Danbury ready to take next step

DANBURY TWP. — Danbury is ready to compete. The Lakers were 4-6 last year, but in their third year of 8-man football, they have the pieces to compete in the Northern 8 Conference. "With all of our talent coming back, we feel like we have a chance to do something special," said coach Brett Sykes, who called the league "very competitive" this year. "That's going to be up to the guys — if they continue to get better and put in the work. St. Mary is going to have a really good football team. They return a lot of seniors as well. Chalker is going to have a good team. There's a lot of coaching changes, so I'm not sure what everyone else is going to be." What's not back in the league is two-time defending champion Toledo Christian, which moved up to 11-man after going 11-0 last year and winning the last eight games it played in 2023. That opens the door for a new league champion. Why not Danbury? "We're getting a lot better," Sykes said. "A lot has changed in these three years. We finally have seniors. Last year we were pretty young, but that means pretty much every starter is coming back on offense. Guys are starting to buy into the program. It's been fun to see these guys grow the last three seasons." Offense Danbury averaged 28.6 points per game last year, but totaled just 28 points in a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season to Holgate (50-6), St. Mary Central Catholic (43-14) and Toledo Christian (50-8). The Lakers return their entire offense, which is led by senior captain and quarterback Tommy Dean. He completed 67 of 118 passes for 1,156 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. The yardage broke the single-season record at Danbury, and Sykes believes Dean will break it again this year. Danbury was balanced at receiver, and all options are back. Junior Parker Lamarca had 21 catches for 371 yards and seven touchdowns while senior Grey Maltese caught 15 passes for 325 yards and two scores. Senior Ayden Ayers recorded 15 receptions for 306 yards and three TD while junior Dylan Kenley (10-121-2) was a fourth option. "The biggest message was we had to get better," Sykes said. "If we wanted to get better on the field, we had to get better in the weight room. A lot of the guys bought into the weight room. "We started lifting in March in the mornings and we had great numbers. I think that's when they turned the corner of what it's going to take to win." Junior Drake Turinsky racked up 77 carries for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior Zyler Manning added 56 rushes for 402 yards and five scores. "We as an offense want to be able to run the football so teams will pack the box," Sykes said. "In 8-man, essentially if you want to stop the run, you have to pack the box. Being able to run the ball and when they put extra guys in to stop the run, we have to be able to throw it over the top. "We have the receivers that can do that. Tommy has come a long way and he has a chance to do something special this year." Defense Danbury needs to shore up its defense this year to really make an improvement. Outside of shutting out Sebring McKinley and limiting Fremont St. Joseph to 18 points in an early-season win, the Lakers gave up at least 26 points in the other eight games. Sykes expects names like Manning, McMurray, Grant Dunfee and Cannon Crownover to anchor the defensive line. Dean will play free safety this year. McMurray paced Danbury's defense with 73 tackles last year while Manning added 62 stops. Ayers and Manning each had a pair of interceptions. "We need to be able to stop the run," Sykes said. "If we can line up and stop the run on any given Friday or Saturday, we're going to put ourselves in a good position. There are some teams that like to air it out a lot. Toledo Christian was one of them. "Essentially if you stop the run, good things are going to happen." Sykes said Danbury is all-in on 8-man football for the time being. The Lakers have 22 players on their roster. "I think we're pretty adjusted to it by now," Sykes said. "We have 21 guys and one girl on the roster this year. They're all capable of playing football. They're used to 8-man." The schedule set up about the way Sykes expected. Cardinal Stritch is new to 8-man this year while Danbury will face Fremont St. Joseph and Stryker each in a home-and-home. "The only expectation we have is be physical and win," Sykes said. "We tell the guys to play with 100 percent effort every time you're on the field. Good things are going to happen if you do that." 2025 schedule Aug. 23: Fremont SJCC, 7 p.m. Sept. 6: at Stryker, 6 p.m. Sept. 12: at Holgate, 7 p.m. Sept. 20: SMCC, 7 p.m. Sept. 26: Cardinal Stritch, 6 p.m. Oct. 11: Stryker, 6 p.m. Oct. 18: at Fremont SJCC, 7 p.m. Oct. 25: Southington Chalker, 6 p.m. 2024 results (4-6) Waldron (Mich.) 48, Danbury 28 Danbury 30, Fremont SJCC 18 Danbury 52, Stryker 26 Holgate 50, Danbury 6 SMCC 43, Danbury 14 Toledo Christian 50, Danbury 8 Danbury 52, Sebring McKinley 0 Danbury 64, Stryker 32 Fremont SJCC 34, Danbury 14 Southington Chalker 58, Danbury 18 2025 roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 2 Aden Ayers WR/DB 6-1 160 12 3 Zyler Manning RB/DB 5-7 160 4 Grey Maltese WR/DB 5-10 150 5 Brexton Master RB/DB 5-10 150 9 6 Victoria Skeens RB/DB 5-6 120 10 7 Eli Knight RB/DB 5-7 140 9 8 Parker LaMarca WR/LB 6-1 175 11 9 Drake Turinsky RB/DB 5-6 160 11 11 Khale Ferguson RB/DL 5-10 165 9 12 Tommy Dean QB/LB 6-0 175 12 15 Silas Niese RB/LB 6-1 160 9 18 Jax Rodwancy WR/DL 6-2 150 9 20 Parker McMurray OL/DL 5-10 200 11 22 Cannon Crownover RB/LB 5-11 190 12 27 Taylor Monak RB/DB 5-11 160 11 33 Wyatt Henry OL/DL 5-10 170 10 34 Caden Gosik OL/DL 5-8 185 10 49 Vinny Veverka OL/DL 5-10 185 9 50 Trent Taylor OL/DL 6-0 215 10 54 Noah Webster OL/DL 5-11 205 12 55 Grant Dunfee OL/DL 5-11 210 89 Dylan Kenley WR/DL 6-2 200 11