Go down the checklist of what makes a great high school football team, and Lake Creek meets all the criteria this season.
A potent offense? The Lions are averaging 58 points on 431.2 yards per game.
A defense that consistently gets stops and generates turnovers? The Lions are allowing 19.8 points per game and have 14 takeaways.
Superstar talent? Junior Tyvonn “Ty Ty” Byars is as electric as they come with the ball in his hands, one of the most explosive running backs in the state.
But it’s everything else that has players and coaches feeling this year’s Lake Creek, 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class 5A Division II in the state, is even better than last year’s, when the Lions went 12-1, won a district championship and went three rounds deep in the postseason.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure,” senior receiver Sam Lee said. “That’s last year’s team. I feel we can do that, or better. We know what we can do, and we just go out there and do it.”
Gifted with elite strength, vision and speed, Byars has picked up where he left off last season, when he racked up 2,346 rushing yards and 40 total touchdowns. He already has 719 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns through five games this year.
But what happens when defenses throw their all at stopping Byars, exerting every ounce of energy and personnel to making anyone but him beat them? Well, Lake Creek can still find the end zone in a multitude of ways.
Stepping up
Take Friday’s 59-34 district-opening win over Randle. Byars had a great game with 178 yards and three touchdowns. But he had to work for it more often than not, averaging 5.9 yards per carry opposed to the 8.1 entering the game.
So, he found other ways to help.
“Ty Ty played well in the fact that when we gave the ball to Sam to run on the perimeter, Ty Ty blocked his butt off,” coach Pat Kennedy said. “He did all the little things. That’s all you can ask. He did the little things to make us successful when it counted.”
With Randle’s focus on Byars, that opened things for Lee, who had 57 yards and a touchdown on five carries and three catches for 64 yards, and junior quarterback Eli Morcos, who had 83 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, most of those lanes wide open as he ran opposite of where Byars drew attention.
“They have to focus on somebody in different formations,” Lee said. “We know someone is going to make a play.”
Five different Lions have rushed for touchdowns this year. Six different Lions have caught touchdowns.
The defense will dictate which Lion stars on any particular night.
“That’s what I tell our kids,” Kennedy said. “On short yardage (downs), give the ball to Ty Ty and let’s see (what defenses do).”
Lake Creek is battling a rash of injuries. All that has done, however, is show off its depth, with guys like sophomore offensive lineman Hunter McKinney, junior offensive lineman Dominic Armour, senior offensive lineman Jaxon Sayers and senior running back Elijah Naziruddin seizing opportunities to fill in and thrive.
“It’s very positive in that aspect,” Kennedy said. “It’s about the next player stepping up and playing.”
Defense keying success
While the Lions’ offense is one of the best in the state, that was to be expected. The Lions averaged 53.1 points per game last year and returned seven starters this year.
It’s defense where Lake Creek has authored considerable strides, holding opponents to almost three fewer points per game.
That’s in large part due to a secondary that has matured from growing pains last season.
“We’ve always done well against the run but our DBs are a lot better,” senior linebacker Kyler Burden said. “They’re just more experienced.”
Kennedy said he has been “super pleased” with his defense.
Senior cornerback Leighton Scott has three interceptions. Junior Wyatt Davis has a pair of picks and a blocked punt. Burden has an interception, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Junior linebacker Davis Lee has been terrific on the ball and senior linebacker Gerard Culotta is all over the place, filling up the stat sheet weekly with tackles for loss, sacks and quarterback hurries.
Senior lineman Carlton White III is a run-stopping terror.
The list goes on and on.
“Our defense is a lot better,” Lee said. “They get a lot more stops and that opens it up for guys like me on special teams.”
Not satisfied
Stops equal punts. And opportunities for more points. Lee has 11 punt returns for 315 yards and two touchdowns.
Whether it’s offense, defense or special teams, the Lions have no sore spots.
“Everyone’s having a good year,” Lee added. “It’s just a really good team.”
Burden said the Lions have had a chip on their shoulder since the 55-18 loss to Fort Bend Marshall in the regional semifinals last year. It was Lake Creek’s only loss of the season, but it was what haunted them all throughout the offseason, summer and fall camp.
So, yes, the Lions know they’re good.
“We haven’t lost confidence from last year to this year, with a lot of returners,” Burden said. “There’s just a lot of confidence going into these games.”
But they also understand there is more work to be done, a long road still ahead. And while 5-0 and a 38.2-point average margin of victory is pretty sweet, it’s nowhere near the end game.
“We went 10-0 in the regular season last year,” Lee said. “We want to do that again, but we don’t want 12-1. We want to go further. We have to get better at everything. The things we were good at, we need to get better at. The things we weren’t good at, we need to get better.”
