First Look: 5 storylines for 2019 Lakeview football season
The Enquirer will spend the next two weeks getting a 'First Look’ at the top football teams in the area - Lakeview in second season under new coach
Bill Broderick
The high school football season will start Aug. 29. But if you can't wait that long to get your prep pigskin fix, the Enquirer will spend the next two weeks getting a 'First Look' at the top teams in the area. Here are five storylines for Lakeview's 2019 season.
Second season
Whenever there is a new coach putting in a new program, there is a learning curve. Lakeview experienced that learning curve last year in the first season under new coach Jerry Diorio as the Spartans went 2-7. But the other thing that can be true is there can be a surge of improvement in the second season in a new regime.
Diorio has seen signs of that in the offseason as he now has been in the school system for more than a year and players are getting used to his ways and his playbook.
“We have been a lot more crisp. I think our rhythm in practice has been better, and there is a lot of positives in being another year into the new program," Diorio said. "We have been able to tighten some things up that we were trying to do in that first year and another year in the system, we should be much better."
Key to season
The players that have had a year to work with Diorio will be the key to the season for the Spartans. Lakeview put a young team on the field ast year in the transition and several underclassmen saw action.
Where that especially showed is how quickly some of those key players shined on defense in the second half of the year. In winning two of its last six games, Lakeview's defense allowed two touchdowns or less in four of those contests, including a 34-0 shutout of Loy Norrix in Week 8 and an 11-8 loss to Harper Creek in Week 9.
Part of that core group of underclassmen were Jack Goodman and Tanner Underwood, who both earned All-City honors as starting linebackers as juniors.
"I am in the same boat as a lot of coaches this time of year ... who knows what kind of team we'll be? That's the same every year," Diorio said. "Every team in the state of Michigan is three or four players away from being really good, really average or really bad. That’s where we are. We are looking at three or four holes and if our vets step up and do what they are supposed to do and fill those holes, we will be OK."
Biggest game
It will be true, once again, that the city rivalry game between Lakeview and Battle Creek Central will be circled by both teams as being important. But the biggest game on the Spartans' schedule could very well be the Week 9 contest with its other city rival, Harper Creek. The two teams no longer play in the same league and signed a two-game home-and-home series contract that is not guaranteed to continue after this season. Bragging rights going forward for the winner is at stake as the two teams may not play again for a while.
Plus, Lakeview was showing glimpses of turning things around last year heading into that game and suffered an emotional 11-8 loss, which should have the Spartans looking forward to a rematch.
League/playoff chances
Teams that go 2-7 usually are just hoping for improvement and getting back to .500 before concerning themselves with making the playoffs. The reality of Lakeview's playoff hopes derives from the fact the Spartans have a challenging schedule and will play five times that made the postseason last year.
But that also may help in 2019 as the MHSAA no longer has a "six wins and you're in" rule for the playoffs, as teams will earn postseason spots based on strength of schedule. So five wins, including a couple of upsets along the way among a tough schedule, would give Lakeview a chance to think postseason come the second half of the year.
Breaking down the season
Aug. 29 – Lakeview at Niles; 2018 result - Lakeview lost to Niles (3-6), 32-27
Sept. 6 – Mattawan at Lakeview; 2018 result - Lakeview lost to Mattawan (5-5), 17-3
Sept. 13 –Lakeview at BCC; 2018 result – Lakeview lost to BCC (7-4), 30-15
Sept. 20 – Gull Lake at Lakeview; 2018 result – Lakeview beat Gull Lake (0-9), 27-7
Sept. 27 – Lakeview at Kal. Central; 2018 result – K-Central (6-4) beat Lakeview, 21-13
Oct. 4 – Stevensville Lakeshore at Lakeview; 2018 result – Lakeview lost to S-L (5-5), 13-0
Oct. 11 – Lakeview at St. Joseph; 2018 result – Lakeview lost to St. Joseph (5-5), 20-12
Oct. 18 – Loy Norrix at Lakeview: 2018 result – Lakeview beat Loy Norrix (1-8), 34-0
Oct. 25 – Harper Creek at Lakeview; 2018 result – Lakeview lost to Harper Creek (3-6), 11-8
COMING NEXT: Early Look at 2019 Harper Creek football season
Contact Bill Broderick (269) 966-0678 or bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.