By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
There was probably excitement surrounding the 1978 Great Bend High School football team that posted a 10-1 record. There was definitely excitement around the 2006 team with Panther fans packing the stands three hours from home away to watch their team play in the Class 5A state championship game.
But excitement heading into the 2025 campaign may be at an all-time high for the program. Great Bend won its first nine games last year and returns some of the best athletes in school history. Coach Erin Beck, back for a 10th season on the sideline, is ready to see what happens on the gridiron.
"This time of year, every team we’ve had is excited to get the season started," he said. "This one is just a little extra special because so many have been playing on varsity for so long. There is a lot of familiarity with this group. I’m looking forward to seeing the ball in the air and getting the season started."
Even with the likes of Notre Dame-commit Ian Premer, three-year starting quarterback Daxton Minton, senior linebacker Trenton Kern, junior standout Cooper Ohnmacht, and many other returning starters back on the roster, Beck said the approach to this season is just like any other.
"As a coach and as a team, what we try to drill into these kids is, yes, think about where we can be and the ultimate goal, but you can't get ahead of yourselves," he said. "You have to make sure you take care of the ins and outs, the day to day, making sure we go and beat McPherson. That's goal number one."
Beck posted his own 10-win season in his first year with the program in 2016. His Panthers finished 8-3 in 2018. Behind last year's loaded roster, the Panthers opened the season at 9-0 before a 19-14 playoff loss to Hays to end an historic run.
"You have to learn from it," said Beck. "Each and every week, if there are things you didn't do very well, you have to learn from it. I know that loss last year has lingered with us. You try to put it behind you, but at the same time, you want to learn from it. That's what I think we'll try to do as we move forward is make sure we're taking care of some of the things that got us last year."
In his tenure, Beck has seen the gamut of ups and downs. Great Bend High School had just two winning seasons from 1980 to 2000. Still, the fans showed up. Wins or losses under Beck, he's been impressed by the community's continual support.
"The reason you get into this profession is to make an impact on kids," he said. "I feel like this community has made an impact on our kids and myself in that they just love high school football. I know there were years where maybe we didn't win a lot of games, but there were some darn good players in the 90s. There were some good players when we weren't good. But this community still loves its football.
"I don't ever want to make it sound like it's all about one coach, or one player, or one class, or one team. It's about something bigger in Great Bend, and that's why I love coaching here."
The senior Premer made the most headlines in the offseason. The 3-sport standout had football offers from virtually every major program in the nation before choosing Notre Dame. Last fall, he caught 30 passes for 541 yards and eight touchdowns. He took all five catches to the house against Buhler early in the season for a total of 167 yards. Premer added 260 rushing yards on the year and also piled up 50 tackles and three interceptions on defense.
"There are 10-15 5-star athletes each year across the nation," Beck said. "Yes, he was good as a youth but nobody would have ever predicted he was going to be where he is. He sprung up and shocked a lot of people. He's put in so much work. He's pretty special."
The senior Minton, another 3-sport star, has a chance to move up in the GBHS record books in his third season as a starter. Last season, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,385 yards and 17 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He also finished second on the team with 412 rushing yards.
"Daxton has done such a great job of distributing the football and running this offense," said Beck. "It's kind of wild. I was looking back, and in my 10 years of doing this, I've never had a three-year starting quarterback. He'll be the first. He's up there in the record books when you start looking at some of his numbers. Ian and Cooper obviously help, but he runs the ball, distributes it and throws it well, and just does so many huge things for our team and our offense."
The junior Ohnmacht has also been busy in his first three years of high school, winning a pair of triple jump titles in the spring and helping the Panthers to a state basketball berth. As a freshman, he set a school record with three kick returns for scores in a single season and also ran back one of the longest interception returns for a score in school history. Last year, Ohnmacht caught 35 passes for 466 yards and six touchdowns.
Then there's the senior Kern, one of the top linebackers in Kansas. Another 3-sport standout for the Panthers, Kern led the team with 113 tackles last year with three sacks and a fumble recovery.
"I think he's the best true linebacker we've had in decades," Beck said. "He will go down as one of the best ever to do it."
Other key returners this season include senior Jacob Hall (41 tackles, 3 interceptions, 299 yards on 19 receptions), senior Hayden Kelly (201 yards on 14 receptions), senior Conner Holladay (68 tackles and five sacks), and junior Kale Kern (41 tackles).
Last season, the Panther defense allowed just 106 points in 10 games, the fewest at the school since 2002. The 28 sacks recorded by last year's defense smashed the previous school record by six and reset the record for fewest yards allowed in a season (2,182).
Fall sports practices around the state begin on Aug. 18. The Panther football team opens its season at home against McPherson on Sept. 5.