Lakeshore looks for revenge against Rayne and trip to Dome finals

Regardless of what happens moving forward, Lakeshore is for real.

Any doubters about the unbeaten Titans and Coach Craig Jones have reached that conclusion after second-seed Lakeshore trounced 4A super power and seventh-seed Neville 55-24 last Friday night in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

“What I thought was really interesting,” Jones said. “It was the first time for us practicing during the Thanksgiving break. The kids embraced the opportunity to focus on nothing but football. I felt a sense of confidence at practice, we liked our scheme and we executed great. We’ve done a decent job of focusing on ourselves, not the opponent. It is a mature group. We work on perfecting what we can do best, not on the opponent. That did not bother us.”

Now, the Titans (13-0) face another stiff challenge when they host 11th-seed Rayne (10-2) Friday night in the semifinals with the winner advancing to the state championship game.

A year ago, seventh-seeded Rayne easily handed the 26th-seeded Titans 49-18 in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

“They are a very physical football team on both sides of the ball,” Jones said. “They have a very tough scheme to stop. Their fullback and slotback are great football players. Our players and coaches remember last year. It is not about revenge, it is about how much we have grown and improved and playing better.”

In the playoff win over Lakeshore a year ago, the Wolves controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 358 yards in a dominant performance.

“I feel our defense is better than last year, a year older and better equipped to deal with them,” Jones said. “At one point, we had five freshmen playing against Rayne defensively last year. We will lean on that experience. I think they are better than last year and I feel we are better than we were a year ago.”

Just two years ago, the Wolves were 2-8. They have come full circle to become a true contender in 4A under Curt Ware, reaching the semifinals for the first time in 42 years.

Rayne advanced with a 35-21 win over 14th-seed Cecilia in the quarterfinals.

Known as a punishing Wing-T running team, Rayne turned to the pass for big plays in the win over Cecilia as junior quarterback Darian Richard passed for three touchdowns, including a 70-yarder to Christopher McKenzie. Senior Trent Winbush leads the ground game for Rayne. He rushed 28 times for 204 yards and a touchdown a week ago. Senior Darien Harmon is outstanding as well.

Rayne has lost only to Division II powers St. Thomas More and Teurlings Catholic.

Despite losing senior running back Josh Hayes for the season, sophomore running back Maximus Lowery scored four touchdowns in the win over Neville. Jalen Willis, Jacob Bernard and Josh Massa are top receivers. Senior defensive end Tylan Driver had three sacks in the win over the Tigers. Both Willis and Bernard are over 1,000 yards receiving.

Lowery has rushed 87 times for 560 yards and seven touchdowns. Willis has 52 receptions for 1,190 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bernard has 47 receptions for 1,135 yards and 12 scores. Massa has 24 catches for 308 yards and seven touchdowns.

The season has not been a smooth ride for the Titans.

“Before the season started, we lost our starting free safety to an ACL injury,” Jones said. “We lost a very good receiver in Dez Labostrie. Jake Smiroldo has stepped in nicely. We lost Hayes in week nine. Lowery has stepped in and played great.”

Smiroldo has 24 receptions for 308 yards and six touchdowns.

Of course, senior quarterback Chris Penton is the primary reason for the success of Lakeshore. Penton has completed 176-of-260 passes (68%) for 3,360 yards and 40 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He has rushed 81 times for 318 yards and seven touchdowns.

“The growth of Chris from last year to this year is great but the strides he’s made week-to-week has been remarkable,” Jones said. “It is a testament to his preparation. He practices in fantastic fashion. When you have a player of that ilk running your offense, you feel pretty good.”

Lakeshore averages 44.4 points per game while its defense has pitched two shutouts and held five opponents to seven points or less. Rayne averages 38.1 points per game while holding four opponents to seven points or less.

“We’ve talked about the entire season about our seniors finding their legacy,” Jones said. “To be able to get to the final playing date means you’ve maximized everything you could out of the season and would have no regrets. We certainly believe we can do it. Our kids believe. Everyone who gets this far deserves it.”

This could be a shootout. For Lakeshore to win, its defense must be able to prevent Rayne from controlling the game and clock with its potent running game. For the Wolves to win, it must slow down the dynamic passing game of the Titans.

“We know what we are up against and we know it will be tough but we are home, the community is excited and we belong here,” Jones said.