The Lakeland Hawks (4-4) football team has one regular season game ahead of them. This Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m., they will face the Moscow Bears (1-6) at home in an opportunity to seal a playoff spot and extend the season. As of now, Moscow has only beaten Kellogg, which was their first game. Due to this, the Bears have a 6-game losing streak, which the Hawks hope to turn into seven.
This season for Lakeland has been nothing short of hard-fought, and players have been overcoming injuries throughout, causing heightened motivation.
A win is so important for the team because of what they have been able to overcome thus far. Injuries have heavily impacted the Hawks since the early weeks of the season, but they have refused to let it affect them.
“A win would show that we still have pride. We still want to win, and we are going to keep trying regardless of injuries,” sophomore Cash Lund said.
Also, Moscow is one of the Hawk’s most heated rivals besides Sandpoint. Since there is so much on the line for both teams, stress and emotions are heightened, and both teams are preparing to endure the game of a lifetime.
Despite these factors, Lakeland is confident, and they feel as though they have developed an effective game plan heading into Friday’s game.
“They run a spread offense, and they throw a lot, which will affect our defense in the secondary, but I hope we will be able to overcome that by making adjustments,” senior Carder Scarcello said.
Scarcello would be ecstatic and grateful for a win against the Bears since it would put them into the playoffs.
When asked about the game, players explained that it would be very intense.
“We are going after Moscow and currently preparing to beat them by as much as possible. It will obviously be tough, but if we play like I know we can, then we should pull it off,” Lund said.
The Hawks defeated the Bears 59-0 at Corbit Field in 2021 and 45-0 in Moscow in 2022.
At this same time last year, Lakeland clinched a playoff berth with their win against Moscow.
Aside from the playoff implications, the game against Moscow is Senior Night for LHS.
“It could be my last game, so it would be cool to keep playing. I think that we are going to throw the ball a lot, allowing us to win,” senior Roan Reilly said.
If the Hawks are able to pull off the win they know they are capable of, the team will travel down south to face another 4A team (TBD) in the first round of the Idaho state playoffs. Be sure to attend Friday’s game at Corbit Field to witness the game of the year, or tune in live to Hello Hawks on YouTube.
