Story by Jacob Holmes:
Coming off of their state championship win, the Lawrence High School eight-man football team is coming into practice with high expectations. The three senior captains will have some big shoes to fill with the absence of star quarterback Derek Gribler and wide receiver Matt Cammire, but head coach Cody Caswell believes they’ll be up to the task.
Those three senior captains are quarterback Hunter Coombs, wide receiver Jacob Alburtus and rotation player Dan Sanborn. The Tigers also have a fourth captain with junior Jonathon Tule.
Caswell also talked about the team’s strengths this year both on offense and defense. “I think we’ll have some depth at the offensive line,” he said. “I think Coombs will step in and fill the role of quarterback very well.”
On the defensive side, Caswell hopes that they’ll still be fast. “I believe these kids are still physical, which is a big part for our defense,” Caswell said. “We preach fast and physical, and that’s what we have to be to play our style of defense.”
Last season proved to be the most successful in the program’s history, with the Tigers not only winning the state championship, but holding an undefeated record. The Tigers also scored a total of 750 points, only allowing 131 to their opponents.
Coming off of such a successful season, Caswell and the rest of the coaching staff have high expectations for the upcoming season. “We give high expectations for them to meet high expectations,” he said. Caswell added that he expects Coombs and Alburtus to be named All-State players in their respective positions this season. “Those are the types of things those expectations go to, and the kids rise to and want to meet them.” Coombs led the Tigers in rushing last year while Alburtus tallied ten touchdown catches.
Lawrence High School will begin the season by hosting Michigan Lutheran on Aug. 28. The Tigers opened last season against Michigan Lutheran, which resulted in a 50-0 win for Lawrence.
