Lakers are in rebuilding mode

Editor's note: This story appears in the Sandusky Register and Norwalk Reflector's 2023 football preview special section. The 32-page edition will be received automatically by home subscribers and is available Friday, Aug. 18 on newsstands and at our offices. DANBURY TWP. — When longtime coach Keith Mora left Danbury and its 8-man football team to take the job at Norwalk this season, there had to be some uncertainty as to who would replace him. Arguably the most successful coach in program history, Mora had led the Lakers to an OHSAA playoff appearance in 2016 and helped the team make the transition to 8-man football. It appears that Danbury has found a suitable replacement. Brett Sykes, an Eastlake native who graduated from North High School in 2003, is coaching the team and is excited about its potential. A little background on Sykes: He played football at Ohio University from 2003-07, manning the defensive line, and spent two more years in Athens as the defensive quality control coach and then as assistant strength and conditioning coach. He then moved on to NCAA Division II Missouri S&T and helped the Miners, as defensive coordinator, become one of the best defenses in the country. Sykes' first Lakers team is young and rather inexperienced, but it does have its share of talent. There are three seniors and four upperclassmen on a team with 18 players. There are two returning starters on both sides of the ball. "Things are going really well. We're seeing a lot of drill work carrying over to the team," said Sykes. "We're very young, the guys are learning. I think it's going really well in my first year as the head coach. As a coach, you always have high expectations — go out, have fun, develop joy for the game. I don't want to set a lot of expectations for us (because there's) a little bit of a learning curve. We'll find out real quick what we've got. "Our No. 1 goal is to go 1-0 every week. We want to keep guys healthy and keep building for the future. I'm excited to get back into coaching." Sykes talked about his coaching philosophy. "If you're going to be a good football coach, you better be a good teacher, and the stronger the relationships you build with your players, the harder they will play for you," he said. "Coaching is more than just Xs and Os, it's how you can impact a player's life." Senior running back Elijah Hatfield is the team's workhorse, and he'll be complemented in the backfield by Cannon Crownover, more of a finesse runner who Sykes notes has great athletic ability and speed. The quarterback is Tommy Dean, who is coming along nicely. "He's young, he's developing into a pretty good quarterback," said Sykes. "We'll be able to throw it and run it." The starting wide receiver is Parker LaMarca. "He's tall, athletic, but just hasn't played a lot of football," Sykes said. The offensive line is manned by C.J. Carlson, the center, Grant Dunfee, a guard, and Dylan Kenley and Parker McMurray. "We hope to tuck Elijah behind C.J. and pound him when we have to," said Sykes. "We hope Cannon can fill in and provide a spark at times." The offense will have multiple looks and formations as the Lakers hope to run it while also airing it out at times. "We have the ability to spread you out and the ability to bring it in and pound it a little bit," said Sykes. "We have some heavier formation stuff." On defense, Sykes said Carlson, Dunfee, Kenley and McMurray will be playing on the line, and he believes Noah Webster can be a key contributor on that side of the ball. "We'll adjust things to how teams line up against us," he said. "We'll try to play some four down linemen with zone behind us. We'll be able to get a bunch of guys rotated in and out." Hatfield talked about the progress the team is making. "We have a lot of freshmen where it's a learning curve, and some first-year players, but it's going really well," he said. "I trust our line, for the most part, they always know what they're doing. They block the right person. They're not always the biggest, but they can handle their own. Only half our team played last year. I think our new coach has done a good job of setting everything up. "I feel