Page 16 Football Preivew • Friday , August 30 , 2024

Lakeville South to open season Aug . 29 against Wayzata

Photo by CJ Wrzesien

The Lakeville South running game will be anchored by Connor Cade and Jonah Shine . by CJ Wrzesien SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Lakeville South ’ s 2023 season included a 7-1 and a trip to the 6A semifinals , where they lost 20-13 to Centennial .

The Cougars return many of their impact players on both sides of the ball , which led the team to back-to-back 6A semifinals appearances .

Now the group looks to build on their success and return to the State Championship for the first time since 2021 .

The Cougars deepest position group on offense is at running back , where they return both Jonah Shine and Connor Cade , who got the bulk of the carries in 2023 .

The run game was the Cougars bread and butter last year , finishing second in all of Class 6A in rush yards amassing 3.480 yards on the ground . South will continue to lean heavily on the run game again this season .

“ One of the things you have to have to be successful is an identity ,” head coach Ben Burk said . “ We ’ re going to fit our identity , we ’ re going to run the ball . We ’ re going to run the ball in the c gap and be good at it .”

With a pair of college running back prospects in Cade and Shine , the Cougars will look to lean heavily on their run game . Building a dynamic passing attack will also be key to opening up the offense even more this season .

“ We ’ ll be run first , but we know that we can definitely spread the ball out ,” Cade said . “ We have great athletes this year , especially with Jonah ( Shine ) and Bo ( Bokman ).”

At quarterback Lakeville South returns starter Gaven Dean , a senior this season . Dean threw for just 688 yards on 71 attempts in 2023 . With the limited opportunities he was given , Dean proved he could be a formidable passer who can run the Cougars offense .

This season he looks to build on his junior year , Dean spent four days a week lifting in the offseason while also implementing a throwing program . Hoping to take his passing game to the next level .

In a Power-T offense where the priority is to move the ball on the ground , Dean looks to

make the most of his opportunities when he is called on to pass the ball . In hopes that it leads to opening up the pass game for the Cougars .

“ It ’ s not about the stats , But I do have some goals to throw for over 1,500 yards and rush for 700 .” Dean said . “ Hopefully I can get a little more involved this year , and I think it could help us in the end .”

On the other side of the ball the Cougars graduated Isaac Cin the team leader in tackles a year ago , as well as their team leader in sacks Joe Hager .

It ’ s up to a new group of upperclassmen to lead the way on defense for the Cougars . Starting with senior safeties Bo Bokman and Callan Oxendale .

Bokman , a two-way player . got snaps at running back last year and finished second on the team in tackles behind Cin . Now as a senior Bokman will look to take on a more vocal role in the secondary as a leader along with senior Brett Johnson and junior Carter Mayer at inside linebacker . The trio will look to provide leadership and anchor the interior of the Cougar defense .

“ They kind of conduct the whole thing ,” Burk said . “ They spent a lot of time this summer , learning the scheme and perfecting it .”

One area of the defense Burk also identified as a strength was the depth on the defensive line .

Joshua Bergen and Kaden Kretzschmar both return and will look to be a force up front . But the depth at the position will also allow Burk to rotate guys in and out and keep them fresh .

“ I think through the See Cougars , 22A

Photo by CJ Wrzesien

Lakeville South quarterback Gaven Dean aims to take a step forward this year in his progress as a thrower to complement the Cougars ’ running attack .