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After defeating Greater Miami Conference opponent Middletown Friday night, the 2012 Lakota West football team became the first in school history to begin a season with an 8-0 record.

In the latest win, the Firebirds took a 27-0 lead late into the third quarter before holding onto to a 27-14 win at home.

Lakota West junior quarterback Malik Grove has been one of the many reasons that the Firebirds are off to their best start in school history. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II in a 30-13 win against Mason Sept. 14.

6-foot-3 junior kicker Justin Martin caught his second touchdown pass of the season when junior quarterback Malik Grove connected with him from 10 yards out midway through the first quarter.

Running backs, junior Mikel Horton and sophomore Kole Gentry, each added touchdowns in the second quarter, as Lakota West took a 20-0 halftime lead. Horton would finish the game with 103 yards on 24 carries, while Gentry added 24 yards on six carries.

In the second half, the scoring started when senior Michael Carter incepted a pass from Middletown senior Jalin Marshall and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown. The interception was one of three thrown by Marshall, who will play college football at Ohio State. The other two INTs came at the hands of Lakota West senior Tyler Cross, who had two interceptions in a single game for the second time this season.

Before the game ended, Marshall would add a pair of touchdowns for the Middies – scoring on a run of 53 yards and throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jordann Thomas. For the game, Marshall finished with 165 rushing yards on 24 carries and was 4-of-18 passing for 39 yards.

Next week, the Firebirds, ranked No. 3 in The Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll, plays at No. 1-ranked Colerain (8-0). Entering this Friday, Lakota West and Colerain were also No. 2 and No. 1 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s region 4 computer rankings.

LW – Martin 10-yard pass from Grove (Martin kick)
LW – Horton 4-yard run (kick failed)
LW – Gentry 4-yard run (Martin kick)
LW – Mitchell 57-yard INT return (Martin kick)
M – Marshall 53-yard run (kick failed)
M – Thomas 15-yard pass from Marshall (A’Keeno King recp)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: football preview, game preview, Jalin Marshall, Jalin Marshall Ohio State, Kyle Meadows, Kyle Meadows Lakota West, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Malik Grove Lakota West, Mikel Horton, Mikel Horton Lakota West

Lakota West running back Mikel Horton runs for a touchdown as he’s wrapped up by Mason defensive back Gus Thieken in the Firebirds’ 30-13 win against Mason earlier this season. Overall, Lakota West is 7-0 and is only one of two unbeaten teams in the Greater Miami Conference. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.

Lakota West (7-0 overall, 4-0 in the Greater Miami Conference), who is ranked No. 3 in The Cincinnati Enquirer coaches’ poll, will host Middletown (2-5 overall, 1-3 in the GMC) this Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Firebirds are coming off a 37-10 win against Oak Hills, while Middletown enters the game after losing 41-14 last week to Colerain.

Middletown: After making the postseason and winning at least 10 games in the each of the past three seasons, expectations were high in 2012 for the Middletown Middies. This team, surprisingly, has struggled – especially lately – losing its last three games, which included losses against Lakota East, Oak Hills and Colerain. Despite their struggles, the Middies are a dangerous team that is led by one of the state’s top players in senior quarterback Jalin Marshall, who is committed to continue his football career at Ohio State. Last season, in a 47-7 Middletown victory against Lakota West, Marshall rushed for 226 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries. So far this season, Marshall has rushed for 953 yards and nine touchdowns and has thrown for 559 yards and seven touchdowns.

Lakota West: The Firebirds are off to their best start since 2004, are ranked No. 3 in The Enquirer’s coaches’ poll and are now No. 2 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s region 4 computer rankings. Unlike Middletown, Lakota West struggled the past two seasons and has been one of the area’s top teams in 2012. Overall, the offense has played well – scoring 30 or more points in all seven games this season. As a team, the Firebirds have outscored their opponents 256-90. Their offense is led by junior quarterback Malik Grove, junior running back Mikel Horton and senior offensive tackle Kyle Meadows.

Bottom line: Lakota West appears to be the favorite, but Middletown has to be considered a dangerous opponent. Just last year, the Middies blew out Lakota West, 47-7. Also making this matchup possibly dangerous for the Firebirds is the thought of the team’s next opponent – Colerain, who is ranked No. 11 nationally by USA Today and is the only other unbeaten team in the GMC this season. By comparing common opponents, Middletown has defeated Fairfield, 41-26, and lost to Oak Hills, 27-26, while Lakota West defeated Fairfield, 32-8, and Oak Hills, 37-10.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: football preview, game preview, Jalin Marshall, Jalin Marshall Ohio State, Kyle Meadows, Kyle Meadows Lakota West, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Malik Grove Lakota West, Mikel Horton, Mikel Horton Lakota West

The Lakota East football program will kickoff its season with a home game against Centreville, Friday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. It will be the Thunderhawks first regular season game under first-year coach Rick Haynes.

Prior to coming to Lakota East, Haynes was the offensive coordinator/assistant coach at Colerain from 1991 to 2006 and spent the past three years as the offensive line coach at Thomas More College.

The Thunderhawks are expected to run the triple-option offense and the 50 slant/angle defense this season.

Linebacker John Brady, who is 6-foot-1 220 pounds and No. 2 academically in his senior class, leads the defense. Fellow seniors LB Eric Neltner, free safety Nick Fine, defensive lineman Tanner Staiger, DL Tim Bowman and LB Nick Leahy could also make a big impact on the defensive side.

On offense, running back J.D. Whetsel will likely have to carry the load this season. In 2009, Whetsel rushed for 236 yards and two touchdowns on 54 carries. He was also the team’s primary kickoff and punt returner in ’09.

Outside of football, Whetsel is also a great baseball player and has attracted interest from Cornell, Tiffin and Xavier, according to the Dayton Daily News. In 2010, Whetsel had a .457 batting average and led the Greater Miami Conference with 43 runs scored.

Lakota East finished the ’09 season with a 3-7 overall record and a 3-4 within conference play. The Thunderhawks lost their first five games of the season, but won three of their last five in ’09.

Three games seem to standout on the Thunderhawks’ 2010 schedule: vs. LaSalle at 7:05 p.m. Sept. 9 (game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio), vs. Colerain at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, (Haynes’ former school where he coached) and at Lakota West at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29.

The 2010 Lakota East football schedule:

Aug. 27 vs. Centerville at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 3 at Glen Este High School at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 9 vs. LaSalle at 7:05 p.m.
Sept. 16 at Mason at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 vs. Fairfield at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 1 vs. Colerain at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 8 at Princeton at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 15 vs. Oak Hills at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 22 at Middletown at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29 at Lakota West at 7:30 p.m.

Posted in: Fall sports, School events, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: football, football preview, GMC, Greater Miami Conference, Lakota East, Lakota East High School