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Lakota East senior Will Mahone rushed for 138 yards and had a touchdown on 20 carries, but it wasn’t enough as Lakota East lost to Mason Oct. 12. Photo taken by Barb Trimble of TrimPhotoAndVideo.com. For more photos of this game, visit http://proofs.trimphotoandvideo.com/g/101212east_mason

After getting out to a 5-1 start and ranking as high as No. 6 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s region 4 computer rankings (top eight qualify for postseason), the Lakota East football team has lost two straight games to Greater Miami Conference opponents.

Impressive performances by their opponent’s featured running back played large roles in both losses. In the 28-7 loss last Friday to Sycamore, junior Greg Simpson totaled 193 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. This past Friday, in a 28-13 loss at Mason, senior Darryl Johnson rushed for a career-high 229 yards and scored two touchdowns on 33 carries. Johnson also caught two passes for 23 yards.

In the loss to Mason, Lakota East senior Will Mahone gave the Thunderhawks a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter when he punched in a 1-yard touchdown run.

Mason quickly responded with a 20-yard pass play from junior Jensen Harris to senior Adam Osika, which gave the Comets a 7-6 lead.

Again in the second quarter, both teams traded scores. First, Lakota East junior quarterback Eric Eichler scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, making the score 13-7 with 1:30 left in the first half. Then, with 30 seconds left until halftime, senior Jalen Mayo scored on a 12-yard pass from Harris – giving Mason a 14-13 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Thunderhawks failed to score, while Johnson rushed for two touchdowns.

Other standouts for Mason included Harris, who completed 12-of-16 passes for 174 yards (also had two interceptions) and Osika, who caught seven passes for 97 yards.

Lakota East, once again, received a solid performance from Mahone, who finished with 138 yards on 20 carries. Through eight games this season, Mahone has rushed for 787 yards and 12 touchdowns on 134 carries.

Next week, Lakota East (5-3 overall, 3-2 in the GMC) will host Fairfield (2-6 overall, 0-5 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m.

LE – Mahone 1-yard run (kick failed)
M – Osika 20-yard pass from Harris (Peck kick)
LE – Eichler 1-yard run (Smith kick)
M – Mayo 12-yard pass from Harris (Pick kick)
M – Johnson 1-yard run (Peck kick)
M – Johnson 9-yard run (Peck kick)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Darryl Johnson, Darryl Johnson Mason, Eric Eichler, Eric Eichler Lakota East, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East Sports, Mason football, Will Mahone, Will Mahone Lakota East

Kevin Goheen reports:

Larry Cox likes to look at the first three games of the high school season as preseason contests for his Lakota West program. While the comparison to an NFL schedule isn’t fully equivalent – these first games all actually count – Mason’s Brian Castner can relate to Cox’s belief.

Lakota West junior Mikel Horton rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns on 43 carries in the 46-34 Lakota West’s season-opening win against La Salle Aug. 25 in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.

With their non-league games past them, Lakota West and Mason meet Friday night at Lakota West in each team’s Greater Miami Conference opener.

“When the league starts, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re in the GCL or GMC or any league you can smell it in the air,” said Castner.

Lakota West, which is off to its first 3-0 start since 2006, is ranked No. 5 in this week’s Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll, while Mason (2-1) is ranked No. 10.

Mason has had to replace 17 starters from last season’s playoff team and is starting sophomore Rodney Hutchinson at quarterback. Senior running back Darryl Johnson leads the GMC with 543 yards rushing while the defense, led by senior linebacker Andrew Hauser, has held opponents to just 16 points in three games.

Lakota West is averaging 38.3 points per game, led by junior running Mikel Horton (436 yards rushing) and junior quarterback Malik Grove (303 yards passing).

Cox is in his 16th season at Lakota West. He has led the program since its inception and the Firebirds have never had three consecutive losing seasons. They were 3-7 each of the last two seasons.

“We’ve got some athleticism, more than we’ve had in the past and I think the kids are playing with a little bit of confidence but that’s also a double-edged sword,” said Cox. “You want them to play with confidence but you don’t want them to be cocky. You’ve got to temper that success with reality. We always talk to the kids about that in everything we do and it’s the hardest thing to teach a high school kid.”

Lakota West has beaten La Salle, Glen Este and Anderson to start its season. Mason has wins against Lancaster and Glen Este following a 10-7 loss to undefeated Springboro in its opener.

Hutchinson is growing into his role as quarterback. Johnson is the lone returning starter on offense and the Comets lost two quarterbacks before the season started. Hutchinson has stepped in and played well, according to Castner.

“The first game against Springboro, he had a very solid night. He didn’t lose us the game, he didn’t win us the game but he did what he needed to do. He did his job,” said Castner. “The last couple of weeks he’s trying to make some progress in certain areas and he’s still progressing, still maturing.”

Lakota West has been more balanced offensively, although he rushing attack behind and offensive line that features seniors Ben Pendery (6-2, 295) and Kyle Meadows (6-5, 270) is at the forefront. Horton (6-2, 225) is more of a downhill style while sophomore Kole Gentry and senior Eric Ellis have worked into the rotation with more speed.

“They bring different things to the table so I feel really good about our depth in that respect,” said Cox. “This is going to be a nip-and-tuck ball game. It’s going to be tight.”

