WATERFORD OUR LADY OF THE LAKES PREVIEW: Lakers have plenty of shoes to fill in order to keep winning tradition alive

Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

WATERFORD — Few high school football coaches have built as much of a legacy as Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes’ Mike Boyd.

The veteran, who began his career in 1965 at Lakes, has had only six losing seasons in his career. He ranks in the top five all-time in career wins at 348 victories — and counting.

Under his direction, the Class D Catholic school has reached the state postseason 22 times, best in the www.NorthOaklandSports.com coverage area. The Lakers have captured one state championship (2002), have two state runner-up showings (1990, 1994) and have reached at least the state semifinals 12 times, the first time being 1982.

There’s plenty of great teams and players for Boyd to reminisce about.

“The state championship team was special. But we’ve had a lot of very good teams over the years,” admitted the 69-year-old Boyd. “I remember years ago before the playoff expansion we had some 8-1 teams and even a 9-0 team that didn’t make the playoffs. There were only four classes back then and it was extremely difficult just to qualify.”

In recent years, the Lakers have reached the postseason 14 straight times and have recorded at least nine wins in nine of the past 10 seasons.

“For a while there, we reached the semifinals several times in a row,” said Boyd, whose team lost in the Final Four each year from 2003-2006. “We had a couple of teams make the semis in the early 80s and several other teams that won playoff games over the years. It’s hard to say which team is the best.”

Mike Boyd (left) give instructions to Jake Weir during a practice drill.Boyd is in his 46th year of coaching, all at Lakes. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt

While the Lakers have enjoyed success under Boyd that few programs in the state can rival, the veteran is looking towards the 2011 season with a cautiously optimistic approach. WOLL graduated several quality players and there are plenty of shoes to fill.

“We have to break in a new quarterback and we have some tough teams on our schedule,” offered Boyd, who has 56 players in the program between the varsity and junior varsity this season. “We’ll have to have some guys grow up in a hurry. We have five guys trying out for quarterback and none of them played on varsity last season.”

Sophomore Vinnie Puma, who started on the junior varsity last season, and senior Ben   Kotz are the top candidates. Kotz has never played quarterback until this season.

Senior Kevin Mooney (5-8, 185) is back to lead the running game, as he was among the leading rushers last season. Senior Adam Figurski (6-0, 200) is back at offensive tackle, while classmate Jake Weir (6-0, 180) is also back on the line and will also spell downs as a tight end. Junior Sean Broderick (5-8,160) is a returning starter at guard.

Weir and senior Jake Doetsch (6-3, 200) both started at defensive end last season, while junior Mitch Lasceski (5-11, 185) is back as a linebacker and Mooney as a cornerback.

JOCKEYING FOR POSITION: Sophomore Vinnie Puma is one of the candidates to take over the quarterback postion for Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt

Three new starters that should fill some gaps are junior tackle Ryan O’Brien (5-10, 225), who will also see time as a receiver, junior linebacker-receiver Garrett Ross (6-4, 190) and junior safety Richie Cross (5-8, 160).

While there are solid numbers in the program —10 players come from Clarkston Everest Collegiate as part of the co-op with that school — there isn’t much size. There are only nine players in the entire program that weigh over 200 pounds.

“This is one of the smaller teams we’ve had in a while in terms of (body builds), so if we go up against a big and physical team, then we could be in trouble,” said Boyd. “We do have some good athletes, so we’re hoping that they can make up for it.

DECADES OF EXCELLANCE: The football program at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes has won its fair share of championships in veteran coach Mike Boyd's stellar career that spans nearly five decades. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

“Over the years, we’ve had some good teams that weren’t tremendously big,” continued Boyd. “If we have kids step up and do their job, then we’ll be competitive. We just have to fill spots with a lot of new kids this year. We’ll see where we’re at in a few weeks.”

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Tags: Catholic High School League Football, high school football, prep football, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes Football 2011

Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes