151st Article at the Independent

Lakeview depth and experience dominate Springfield 48-22

CHRIS DRUMMOND

Sports Writer

cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

OTTONWOOD – 70 points were the combined score of these two teams in last year’s season opening thriller, where the Lakeview Lakers pulled it out with a defensive stop to win 36-34. The same two teams had the exact combined score this year but the Lakers experienced and depth dominated the Tigers en route to a 48-22 victory on Thursday evening. The Lakers travel next week to play against the Russell Tyler Ruthton Knights on Friday evening.

Senior Owen Louwagie had five total touchdowns ( 4 pass, 1 run) on the night in solidifying the victory for the Lakers. Senior Nathan Fenske caught three of those four touchdown passes from Louwagie. After a opening drive touchdown by the Tigers, the Lakers proceeded to score the next 27 out of 35 points to take a double digit lead into the half 27-14.

The Lakers didn’t let up in the second half, as the running game with the speedy Greg Schafer and the bruising running Clayton Kosel both imposed their running style in each netting touchdowns to turn a close game into a route. The Lakers at one point were up by 34 points and head coach of the Lakers Scott Hanson glowingly spoke about the team’s performance and message after the game.

“They came out and scored first and our guys bounced back,” Hanson said. “It speaks to the resiliency and depth that we have on this team with senior leadership.Our message is the football season is a journey, it is not a sprint, it is a marathon. We’re looking at this one game at a time, we have a lot of team goals, but none of them will be achieved by showing up. We have to put in the effort and work throughout the season.”

Hanson added that Louwagie is a humble, smart kid who wants to makes his teammates better and has an understanding of what to do with the offense.