Lakeshore continues to prove it belongs among elite teams

A year ago, it may have come as a surprise to many.

The success that Lakeshore had in reaching the Class 4A state championship game in 2017 caught many off guard. Given that loud shot across the bow, no one should be surprised that the Titans are unbeaten, ranked second and dominant thus far in 2018.

Craig Jones has done a tremendous job in building the Mandeville school into a top-tier program in Class 4A in Louisiana.

Since going 4-6 and 3-7 in his first two seasons (2013-14), Jones has guided his Titans to an impressive 34-10 mark over the last four seasons.

That includes a 7-0 start this season.

Lakeshore has done it by totally dominating lesser opponents, averaging 47.4 points per game while allowing just 10.7 points per contest. Since allowing 35 points in the season opener to Fontainebleau, the Titans have yielded just 6.7 points per game, posting three shutouts, including the last two in succession.

Despite graduating key players from last year’s outstanding team, the Titans are back with a vengeance this season.

The most recent success was a 49-0 victory at H.L. Bourgeois this past Friday night.

Speaking on The Three Tailgaters Show on WGSO, 990 AM Saturday, Jones made it clear that he scheduled the lengthy road trip with a purpose in mind.

“One of the things that we try to do is schedule a game every year where we’ve kind of got to get on the road, charter some buses and the way we present it to the team is we’ve got to treat it like it’s a trial run for the playoffs,” Jones said. “I thought they were very mature about it and went there and we took care of what we needed to do and we came out with a victory.”

While the offense and defense have shined, the third aspect of the game is one which has been even better for Lakeshore.

“We’ve played well overall,” Jones said. “Special teams have been great. There was a stretch where we blocked five punts in the first four games. We’ve returned punts and kickoffs extremely well. We’ve had a tendency to put more starters on special teams and it has really paid off for us.”

Many felt Lakeshore would slip a bit this season after graduating some key players, including star quarterback Chris Penton, lineman Tylan Driver and wide receiver Jalen Willis, among others.

“Obviously, we had a very good senior group last year that we relied on with Chris being an all-state MVP and with all-state offensive lineman Tylan Driver and with Jalen Willis who left to go to Northwestern State,” Jones said. “We had a lot of really good young players. We started six sophomores last year on defense so we knew we had a core group coming back.”

This year’s stars have been plentiful for the Titans.

“We’ve got Jacob Bernard back,” Jones said. “People knew about him and then his performance in the state championship game opened up a lot of eyes. He’s a kid with multiple scholarship offers. He’s the guy who kind of makes everything work offensively. Our quarterback, Parker Orvin, has played extremely well. He was the backup for three years and it’s his turn and he’s taking advantage of it. We have some guys with a lot of experience. Fisher Westcott has five blocked punts of the seven we have. Adam Randolph is a safety who is a turnover machine. We call him ‘the baby Honey Badger.’ The cupboard wasn’t bare. We still have quality football players.”

Lakeshore fell hard to powerful Karr 48-26 in the state championship game again and have learned from the experience.

“I think you kind of change the way this year’s team approaches everything,” Jones said. “Last year’s team, kind of the rally cry and we talked about it every day was to find your legs, be the first team to do this, the first team do this in the playoffs, go 10-0, be the first team to go to the ‘Dome. All those boxes have been checked now. This team’s approach this year really has been more of let’s take care of business this week. We haven’t really talked about playoffs. We haven’t really talked about getting back to the ‘Dome. We’re kind of just focused on who we have this week. I think we have a mature group again.”

Lakeshore was sixth in the most recent power ratings posted by the LHSAA. How high does Jones think the Titans can rise?

“I don’t know what’s going to happen as far as the actual numbers as far as Easton and Karr and the winner of that game,” Jones said. “The team I’ve really been keeping an eye on is St. Martinville. They are undefeated and seeing a little bit of their film, they’ve got a quarterback and a running back who can really get after it. They have a chance to run the table. I would like to think we’ll be somewhere in the top four, if we’re able to take care of business. If you’re a top two seed, you’re at home in the semifinals, guaranteed. That is a goal.”

Based on the level of maturity, talent and coaching on hand at Lakeshore, the Titans have become a team that most 4A teams would do well to avoid in the playoffs for as long as possible.