By the end of the first quarter, Hayden H. ’29 knew the game was far gone in Lakeside’s favor. Two touchdowns early on in back-to-back plays foreshadowed the Lions’ dominant 63-0 shutout over Nathan Hale. But the season-opener away game wasn’t just special because of the scoreboard; it was the payoff of steady development of returning players and the earnestness of new varsity members.
On the first offensive play of the game, Lakeside ran the ball 40 yards for a touchdown. Then, they did it again on the very next play. Coach Kyle Whalen was ecstatic seeing it all play out, mentioning that explosive plays were something the team had been working on during practice. The team also managed to return two punts for touchdowns, then cruised through the remaining three quarters of the game to an easy victory.
Facing a team whose coach has changed annually for the past five years, the Lions weren’t sure what they were up against. But what was apparent for Hayden H. ‘29 was that “[the Nathan Hale team] worked really hard, and I don’t think the scoreline showed that.” He added that “they just love to play football … It’s good to compete against those types of guys.” To that end, Lions Head Coach Mike Lengel was also quick to say that “the scoreboard is the biggest liar of the game.” Looking back on the film, the team saw plenty of room for improvement, and tightened up many areas over the course of their next two more challenging shutouts.
Building that kind of growth mindset even after a landslide first win isn’t easy. According to captains Owen S. ’27, Mekai H. ’27, and Michael W. ’27, one of the team’s mantras is “all gas, no breaks.” Though the Nathan Hale game became one-sided early on, they emphasized that they were still playing a “classy” game. “We want to avoid … settling for what we have … making sure that we’re still doing our roles to the best of our ability, still running full speed, still running the plays, still being focused mentally. … That’s kind of what led us to get the result that we had all desired,” said Owen.
Before the game, Coach Lengel’s advice for the Lions was “lean into one another on the field. Trust each other.” Compared to other high schools, Lakeside football has a tiny roster – just 25 players. In fact, their offensive and defensive lines are mostly made up of the same people. To succeed, everyone had to do their own individual job well and trust that their teammates would set them up well in order to do so — a theme continuously echoed in interviews with each coach, captain, and player.
As many members of the team explained, football is not all about individuality. “Some teams will have one guy who’s their star player, and they’ll just try and get the ball in his hands as much as possible and get him to win the game,” says Mekai. “[But] I think that we are put in an interesting position at Lakeside because … we don’t have these humongous [players who you look at] and think, ‘that’s gonna be the greatest athlete I’m ever gonna face on a football field.’ [So] having every single person do their part [makes it] 11 versus 11 rather than a one versus 11.”
That camaraderie shone through in each interview: every player was quick to call out other members of the team for their contributions to the game. Hayden H. was especially excited to be able to mentor the younger players, calling it a “highlight” on par with his first varsity touchdown, scored during the game. And while speaking to the captains together, it was impossible to not notice the fist bumps and snaps after every good answer.
Beyond the closeness of the team, there’s something else that makes this year special. “This year, players are especially driven, and they take initiative and are proactive in their development and in understanding the game,” says Owen S. He specifically calls out Nathan E. ’29, the team’s quarterback. “I’m honestly impressed with the leadership he’s taken. After each game, he’ll text me, after watching the film and be like, ‘hey, this is my review on the game, here’s what I think I can do better, here’s what I think you can do better.’” Not to mention, Nathan and his dad organized games during the pre-season against other schools that helped improve their skills coming into the actual season. “And that’s just one example,” Owen notes.
After an explosive opening to their season, the team is very optimistic about the rest of their games and even their post-season hopes, more so than previous years. “I feel like football […] is kind of an afterthought [at Lakeside], and I kind of think that’s changing now, […] especially with this season … I want the young guys […] to take pride in that and keep on [improving],” says Michael. “We can be better and we are going to get better.”