Rams have sights on playoff run
Bouncing back from an 0-3 start to finish 6-4, Lakeside clinched a share of the 5A-South championship for the second year in a row last season before falling to a familiar foe.
Little Rock McClellan eliminated the Rams for the second-straight year, 32-16 at Austin Field, in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. Primed for another run at a conference title, Lakeside has its sights set on a deeper run in the postseason.
“We hope so; we’ve been talking about that a bunch,” coach Jared McBride said. “It’s been our focus to have a good season and also be really prepared to make a good run in the playoffs. Sometimes that boils down to matchups; we’ve matched up with McClellan the last two years, and they’ve been a good team that’s given us trouble. For us, we’ve just got to play as well as we can in the regular season and get a good seed to set us up on a good path.”
Junior Taylor Gilham succeeds two-year starter Fisher Alexander at quarterback after gaining valuable experience last season. Starting one game and appearing in five others, Gilham passed for 682 yards and five touchdowns, adding 99 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“You can tell that he’s got a little bit of experience under his belt,” said McBride. “He’s done well for us in the spring and in fall camp, and I think he’ll have a great season. It’s definitely reassuring to know that he has played some in conference so we can build off that.”
Seniors Dupree Swanson and Michael James give the Rams a lethal one-two punch in the backfield. Swanson earned allstate honors after leading the team with 1,494 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing while James chipped in with 537 yards and seven touchdowns.
Two seasons after Colt Housley and Maurice Bradford combined for 2,764 yards and 48 touchdowns for a 9-1 squad, McBride believes this year’s duo can be just as good.
“I think they can have a similar impact; we’ve got a really good group up front that will help with that,” McBride said. “I think that Michael and Dupree will be a great duo in the backfield for us.”
Caleb Dean’s graduation leaves a gaping hole in the receiving corps. A two-time all-state performer, Dean was named The Sentinel-Record’s Garland County offensive player of the year after hauling in 64 passes for 1,214 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Juniors Richard Gaston and Keelan Fleming look to fill the void at receiver along with senior David Regenhardt while seniors Torin Davis and Carson Muldoon split time at tight end and receiver.
“Consistency is the main thing we’re looking for,” said McBride. “We’ve had flashes of guys this fall that can make some plays, but we’ve also had some mental breakdowns. We’ve just got to be consistent, not really worry about what’s happened in the past and just be the best position guys that we can be. We’ve got some guys that can run and catch the football; we just have to be able to spread the ball around.”
Despite losing Ethan Eye and Kyle Mabry, the Rams return multiple starters on the offensive line. Juniors Adrian Masias (6-3, 280), Jonah Nester (5-11, 200) and Logan Tipton (6-1, 225) each started the final nine games up front, paving the way for an offense that averaged more than 36 points per game.
Seniors Drew Bell (5-9, 240) and Etai Grenman (6-1, 270) round out the unit with juniors John Michael Fuller (6-0, 220) and Myles Jerrels (6-3, 265) providing depth.
“We’re thin (on the offensive line), but I’m excited about the group,” McBride said. “We’ve got guys back that have played and got good experience. We need to stay healthy for sure, and then just keep growing within the offense.”
Lakeside took its lumps defensively at times last season, surrendering 42.7 points per game in the first six games before
rebounding to allow 17 points per game in a four-game winning streak.
“As a unit, I think we’ll be better and we’ll be able to hold some people down,” said McBride. “We lost two really good linebackers, but I’m really excited about the four we’re playing with right now, and we return a few in the secondary that gained a lot of experience.”
Grenman anchors the defensive line at noseguard, flanked by senior Logan Garner and junior Landon Gray at defensive end. Sophomore Isaac Alvarez, senior Dominic Barragan and junior Jakob Ligon will also see time up front.
Jack Henry Hill will be missed at middle linebacker. The all-state performer racked up 101 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and seven sacks a year ago, earning recognition as The Sentinel-Record’s defensive player of the year on the all-Garland County team.
McBride believes junior Aaron Killian and senior Alex Stewart can help fill the void. Stewart finished with 34 tackles last season while Killian succeeds Hill at middle linebacker after contributing on special teams.
“Aaron’s still young, but I think he’s got a lot of the same characteristics that Jack Henry had,” McBride said. “He’s just a very instinctive football player and he can make tackles. Alex Stewart is leading that group, and both of those guys are physical football players that like to hit.”
Seniors Ben Gammill and Carson Muldoon rotate at outside linebacker while James and senior Korbin Kuhn provide depth.
Senior cornerback Brandon Chambers headlines the secondary after 32 tackles, two interceptions and a team-high seven pass deflections last season. Gaston mans the other corner with Fleming and seniors Logan Gower and Landon Muldoon rotating at safety.
“It helps for sure, just knowing that we’ve got guys that have experience and can make plays back there,” said McBride. “All of those guys have had a good summer and 7-on-7. We made some tweaks and adjustments in the spring, and they picked up on those well. I think as a unit, they’ll be ready to play.”
Junior Enrique Ayon and senior Will Carpenter will also see time in the secondary.
For the second year in a row, the Rams open against Pulaski Robinson on Monday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. McBride believes a bounceback performance from last year’s humbling 51-28 loss could fuel the team to early momentum.
“It would mean a lot to us,” he said. “We talk about three different seasons: preseason, regular season and postseason.
We use the preseason to make sure that we’re the best that we can be and ready to go for the regular season. It does mean a lot to get started on the right foot; a good win in week one propels you for the rest of the season.”