Lancers eager to hit the field again
LAKEVILLE - After having its first three games canceled due to the coronavirus, Laville’s belated start to the high school football season turned out to be a good one.
“You won’t hear me say this often, but it felt good to get on a school bus,” said Laville head coach Will Hostrawser about his team’s 17-6 Hoosier North Athletic Conference victory over Winamac.
“The kids understand our scheme and all of our new guys really reacted well to what we’re asking them to do. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got a lot of room to grow, but that was a good starting point.
“Our kids did a good job defensively. They didn’t allow them to get into the red zone at all during the course of the game. Offensively, we’re asking guys to do some things a little different than we have in the past, running a little different scheme that fits our personnel better.”
It was also the first varsity game ever for freshman quarterback Lucas Plummer, who threw two touchdown passes (43, 13) while completing 4-of-7 for 104 yards. The defense caused five turnovers and did not allow a point. The only Warriors score came on a fumble recovery in the end zone. Leyton Czarnecki had two interceptions for LV, with Andrew Dill and Evan Bettcher also getting picks.
“Plummer did nice job,” Hostrawser added. “As a unit, we did fairly well. Our offensive line graded out decent. Defensively, any time you get that many turnovers it’s hard to win a football game.”
This week the 14th-ranked (Class 2A) Lancers will host Caston (1-3) in another HNAC contest. The Comets are a much-improved team from the one that won just one game over the last three seasons. Two of its losses this year were to powerhouses Pioneer (#3 Class 2A) and North Judson (6-1, #15 Class 1A). The third loss was only by two points to Triton and the Comets were driving for the winning score in the final minute before fumbling deep in Trojan territory.
“Watching them on film, they play with an edge,” Hostrawser said. “That’s something they kind of lacked the last couple of years. These kids are a lot different. They smacked heads with Pioneer early and really played hard. They appear to have more confidence. They could easily be 2-2, not 1-3.
“We want to play a step faster this week and execute with a little more consistency. We’re not that deep. Our guys need to be in good condition to win the fourth quarter, but we take pride in that. Depending on how we prepare this week will determine how better or worse we play on Friday night.”