Fearsome front seven helps lead Lakes back into Tacoma Dome
It’s been a few years since Dave Miller got to work on Thanksgiving.
He’s done so eight times now in his 30 years of coaching. He told his Lakes High School football team so following its Tuesday practice, informing them of the rest of the week’s schedule, with a state semifinal game against top-ranked reigning state champion Eastside Catholic at 4 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome.
Elijah McMillon had one more thing to say.
“It’s our turn to make our mark and leave our legacy on this school and on this state,” the senior linebacker said passionately as part of a post-practice speech with his teammates kneeling and listening.
That speech is why Miller said he locked himself into a room for three days at the end of last season, and why for the first time in his coaching career he ran a 12-week leadership class in the offseason. McMillon was one of the many players to take part.
“I’ve seen the change,” Miller said. “I think it’s why we are where we are at because they understand that it’s not just the coaches that have to be the leaders out there. Players have to be leaders, and not just by example.”
And now Lakes is Tacoma Dome-bound for the first time since 2010 and the eighth time in school history — reaching the Final Four despite earning the No. 3 seed from the 3A SPSL.
It doesn’t have the superstars of past Lakes teams — such as Hillary Butler, Reggie Williams, Jermaine Kearse, Zach Banner, or even last year when it had Benning Potoa’e.
But neither did that 1997 team that won Lakes’ lone state title.
“It’s easily one of the best teams I’ve had in terms of chemistry,” Miller said. “There are a lot of similarities to that group (in 1997). It’s certainly a different team than we’ve had the last three or four years.”
That all started in the offseason.
The past three years had dissension. Some players bought in, but others didn’t.
Those are no longer on the team.
“We decided at the beginning of spring ball, ‘If you don’t want to be here, leave now,’ ” McMillon said. “We sat together at the beginning of spring ball, we sat in the locker room and said, ‘Get out if you’re not in.’ ”
The eighth-ranked Lancers (10-2) have the top scoring offense in the 3A classification. Last week’s 35-6 win was their lowest point total since an Oct. 16 loss to Sumner. They scored 56 points in a district playoff win over O’Dea and 53 in the first round of state against Kamiakin.
But ask Miller what he’s been most impressed with and he points to his front seven — linebackers McMillon, Maika Magalei and Cale Lindsay and defensive linemen Xavier Banner (Zach Banner’s younger brother), Chris Hunter, Jo-bentley Keilani and Max Nauer.
Sure, their all-out, destroy-the-quarterback, aggressive play — following in defensive coordinator Hillary Butler’s footsteps — has led to some big plays for opposing offenses, but it’s also led to performances such as the second half of that O’Dea win, where the Lancers allowed minus-eight yards in the second half.
“We’ve really cut out our mistakes lately,” Keilani said. “Our linebackers don’t bite on everything anymore, but they are on their toes, They are waiting to make big plays. But we had to tighten it up a notch because we knew we couldn’t just be average. And now we have to put ourselves among the best in Lakes history.”
“When we get hungry, we eat the entire time,” McMillon said.
And with Potoa’e vacating the defensive line and heading to the University of Washington after graduating last school year, Nauer has stepped up.
Former UW and Lancers lineman Sione Potoa’e has helped the 6-foot-1, 260 senior develop his technique and get off the ball faster — and the same with all of the members of the defensive line.
Senior defensive back and running back Yisrael Stephens chuckled when asked what Nauer brings.
“His aggression,” Stephens said. “He will never give up.”
“I’ll watch film and I’ll pay attention to me and (Nauer) to see how we made the play and I just see Max taking on one guy, two guys, three guys at the same time,” McMillon said.
Said Nauer: “I just play the sport I love to play. I love it. At the end of the day, I give everything to God. I just come out and play and do what I do. Then nobody can stop me.”
Hunter was a linebacker last year, but this year he has 19 sacks as a rush defensive end (and 1,100 receiving yards on the other side).