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Darryl Johnson, Darryl Johnson Mason, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Malik Grove football recruiting, Malik Grove Lakota West, Mason football, Mikel Horton, Mikel Horton football recruiting, Mikel Horton Lakota West

After allowing two first quarter touchdowns, the Mason defense held Lakota East scoreless for the final three quarters en route to a 28-14 victory over the Thunderhawks on their homecoming night.

Mason answered Lakota East by scoring one touchdown in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter. At halftime, the Comets led 21-14. Mason would add another touchdown in the closing minute of the game.

Lakota East struck first Friday when junior running back Will Mahone took a pitch from sophomore quarterback Eric Eichler, pulled up and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Isaac Coculluela.

Mason answered when junior Darryl Johnson reeled off a 43-yard touchdown run a few minutes later. Johnson would add another rushing touchdown in the second quarter and would finish 130 rushing yards on 26 carries and 38 receiving yards on two receptions.

Johnson’s teammate, senior quarterback J.D. Sprague, threw and rushed for the Comets’ final two touchdowns. The first score came on four-yard pass to senior tight end Zach Boden and the second on a five-yard run with 50 seconds left in the contest.

In the game, Sprague completed 12-of-16 passes for 118 yards and rushed for 85 yards on 15 carries.

For Lakota East, Eichler scored the Thunderhawks other first-quarter touchdown on one-yard run. His teammate, Mahone (photo), would lead all Lakota East ball carriers with 122 rushing yards on 22 carries.

With the win, Mason improves to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Greater Miami Conference. Meanwhile, Lakota East falls to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the GMC.

Next Friday, Mason will host Princeton (5-1 overall, 2-1 in GMC) at 7:30 p.m. and Lakota East will be at Fairfield (1-5 overall, 0-3 in GMC) at 7:30 p.m.

L–Cosculluela 28-yard pass from Mahone (Gasser kick) – 8:47 in 1^st quarter
M–Johnson 43 run (kick failed) – 5:40 in 1^st quarter
L–Echler 1-yard run (Gasser kick) – 1:33 in 1^st quarter
M–Johnson 8 run (Sprague run) – 5:51 in 2^nd quarter
M–Boden 4-yard pass from Sprague (Otte kick) – 0:25 in 2^nd quarter
M–Sprague run (Otte kick) – 0:50 in 4^th quarter

Photo taken by Barb Trimble of Trimble Photography. For pictures of Lakota East sporting events visit her website, www.trimphoto.com

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Darryl Johnson, Eric Eichler, J.D. Sprague, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East Sports, Mason football, Will Mahone

The Lakota East Thunderhawks (3-2 overall, 1-1 in the Greater Miami Conference) will host rival Mason (3-2 overall, 1-1 in the GMC) this Friday at 7:30 p.m. It is Lakota East’s homecoming game and a “Hawks for the Cure” event. Donations will be made to the Susan G. Koman Foundation to fight breast cancer by way of split the pot and t-shirt sales.

Mason: The Comets have losses vs. Lancaster (41-35 OT) and at Colerain (56-20). They also have wins at Springboro (38-28), at Glen Este (42-7) and vs. Fairfield (44-6). Offensively, Mason has not had trouble scoring and is averaging a GMC-best 35.8 points per game. Leading the Comets’ offense is junior running back Darryl Johnson, who has already scored a total of 15 touchdowns (13 rushing and two receiving). Johnson also has 610 rushing yards (fourth most in the GMC) on 116 carries this fall. His senior teammate, quarterback J.D. Sprague, has also put up some big numbers this season. In five games, Sprague has thrown for 664 yards and rushed 219 yards. He has also competed 61.9 percent of his passes and has 10 total touchdowns. 6-foot-4 senior wide receiver Kevin Niehoff (18 rec. 210 yards and 3 TDs) has been Sprague’s top target this season. As a team, Mason is averaging 349 yards of offense per game and is allowing 297 yards per game on defense.

Lakota East: The Thunderhawks’ two losses this season have come against La Salle (27-23) and Sycamore (28-25), both of those teams are 5-0 this fall. Lakota East has wins vs. Western Hills (28-6), at Winton Woods (38-37 OT) and vs. Hamilton (17-8). A pair of sophomores, fullback Mikel Horton and quarterback Eric Eichler, lead the Lakota East offense. In five games, Horton has rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns on 78 carries. Meanwhile, Echler who has started the past two games, has rushed for five touchdowns. The Thunderhawks’ triple-option offense also features junior Will Mahone (278 rushing yards, 150 receiving yards) and Chamada Palmore (128 rushing yards) at running back. Defensively, Lakota East has forced 14 turnovers (seven fumble recoveries and seven interceptions). Junior defensive lineman J.T. Turner leads Lakota East with 3.5 sacks and senior defensive back Joe Postlewait leads the team with three interceptions. As a team, Lakota East is averaging 273 yards of total offense per game and is allowing 253 yards per game on defense.

Bottom line: Both teams enter the game with identical records. Mason, statistically, has excelled on offense, while Lakota East has performed well defensively. Based on prior performances, it is difficult to guess which team will come up on top. Whichever team wins, will move up in the conference standings and in the regional rankings.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Chamada Palmore, Darryl Johnson, Eric Eichler, J.D. Sprague, J.T. Turner, Joe Postlewait, Kevin Niehoff, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East Sports, Mikel Horton, Will Mahone