LAKEVILLE - It's a high school football night in Lakeville! LaVille returns home for a solid test as 3A #5 Knox (5-0) comes to town. Kick is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from Lancer Field. The Redskins are led by Myles McLaughlin, who is also the Indiana leader this season and second all-time in career rushing yards. The 5-foot, 10-inch speedster has already rushed for more than 1,600 yards this season and scored 26 touchdowns. "McLaughlin is the complete package at his RB position," said LaVille coach Jeff Kaiser. "His athletic ability, balance, speed and vision is one of the best I have seen since I've been a coach. One of his best attributes though is his yards after contact, he finds a way to escape tackles when you think you have him stopped. We must get to him and with a full unit to ensure we can limit his YAC yards." One thing is for sure, Knox coach Russ Radtke's team will run the football, led by McLaughlin. "Knox is going to run the ball and run it a ton!!" said Kaiser of the KHS offensive preference. "It's no secret what they are going to do and who they are going to do it with. We just have to have the mentality of bend, don't break and limit the big plays." As LaVille gets ready for Friday Night Lights, the Lancers have done what they always do ... "let's go to work"! "We approach every week with the same mindset of "let's get to work", explained Kaiser. "Whether it's an INSC opponent, or Nations top rusher, or a team that is struggling. Whether we have won 2 in a row or lost 2 in a row ... we focus on being consistent in our planning and expectations remain the same. It's about us every week and what we are going to do to put us in a position to win every Friday. As a staff, we monitor the amount of physical contact we have during the week of preparations while in the grind of our schedule so we can have guys playing physical on Friday nights." Though LHS is 2-3 overall, Kaiser's crew has battled with every opponent on the schedule so far, and expects nothing less against the INSC-leading Redskins. "We feel we have battled well throughout the first half of our season," said Kaiser, as we transition to the second half of the season. "We have put ourselves in a position to win each week, just have come up a few points short in some games. We must improve every week and trust the process to ensure we are playing our best ball come tourney time." Kaiser's team has the ability to run the football and has mixed in the pass quite well so far. Last week in a 38-28 loss at Tippecanoe Valley, quarterback Bradyn Schwitz completed 10 passes for 262 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also packed bags seven times for 63 yards and two more scores. Konnor Amor also had a big game, catching three passes for a career-high 176 yards and two TDs. One of those was for 90 yards in a pitch and catch from Schwitz to Amor. According to Kaiser, when the Lancers are on offense, he expects the Knox defense, "... to play a 4-3 style and they move around well. We have to be able to mix it up and sustain drives to limit their possessions on offense." Cole Stafford, Lawrence Wood, and Schwitz are capable in running the football, while Stafford, Noah Menis, Dylan Miller, and Brock Gest will come up with big catches. Defensively, the Lancers have steadily run a 3-4 defense, so it will be interesting with the talent of McLaughlin and the Knox offense, if Kaiser and the Blue Crew defense stand pat. The LaVille 'D' is one of the best in the state, allowing 15 ppg, while the Knox offense averages 45.3 per outing. Game on ... GAMEDAY Teams: 3A #5 Knox (5-0/2-0) at LaVille (2-3/0-2) Site: Lancer Field, Lakeville, IN. Kick: 7:30pm ET Coaches: Russ Radtke, 47-21 in 6th year at Knox, 418-158 in 49th year overall. Jeff Kaiser, 19-11 in 3rd year at LaVille. Last Outing: Knox def. John Glenn, 42-22. LaVille lost to Tippecanoe Valley, 38-28. All-Time Series: LaVille leads Knox, 21-20 Last Meeting: Knox def. LaVille, 57-24, Sept 27, 2024 Live-Stream: https://www.ihsaatv.org/LHSLancers/?B=2811837 INDIANA NORTHERN STATE CONFERENCE ALL TIMES EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL GAMES W-L Pts OP W-L Pts OP Streak Knox 2-0 78 43 5-0 226 93 Won 5 Bremen 2-0 36 28 3-2 82 78 Won 3 Tippecanoe Valley 1-1 59 64 3-2 105 104 Won 1 Glenn 1-1 36 52 2-3 99 118 Lost 1 LaVille 0-2 34 45 2- 3 118 75 Lost 2 Jimtown 0-2 32 43 1-4 83 122 Lost 2 Friday, Sep. 26 Jimtown at Tippecanoe Valley ©, 7 pm Glenn at Bremen ©, 7 pm Knox at LaVille ©, 7:30 pm