Liberty Christian football players are about family

When your football team has a bunch of Godwins, it’s sometimes hard to keep them straight.

“Sometimes I have to figure out who I’m talking to,” said Liberty Christian football coach Craig Lukins, whose team takes on Almira/Coulee-Hartline (11-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Class 1B state semifinals at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco.

That’s a good problem to have.

Mitch Godwin and Cameron Godwin are seniors for the Patriots and just happen to be cousins. Jordan Godwin, a sophomore, is Cameron’s brother.

Each of them are an integral part to this 12-0 Patriots team.

“They all have different kinds of skills,” Liberty Christian star quarterback John Lesser said. “But they’re all great athletes and great friends of mine. Almost feels like I’m part of the Godwins sometimes.”

Mitch leads the team in receiving, with 32 catches for 879 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s also its leading tackler with 96.

Cameron is second on the Patriots in receiving with 16 catches for 341 yards and nine TDs.

Jordan starts on defense and has 46 tackles. He’s also caught six passes for 102 yards.

As competitive as the Godwins can be on the field, they are just as much — maybe even more — off it.

“It’s tons of fun,” Mitch said. “During practice, it’s a friendly competition. And when we’re playing one-on-one in basketball. Or running pass routes.”

Or playing in a Thanksgiving Day turkey bowl.

Or 2-on-1 dodgeball.

“Mitch and I would take on Jordan and cream him,” Cameron said.

Dodgeball “is not necessarily my best memory,” Jordan admitted. “And sometimes we’ll play basketball, and Mitch and Cameron will team up on me. Sometimes tempers will flare, and it doesn’t go too well from there.”

Yet get them all on the same team, like the Patriots’ football squad, and they’ll fight for each other.

“Not many people get to do this,” Jordan said. “Being able to do this is an awesome opportunity.”

It almost didn’t happen. Twice.

Mitch grew up in the Tri-Cities. But it wasn’t until his cousins moved from Phoenix four years ago that they all got together.

“I was super excited,” Mitch said. “I remember we were down visiting them, we were really excited about the possibility they might move here. Sometimes I forget they’re my cousins, and they’re more my friends.”

Last season, Cameron decided to not turn out for football so he could concentrate on basketball. At the same time, Jordan was deciding on whether playing again after having a miserable time with the game in middle school.

Jordan made the decision last spring to come out again, and it wasn’t until a week before fall camp that Cameron made the same decision — getting all the Godwins back together on the field.

For Mitch, getting a good receiver like Cameron out helped him a lot.

“Last year, I was really the only receiver,” Mitch said. “I had 42 catches, and the next guy had 11. With Cameron out there running routes, I can get free and catch more passes.”

Lukins says they’re compatible out there.

“Cameron scored three touchdowns against Touchet, and Mitch didn’t have any that game,” Lukins said. “If you take away one of them, the other one can hurt you.”

And Jordan?

“This year, he’s played like a completely different kid (than in middle school),” Mitch said. “He’s going to be a stud by the time he’s a senior.”

And even though they may team up against Jordan in dodgeball, the younger Godwin is learning from them.

“That’s one thing good about playing with relatives,” Jordan said. “They tend to criticize you more than other teammates do. That’s OK. Mitch shares with me a lot of stuff.”

For the Godwin family, playing in the state semifinals is almost as fun as the journey of this season.

“It’s crazy,” Cameron said. “I always dreamed of playing with family.”

NOTES: This is the second meeting this season between Liberty Christian and Almira/Coulee-Hartline. On Sept. 4, LC traveled to ACH and won 66-42. ... Today’s winner will play in the state championship at 4 p.m. next Friday in the Tacoma Dome. They’ll play Lummi Nation, which knocked off Neah Bay 26-20 on Friday in a 1B semifinal at the Tacoma Dome. ... Lesser has rushed for 3,332 yards and 46 touchdowns so far. He’s also passed for 1,731 yards and thrown 32 TD passes. ... ACH quarterback Dallas Isaak is the Warriors’ go-to guy, rushing for 2,198 yards (37 TDs) and throwing for another 1,095 (20 TD passes).

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 11:17 PM with the headline "Liberty Christian football players are about family."