Championship Bound: Stacked Lakes Ready to Grab State Trophy

It is said there are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the Lakes football team making the state tournament.

Since winning the state championship in 1997, the Lancers have qualified for the state tournament in every season except for 2004, six times advancing to at least the semifinal round. That distinguished run, however, has been marked by one glaring fact: Lakes has not won the state title since 1997.

If Lakes ends up being as good as it looks on paper, 2011 could be the season that drought ends.

The Lancers return 18 starters (nine offense, nine defense) from the 2010 squad that finished 11-2 and advanced to the semifinals of the 3A state tournament, before a crushing 35-7 loss to eventual champion Bellevue. 

“I feel pretty confident in our team," do-everything senior Cedric Dozier said. "We’re pretty strong, we have a lot of depth at every position and our team chemistry is overwhelming.”

The Lancers return more than numbers on each side of the ball; they return a multitude of talented impact players.

Offensive tackle Zach Banner will be back to anchor the offensive line while he decides which BCS school to attend next fall. The 6'8, 300-pound Banner is coming off a breakout junior season and will play on both sides of the ball.

“He’s obviously the anchor of our line," Lakes head coach Dave Miller said of Banner. "He’s just gotten better each year in our program and he’s got tremendous potential. He’s a dominating run-blocker, getting better all the time with footwork and he’s much stronger this year than he was last year.”

Joining Banner on the offensive side of the ball will be Dozier (playing wide receiver, running back and quarterback) and running back Levonte Littlejohn. Dozier passed for 13 TD's in 2010, while rushing for another 17, while Littlejohn racked up just under 2,000 yards in just nine games.

“He’s one of the best backs we’ve ever had,” Miller said of Littlejohn.

Dozier was the primary quarterback in 2010, but will be switching to a more wide-ranging group of positions in 2011. Miller said the decision to remove Dozier as the every-down QB was made in an attempt to increase the number of ways he could help the offense.

“He’s a great playmaker for us, great leader, tough competitor," Miller said. "We’re trying to expand his role to not just include quarterback, but some wide receiver and return kicks and punts and get the ball in his hands as many ways as possible.”

Taking over as the primary quarterback will be senior David Wood. Wood completed just eleven passes last season, but will be throwing the ball around quite a bit more in 2011.

“He has a big-time arm, makes great decisions, spreads the ball all over the field," Miller said. "He’s 6’4, so he sees the field really well and he’s comfortable in our system. He’s been in our system for four years and hasn’t quite been ready, and now he’s ready.”

The addition of Wood under center should also open up the Lancer's playbook. Lakes was predominantly a running team in 2010, averaging 320 yards per game on the ground, opposed to just over 100 per game through the air.

“I think our offense will be much more balanced this year," Miller said. "We always strive for balance, but last year we were pretty one-dimensional as a running team and I feel pretty good about our passing game and the strides we made in the offense.”

There was some early rumors that Dozier was upset about the switch from quarterback, but Dozier insists it does not bother him and Miller said both Dozier and Wood want to do what is best for the team.

“It’s always about what’s best for the team," Miller said. "I think David and Ced[ric] both are real-team guys and both really respect each other and care about each other, and so it’s not really a competitive thing, it’s more them working together. You know, when Cedric’s not playing quarterback, he’ll be playing receiver. He’ll be on the field and David played a lot of tight end for us last year. They both can do several different things, but I think David just gives us a little more in the passing game.”

On defense, Lakes will get a boost from the return of a healthy Mane Manaea. Manaea missed most of last season due to a severe concussion, but should be back to starting at his defensive back position, where he picked off two passes in just three games last season.

“He’s an emotional leader for us, kind of the heart and soul of our defense," Miller said. "He’s been starting since he was a sophomore and he’s excited to get back on the field.”

The inside linebacker duo of Dre Milton and Kevin Thompson is also back for 2011. The juniors combined for 90 tackles in 2010 and will be joined by "military" transfer Charles Hall Jr., who Miller described as "physical" and "fast."

Reaching the state tournament has not been a problem for Lakes during Miller's tenure. But the past three seasons have brought disappointing ends to successful seasons. If the talent on the Lancers roster can play to its potential, 2011 could be the season that sees Lakes raising the state championship trophy.