Lake football coach Tate Hanna compares his Division 5-2A schedule to playing in the SEC West.
He’s not far off.
While the Hornets return a ton of starters from last year’s squad and have four players with junior college offers, Scott Central is the defending Class 2A champion while Philadelphia and Union are both considered to be top teams in Class 2A.
“Our district is tough, it’s like the SEC West,” Hanna said. “You have to be ready to play every week. It wouldn’t surprise me to see anybody win our district and competing for a state championship.”
Union will open the season with a jamboree against Newton County at East Central.
“With (Bobby) Bass back another year, I expect them to be much improved,” Hanna said. “I expect them to be more disciplined. I believe it will be a good test to go play them before we get the regular season started.”
The Hornets will then open the regular season on Aug. 23 as they host Scott County foe Forest. The Bearcats were 7-5 last year and lost in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
“It’s a huge game,” Hanna said. “When we were doing the schedule and when I first came here, I didn’t understand why we didn’t play Forest and Morton. With this team, we can compete with them. We might not beat them but I think we can compete with them year in and year out. With Forest being so close, we have got to get to playing them every year. Being that close, we expect a big crowd that first game and can build a rivalry.”
The Hornets will then play two straight road games as they travel to Kemper County on Aug. 30 and Heidelberg on Sept. 6.
“Kemper is loaded with athletes,” Hanna said. “You don’t know what to expect when you go down there. Their coach is in their second year so they should be much improved. Heidelberg will be very similar to Kemper. They will be very athletic. They are going to spread it out and throw it around. The main thing for us will be to stop their passing game.
Lake will then be open on Sept. 13 and then come back to take on Choctaw Central on Sept. 20
“They are scary,” Hanna said. “I watched them play Forest in a district game last year and they were three times better than when we played them. Pepper (Posey) is an established coach and has been successful. He does a great job with what he is given.”
After Choctaw, the Hornets will host Morton on Sept. 27 .
“That is one they have played in the past and like Forest, that’s a game I feel like we need to play,” Hanna said. “We need to work on having them on the schedule every two years. Of course, Morton is going to be loaded with athletes and have more kids than us.”
The Hornets will then wrap up their non-division schedule with Pisgah, a team the Hornets beat 21-17 last year.
“They are always huge,” Hanna said. “They are always going to have one or two good running backs and a big offensive line. They will be sound on defense. I’ve known their coaches forever. They were the biggest team we played last year and they looked impressive in the spring game. Got a good tailback and will pound you to death. We had to win that game at the end last year.”
Lake will then open up Division 5-2A play as they host Philadelphia on Oct. 11. The Tornadoes beat the Hornets 35-14 last year.
“The word is Philly will be the team to beat in our district and they think they can make a run at a state championship,” Hanna said. “They have got the potential and players to do that. They lost very little from last year and the kids they moving up are as good or better. With Frey in his second year and knowing him, I expect him to get them rolling. And now my brother is there, I expect them to be ready. They still have bad blood with us beating them two years ago so I suspect they are throwing the Lake work around.”
After Philly, Lake will travel to Newton on Oct. 18.
“Every team we play is similar to those teams in the first part of the schedule,” Hanna siad. "Newton was very young last year. I have know Coach Grady for a long time and played ball around the same time win Winston County. I expect them to get better and thinks they have potential to compete for the district.”
On Oct. 25, Lake will then host Union, a team that beat them 28-7 last year.
“That’s a game last year that we let slip away from us,” Hanna said. “That’s a game we should have gotten a win. I hope our kids have a bad taste in their mouths about the way things went with them last year. We are looking forward to that game. Them and Scott Central is probably our biggest rivals.”
Lake will then close the regular season as they travel to Scott Central on a Thursday night.
“They lost a lot and we watched them in the spring and it looks like they just reloaded,” Hanna said. “Scott hasn’t lost a junior high game the last three years so they will be good. They will take some lumps early but I expect them to be right back in the hunt.”
