of age.
Offense
Godley’ s offense doesn’ t lack in the talent category despite its turnaround. Along with replacing linemen and running back Adam Pempsell, quarterback Ryder Papasan is devoting his time to baseball as Godley’ s top prospect.
Dudgeon respected Papasan’ s decision and is comfortable with the future of the position with Brock DeBerry. The junior quarterback brings a thicker build than Papasan and