Iron Horses on cusp of region crown in pre-Halloween title tilt
Editors note - This article was published prior to the Thursday, Oct. 30 victory by Philip Simmons High over Andrews giving the Iron Horses the 2025 Region 6-AA title.The playoffs are next for the Iron Horses.
All that hustle and hard work during those hot and humid dog days of August are now paying dividends for the Philip Simmons High School football team under those crisp Friday Night Lights of October.
The Iron Horses blanked county rival Timberland High School, 22-0, on Oct. 24 at The Phil to take a big step in their bid to win a second consecutive Region 6-AA championship and third overall in eight years of existence.
But they need an encore of similar sorts when Andrews High invades the Phil for a 7 p.m. showdown in a game that has been moved up a day to Thursday, Oct. 30.
Philip Simmons upped its record to 7-2, including 4-0 in the league, with its third consecutive shutout and fourth of the season. Andrews, which pounded Burke over the weekend, enters with a 6-3 mark, including 3-1 in region play.
The Iron Horses were in the same situation last fall when they traveled to Andrews and picked up the win to claim their second region championship in the school’s brief history.
Eric Bendig sounded more like a prophet than a coach over the summer when he said the team could take some lumps and losses because of graduation losses. Bendig asked his team to improve and learn in preparation for regional competition.
Evidently, about 50 teenagers all listened as the Iron Horses followed his path to success.
The Iron Horses dropped their first two games of the season to nonconference foes but roared back to post seven consecutive wins. The Iron Horses outscored foes 183-95 in their first five games and have been extremely strong on offense and are in shutdown mode on defense in region action, including the whitewash against the Wolves. They have outscored league foes 181-14.
Meanwhile, junior quarterback Hayes Goddard’s individual success reflects the team’s success. Bendig and offensive coordinator and QB coach Tamyn Garrick worked with Goddard on a daily basis to improve his accuracy.
The results?
Goddard struggled at times in his first three games, completing just 42 percent of his 63 passing attempts. But he had another stellar effort against Timberland with a 19-for-25 passing performance for 302 yards and a score, a week after going 12 for 12 against Academic Magnet.
Goddard, who also had 58 yards and a TD on the ground vs. Timberland, has upped his accuracy to 58 percent. He has completed 108 of 187 for 1,754 yards and 21 touchdowns. But what’s really impressive is just one of his 187 passes went to the wrong team.
It doesn’t hurt to have one of the state’s best pass-receiving troikas: Ashton Kellermann, Blake Johnson, and Alex Tchoryk. They combined for 18 catches for 299 yards in Week 9, with Johnson scoring a touchdown.
On defense, underclassmen are starting to move up the depth and stat charts. That, along with a B-team that just finished a 10-0 season, bodes well for the 2026 season.