A Victory Well Worth the Wait

Dustin Goetz was calm and smiling Saturday. He chose to be a spectator to what was going on around him at Santa Ana Stadium.

Some victories you celebrate, some you enjoy.

His Katella teammates and coaches were having a ball after a 24-23 victory over Century.

There was quarterback John Baldridge laughing after the Knights ended their 21-game (on-the-field) winless streak. He completed six passes, all to Josh Welton. Two went for touchdowns.

“It’s because we both bleach our hair,” Baldridge said, pointing to his rebellious, yet-oh-so-common, dye job.

Yes, blonds do have more fun.

Baldridge to Welton, for 34 yards and a touchdown. The first-quarter score gave the Knights a 7-0 lead. No one celebrated. Possibly no one knew how. It was only the team’s second touchdown this season. By the end of the day, they seemed to get the hang of it.

Goetz, a senior running back, could previously only watch that touchdown-a-month offense. He missed the first four weeks recovering from ankle surgery. An injury doctors missed for eight months.

Knight Coach Larry Anderson was laughing Saturday too, even at being the butt of a joke. He was teased about his soaking-wet drawers, a byproduct of that rebellious, yet oh-so-common, bucket o’ Gatorade.

“Maybe I should look into Depends,” Anderson chuckled.

A winner’s laugh. He hadn’t had one of those in a while. Not since beating Estancia the fourth week of the 1993 season. The only “victory” since was a forfeit by El Dorado. No one doused Anderson for that one.

Goetz can remember that last victory too. It came a few weeks before a freak injury sent him to the hospital for surgery to repair a small hole in his lower intestine.

So Saturday, Goetz, offered only a relieved smile. Chaos, bordering on anarchy, was all around him. Anderson finally had to tell his team, “I know you’d like to dig up the turf, but let’s get on the bus and go home.”

Goetz was happy to oblige. He strolled toward the buses, helmet in hand, with a somewhat triumphant grin. This was a short walk at the end of a long road.

As a sophomore, Goetz was merely doing his job, and then some. It was a simple running play. Goetz first blocked a linebacker, then hit the safety as he flew by. As players piled up, Goetz felt a cleat in his stomach, which created a small puncture in his intestine.

He underwent surgery about midnight. Had they not operated immediately, the doctor told Goetz’s father, he would have had to wear a bag on his side the rest of his life. Or worse. Dave Goetz, a Vietnam vet, didn’t even want to think about what was worse.

But by spring, Dustin Goetz was the Empire junior varsity champion in the 400 meters. No problem. Running fast was easy for him. When that became difficult, he knew something was wrong.

Goetz was returning a kickoff last season when, as he puts it, “I got tagged.” He got up limping.

Six times he went to the doctor. Six times he was told everything was OK. Goetz helped the Knights’ 4 x 100 relay team finish second in the Empire League that spring. But it hurt.

In May, Anderson got Goetz to a specialist. Not only was a chipped bone discovered, but the fragment had attached itself to the bone at another spot. He had surgery again and was in a cast for three months.

Saturday, in his second game back, Goetz rushed for 116 yards. He may not have reveled in it afterward. But he was happy, for that victory and his own triumph.