“We expected to be here,” Hunter said. “Nobody else thought we were coming, but we knew.”
“All of our hard work has paid off,” Keilani said. “But this isn’t it. We are going to finish what we started.”
“The fact that we can be put on a wall possibly with the ’97 team, and the fact we put Lakes back on the map — that’s all we talked about going into last year: ‘Back on top,’ ” McMillon said. “This year we changed it to ‘Bring our best.’ And when we play our best, we’ll put ourselves on top.”
Sounds like they’re all on the same page.
Home at the Dome
Lakes finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed from the 3A SPSL, but is one of four teams remaining in the 3A state playoffs. The Lancers are in the 3A state semifinals for the eighth time in school history. Here’s a look at the teams that have previously reached the semifinals:
1997: The Lancers won their first and only state title thanks to a lateral pass from quarterback Travis Kirby to receiver Derrick Williams to receiver Michael Westbrook in the end zone with 1 minute, 32 seconds remaining in a 21-17 win over Ferndale. Lakes didn’t have any superstars. Just super team chemistry and leadership, Lakes coach Dave Miller said. “At the beginning of the year, I don’t think (then head coach Dick Zatkovich) and I would’ve said it was going to go to the state championship,” said Miller, who was the team’s offensive coordinator.
1999: The Lancers’ starting defense had only allowed 17 points the entire season leading into the semifinals — Lakes first trip back to the Tacoma Dome since winning the state title. Reggie Williams, the former NFL and UW receiver, was a junior and dropped what could have been a potential touchdown in the final minutes in a 27-23 loss to Sammamish. “That was a talented group,” Miller said. “They probably should’ve won the state title, and we came up against a Sammamish (team) that upset us, and we didn’t play our best.”
2000: Miller led a talented, yet more experienced Lancers group back to the Dome, and this time to the state final, in his first year after taking over for Zatkovich as head coach. Williams, regarded as the top recruit in the state, had eight catches for 151 yards in the title game against Steve Gervais’ Skyline, but Lakes’ high-powered offense just couldn’t match the Spartans in a 42-30 loss. “They were hungry,” Miller said of the Lancers. “I think they learned from that semifinal loss and they used it to get all the way to the finals.”
2002: Akeem Anthony set what was then a large-school rushing record with 5,449 yards in 48 games, eclipsing the old record in the Lancers’ semifinal loss to Lynden after beating Tumwater, 57-55, in the quarterfinals. Anthony Russo, the former UW receiver, was Anthony’s backup at running back, but it was the second consecutive year that Lakes’ season ended at Lynden’s hands. “For some reason, we just don’t play well against these guys,” Miller said afterward.
2008: You’ll recognize some of the names. Jamaal Kearse, former UW linebacker and younger brother of Seahawks receiver and 2007 Lakes graduate Jermaine Kearse, was a junior, as was Sione Potoa’e, the former UW lineman and older brother of current UW lineman Benning Potoa’e, who graduated from Lakes last year. Lakes beat O’Dea and Eastside Catholic before losing to Union in the semifinals. “That was a talented, talented group,” Miller said. “They were tough and physical and just really talented.”
2009: The Lancers returned nearly every starter from the 2008 team, but didn’t have Potoa’e because he had been ejected from the previous game. Liberty scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and stunned Lakes with a 17-13 victory. “It was the same group of kids, but they were seniors and they just came up a little short,” Miller said. “They were probably one of the more talented groups we’ve ever had.”
2010: This run was built more on heart than talent. A lot like this year. But the Lancers ran into powerhouse Bellevue in the semifinals and couldn’t keep up after a week of limited practice time because of a snowstorm that canceled school. Zach Banner, now at USC, was a junior and went on to earn all-state recognition. “Nobody expected them to get out of the league and they go down and beat Camas in double overtime (in the quarterfinals),” Miller said. “They just rallied together, and they are a lot like this year’s team.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Fearsome front seven helps lead Lakes back into Tacoma Dome."