SYRACUSE - Jeff Kaiser, new head football coach at LaVille High School, along with his staff got to see the team in action.As the 2023 edition of Lancer football rolled up to Warrior Field for the Wawasee 11 v. 11 THUD scrimmage, the players were anxious to see new competition. This was the final summer workout before the first official day of fall camp for the Lakeville school on Monday, July 31."It felt good to be able to see different teams and schemes," explained Kaiser.  "We were also able to see a glimpse of Friday night speed which you can never simulate at practice, so all in all we were able to get everyone involved and on camera which will allow us as a staff to evaluate where we are at this point and what all we need to focus on as we move forward.  The schools we played (Thursday) were a great measuring stick for us and we had fun being back on the field." LaVille lined up first against Norwell, a 3A school that finished 10-2 overall in 2022.In the second session, the Lancers faced 4A Fort Wayne Wayne that closed last season at 2-8 overall.The final session had LHS matching up against the 4A host Warriors, who wound up a 1-9 to wrap things up a year ago."Offensively I felt we were able to mix things up and have a balanced attack with several guys out of multiple packages," Kaiser said when asked about the LaVille offense overall.  "With many new faces I was pleased that we had no illegal procedure penalties so guys knew where to line up and that is a huge plus when you are rotating as many guys in as we did last night." In 2022, the LV offense averaged nearly 40 points per game and 20th in the state in putting points on the scoreboard. They were also fourth in Class 2A among offensive output.  On the defensive side, the Lancers had one of the best in state in 2022 at keeping teams off the scoreboard.  LHS allowed just 9.9 points per game a season ago, including one-score or less in seven games and three shutouts. "Defensively we saw glimpses of really good things and we saw glimpses of things we need to focus on," said Kaiser. "The thing that stood out that we will shore up right away is our alignment,  and some of that issue was this being our first time seeing someone different which is why a late summer scrimmage like this is so valuable. Again many new faces rotating in and getting a taste of the game.   Having very coachable kids will allow us to sharpen things up on this side of the ball." One of the keys during LaVille's undefeated regular season in 2022, was a veteran offensive line. With much of the line lost to graduation, it means next man up."The offensive line last night played very well," Kaiser noted.  "We will continue grooming them but they are the reason we were able to get a balanced attack.  We have replaced four guys upfront with all four of them seeing their first opponents on a varsity level.  We gave up no sacks playing three different quarterbacks and were able to finish drives in the red zone . . . that's a good start, but we will continue advancing their skill set and confidence." Veteran quarterback Lucas Plummer returns for his senior season and got the start as the THUD outing started."Lucas played extremely well, and you could see his confidence each time we snapped the ball," Kaiser said of his 6' 2" signal-caller.  "He believes in what we are doing and trusts the 10 guys he has out there with him and that makes for a great combination. With his athleticism he naturally makes the guys around him better.  We have some things to work on with him, but seeing him perform at the level he did last night was satisfying since this was his first action for football since that devastating injury.  We also felt (Collin) Czarnecki and (Brayden) Schwitz played well once we pulled Lucas out." Since taking over the program, Kaiser has had the football players participating in spring and summer workouts. "I like where we are up to this point," said the Lancer boss.  "Guys are seeing that opportunities are there for each and everyone of them.  As coaches we are going to continue working the fundamentals and look at getting the team chemistry of our guys in place.  We will continue to work hard, use this scrimmage as a challenge and keep preparing for week 1!" Overall, coach Kaiser wanted to get every player in to see action and get them on film to help each player improve at getting ready for the first day of fall camp."Everyone in our high school program got a chance to play last night and not one of them backed down from the challenge . . . that shows us as a staff that we all continue to buy into the WANT MORE . . . DO MORE . . . GET MORE mindset," concluded Kaiser.  "We have work to do, but with the guys we have there is no doubt in my mind that they will continue to lock in and get after it once July 31st gets here!"  Prairie Heights will visit Lancer Field on August 11 for the pre-season scrimmage.  The event is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. A visit to Bremen on August 18 for the WHME TV-46 Game of the Week will open the 2023 regular season.  Come watch the action at Don J. Bunge Field beginning at  7 p.m., then go home and watch the replay at 11 p.m.