like everyone on the team likes each other, there's good team chemistry. We like everybody on the team, everyone works well with each other, and nobody's fighting. Nobody's embarrassed if they don't know what they're doing, they're not afraid to ask questions. The coaches really help with that. I've had coaches in the past where if you don't know what you're doing, they might yell at you. It's a better environment. We're not scared to talk to them. I think it makes the team a lot better because we can trust each other." Hatfield, one of the captains, hopes to help the Northern 8 program continue to make progress in his final season. "Me and the other players were talking about the season. We didn't really set goals for wins and losses, but for knowing the plays,"he said. "That's the first goal, make sure everyone knows the plays. My biggest goal is to be inviting because it's very intimidating (playing football). I think my goal and the coaches' goals is to make sure we know what we're doing." The Lakers play eight games before the postseason begins on October 27. With enrollment dropping at some schools in Ohio, perhaps 8-man football will become more popular in the near future. "I believe there are a few teams that are hanging on in the 11-man game," Sykes said. "The tournament that we're having this year, more teams will see that, and the OHSAA is buying into it, that makes more teams on the cusp jump on board. "It's a great game, lots of space, hard to prepare for. In college, if you've got enough guys out there who makes a mistake, the next guy might be able to get him. But in 8-man, if you make a mistake, that's bad." 2023 schedule Aug. 26: Waldron, 5 p.m. Sept. 8: at Holgate Sept. 15: at Morenci (Mich.) Sept. 22: Toledo Christian Sept. 29: at Sebring McKinley Oct. 6: St. Mary CC Oct 14: Stryker Oct. 20: at Camden-Frontier 2022 results (3-6) Britton-Deerfield (Mich.) 64, Danbury 14 Danbury 30, St. Mary Central Catholic 26 Holgate 44, Danbury 26 Toledo Christian 61, Danbury 6 Tri-State King's Crusaders (Ind.) 36, Danbury 6 Danbury 38, St. Mary CC 16 Stryker 46, Danbury 22 Climax-Scotts (Mich.) 65, Danbury 12 Danbury 38, St. Mary CC 6 2023 roster No&emsp;&emsp;Name&emsp;&emsp;Pos&emsp;&emsp;Ht&emsp;&emsp;Wt&emsp;&emsp;Year 1&emsp;&emsp;Jeremiah Large&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;5-9&emsp;&emsp;160 &emsp;&emsp;92&emsp;&emsp;Aden Ayers&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;150&emsp;&emsp;10 3&emsp;&emsp;Zyler Manning&emsp;&emsp;RB/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-7&emsp;&emsp;150&emsp;&emsp;10 5&emsp;&emsp;Grey Maltise&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-9&emsp;&emsp;140&emsp;&emsp;10 6&emsp;&emsp;Drake Turinsky&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-5&emsp;&emsp;140 &emsp;&emsp;9 7&emsp;&emsp;Cooper Riley&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB/K&emsp;&emsp;5-11&emsp;&emsp;170&emsp;&emsp;11 8 &emsp;&emsp;Parker LaMarca&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;170&emsp;&emsp; 9 9&emsp;&emsp;Jacob Hild&emsp;&emsp;WR/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;140&emsp;&emsp;12 11&emsp;&emsp;Elijah Hatfield&emsp;&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;180&emsp;&emsp;12 12&emsp;&emsp;Thomas Dean&emsp;&emsp;QB/DB&emsp;&emsp;5-11&emsp;&emsp;160&emsp;&emsp;10 20&emsp;&emsp;Parker McMurray&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;180&emsp;&emsp; 9 22&emsp;&emsp;Cannon CrownoverRB/LB&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;170&emsp;&emsp;10 33&emsp;&emsp;Caden Grennan&emsp;&emsp;RB/LB&emsp;&emsp;5-7&emsp;&emsp;155&emsp;&emsp;10 49&emsp;&emsp;Dylan Kenley&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;6-2&emsp;&emsp;220 &emsp;&emsp;9 54&emsp;&emsp;Noah Webster &emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;6-1&emsp;&emsp;180&emsp;&emsp;10 55&emsp;&emsp;Grant Dunfee&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;5-11&emsp;&emsp;190&emsp;&emsp;10 65&emsp;&emsp;Killian Marsden&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;6-1&emsp;&emsp;170&emsp;&emsp;10 93&emsp;&emsp;C.J. Carlson&emsp;&emsp;OL/DL&emsp;&emsp;6-3&emsp;&emsp;255&emsp;&emsp;12