After everything Lakeside seniors like Tristian Westerfield and Aaron Artman went through, you’d think somebody would have just let the Dragons win a few games to feel better about themselves.
That didn’t happen, though.
In the past year and a half, kids that have attended Lakeside High School have dealt with a lot of things they probably never pictured they’d deal with in high school.
When the roof on Lakeside High School collapsed in November 2024, it affected just about everyone in the school district, but especially those involved in athletics.
The weight room was no longer available, players needed to find a way to the practice facility after school, home games were lost. They also watched as friends and teammates transferred to other schools.
For the Dragons to go 1-9 a season ago, probably seemed like bad things kept piling on.
But, Westerfield said it was actually what the team needed, and now they are ready to come together and turn the page.
“Most of us, I think we really needed that,” he said. “I don’t think it’s something that we can allow to happen this year.”
To make sure it doesn’t happen again, though, the Lakeside players, especially the seniors, know the team needs to come together and stick together.
If there has been a key in the Lakeside playbook this summer, it has been the word continuity.
Dragons players have seen a lot go wrong the past year and a half. But the team leaders understand that nothing is going to get better until everyone comes together.
“I feel like it’s the difference between winning and losing,” Artman said. “Just being together as one unit, having complete trust in what each other is doing and being able to play off from that.”
Winning can fix a lot of things, but losing can tear teams apart.
Artman said the players have come to understand they can’t point fingers at each other.
“It’s easy to fall into that, and at times we definitely did,” he said. “But, we kind of rallied around each other and had each other’s backs, and now we’re trying to bring everybody up to the standard where we believe we can win games.”
Quarterback JJ Murphy is not a senior, but a player who’s learning what it is to be a vocal leader on a young team.
He said the Dragons are a group of guys that are connecting more and more.
“We have a strong bond on the field, and off, we do a lot of things together,” he said.
Adversity can be something that wrecks teams before the season starts, but coach Terry Henton believes it has brought his team together. It’s also taught them a lot about more than just football.
“These kids staying at the school, they’ve learned to overcome adversity and they’ve learned to adapt,” Henton said. “They’ve learned so many aspects of life that football practice and a dumb football coach like me can’t teach them.”
Lakeside will open on the road at Lutheran East before coming home to face Geneva. The Battle of the Bridge game against Edgewood takes place Week 5.
They will face a gauntlet late in the season, as the schedule takes them on the road three straight weeks to Eastlake North, Chardon and Madison.