The Lakeland Hawks (7-2, 1-1) are preparing to head down south and take on the Pocatello.

Thunder (4-4, 2-0) in the first round of the 2022 Idaho high school football championship playoff.

The game will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Pocatello Junior high in Pocatello, Idaho.

The Hawks have secured the ninth seed in the bracket, and the Thunder received the eighth seed. Mike Schroeder’s Hawks will need to win three consecutive games in order to get a shot at the elusive state championship title. 

Lakeland is coming off a win against their Inland Empire League opponent, Moscow(0-8). The Hawks shut out the Bears 45-0 on Oct. 21 as they capped off the regular season on a high point. 

The team has been working hard this week at practice in preparation for the opening round of the playoffs. 

Securing the win against Pocatello will send the Hawks into the 4A quarterfinals. Lakeland hasn’t won a playoff game since moving from 3A to 4A. 

Lakeland is looking to continue the success they have had all season and continue to produce passing and rushing yards. 

The Hawks have rushed for a total of 2676 yards and average 7.7 yards per carry. John Cornish and Thomas Calder contributed significantly to this burst of offense. 

However, without the talent of the offensive linemen, the running game would not be nearly as successful as it is.
Facing Preston Jeffs, Brayden Tirri, Donovan Reynolds, Carter Vanek, and Taylor Winkelkotter, defenders struggle to get through into the backfield. This gives the running backs time to find holes and the quarterback time to find open receivers. 

When asked how he felt about having two of the best running backs in the area, Preston Jeffs said, “It is good that we have two good backs. They can both do it all. If we need to, we can put them at receiver or full back, and they will do what they can to help the team.”

Cornish has a total of 1459 rushing yards on the season, and he is currently the second-ranked rusher in the 4A division.