LAKEVILLE - Prior to 2014, LaVille football never had more than a couple consecutive winning seasons in a row. When Will Hostrawser was hired a little over 10 years ago, things changed. They changed the way they did things ... changed the way they tackled, changed the offense, changed the defense . . . It was just a different attitude and a different way of thinking. Over the last 10 years, Lancer football found success. In the present day, Hostrawser stepped away from coaching football to concentrate on being the athletic director. In 2023, Jeff Kaiser was elevated to head football coach in Lakeville, IN. To start the 2024 season, LHS changed conferences. They returned to many of the Northern State Conference schools in the new Indiana NSC, or INSC. That set up games against larger schools, for the most part. Presently, LaVille is the only Class 1A school in the INSC. The other five - Bremen, Jimtown, John Glenn, Knox, and Tippecanoe Valley - are 2A or 3A. Last fall, LaVille finished 6-6, which according to some, may not have been a successful season. We will add, however, that two of the Lancer losses were to defending Class 1A state runner-up North Judson-San Pierre. "The 6-6 season may not have been what people thought was a good season but we did have two of those losses to a state runner-up team in North Judson," said third-year LaVille skipper Jeff Kaiser. "So for us having some tough competition in the INSC, we felt as though we improved each week. It set us up for some tourney success which led to us battling for a sectional championship once again." Since 2013, LaVille has played for a sectional football championship eight times, ending up in three IHSAA sectional football titles. That is a .385 winning percentage in the last 11 years for a sectional trophy. Prior to 2012, the Lancers won three sectional titles since the inception of the school in 1965. In May when graduation came, the Lancers were handing out diplomas to Cody Allen, Collin Czarnecki, Jonathan Neese, Xzavian LaFave, Eli Platz, just to name a few. "Those guys had great careers while putting that White LV Helmet on each week," said Kaiser of his 2025 senior class. "But as a staff we know the guys have worked hard in knowing that those shoes needed to be filled. They have put themselves in a position to continue the tradition here at LaVille. Some of those guys we are looking to fill those positions are Cole Stafford RB, Noah Menis TE/LB, Brayden Schwitz QB/LB, Dylan Miller WR/DB, Chase Lee DB, Austin King OL to name a few. "Our kids work tremendously hard in the off season in strength training and making the commitment three days a week, while also competing in other sports and finding that balance in their schedules, is a standard for our team and we as a staff are blessed that our kids have that dedication. Our goals remain the same, work hard everyday which will allow us to put the best product on the field. Play as hard as you can for 48 minutes and learn from the successes and failures to ensure you can contribute to the team. Each player has a value, it is how you want that value to be a part of something special on this team." Defensively, the Blue Crew allowed 23.8 points per game, the most since 2013. LHS was, however, 6-0 when holding the opposition to 24 or less points. We have challenged the kids on the defensive side of the ball, as last year we were not very solid consistently," said Kaiser. "And in order to be successful on the field the defense must set the tone. Guys have bought into the challenge and are taking great pride in making a difference this season." On offense, Schwitz takes over at quarterback and will also play defensive back, Cole Stafford moves into the running back spot and will play outside linebacker, while Foster anchors the offensive line and will also play outside linebacker. "These guys you have mentioned are key components to what we want to achieve as a team," said the Lancer boss. "Their desire to continue to be successful in all they do will help all of us as a team find our success. You can add (Konnor) Amor to this list as well!" Among those mentioned, LHS will also count on juniors Konnor Amor, Dylan Miller and Noah Menis. Amor, a receiver/defensive back, did miss time in 2024 due to an ankle injury. Miller, also a receiver/defensive back, suffered a knee injury in the scrimmage at Prairie Heights last season. Menis is a tight end/linebacker. Heading into Friday's opener against #13 Triton, LaVille does have the Blue-White game and the scrimmage with Prairie Heights under their belts. We asked Kaiser about pleasant surprises from Lancer players. "Some of the surprise players or those that really shown improvement throughout the game were Brayden Schwitz at QB - settled in and let the game come to him, Lawrence Wood - ran the ball extremely well and hard, Noah Menis on both sides of the ball, Brock Gest - going both ways made some plays on both sides of the ball, Keenan Richhart - proved that he can be a force for us in the trenches, Chase Lee looked confident and knew his assignments on defense after taking a season off. Again I am naming just a few guys as they all played extremely hard! "Offensively we want to build on what we were able to establish last season," continued Kaiser. "We must be able to mix it up, and improve our running game throughout the season." LaVille will continue to play in the Indiana Northern State Conference. Knox looks to be the favorite in 2025 after sharing the INSC crown with Jimtown last season. The teams finished 4-1 in conference play, but the Redskins averaged 41.8 points per game. KCHS finished 9-4 overall, won a sectional title, and were nipped by one point to Garrett in the regional. LHS finished 2-3 in loop play, with rivalry wins over Bremen and John Glenn. As we closed our time, Kaiser admitted, "We're moving some guys around to different spots this season, but we have like 13 guys back who started for us last year. These kids know how to win. Our seniors tasted it two years ago when we finished 11-2 and won a Class 2A sectional title." Let's get it started ...