Lake View – With a lot of new faces at several positions, the 2023 Lake View football team will be forced to learn on the go this fall.
Several of Lake View’s key offensive weapons over the previous two seasons have moved on, prompting head coach Daryl King to scrap the shotgun spread look in favor of the wishbone. Lake View was known as a wishbone team for more than a decade prior to the switch.
“Probably the first time in seven or eight years that we haven’t been in the gun,” says King, who took over as head coach in 2007 and is nearing 150 career wins. “It’s a different group in terms of our skill people and we’re probably more suited for the bone. This gives us the best chance to compete and win. The players are adjusting well to it.”
Lake View opened the 2023 season on Aug. 18 against a very good Marion High team, which is ranked among the state’s top 10 teams in AA. The inexperienced and out-manned Wild Gators gave a great effort before losing, 28-18.
“It was 22-18 with about 10 minutes to play and we battled all nigh long against a really good team,” King said. “We made some mistakes but we sort of expect that with so many inexperienced players on the field. You sort of know that week zero won’t be perfect. And Marion is going to win a lot of games. We saw a lot that we can be happy with in terms of our effort.”
Lake View notched win No. 1 on Aug. 25, beating Mullins, 38-22.
“We had a 32-6 lead and we subbed some guys, but the main thing is we saw improvement and fewer mistakes,” King said. “As a coach, we always want things to be better. Again, the effort was good. If these guys will work hard and play hard on Friday night, we will be a competitive football team.”
Lake View returns only one starter along the offensive line, junior tackle Chris McGill, who is now a third-year starter. Senior Luke King began the season as a starting tackle on offense and defense. Senior Deshawn Clark and sophomore Tyree Fore are the starting guards, with junior Lance Floyd starting at center.
“They are a work in progress,” King said of the line. “We started with a ton of work to do there. We’re coming along but we definitely have to keep working.”
Junior Kason Herlong returns as the starting quarterback this season. Junior Tyrell Foxworth returns as a running back with experience and will be the No. 1 back in the run game. Jayden Ford, Kiwi Jackson, Asher Lee and Demarius McArthur also get work in the backfield.
“We will run a lot of guys,” King said. “Not much size there and some play defense too so we will try to keep a fresh guy in there as much as we can.”
On defense, the starting ends are Luke Price and Daniel Ray. Inside at tackle are Connor Abraham and Zy’drivuzz Roberts-Inman, otherwise known as “Z-dog.”
Foxworth plays a lot at linebacker and is joined by Dawson Hunt, Seth Deese, Landon King and Kiwi Jackson.
In the secondary are Camden Umphries and DJ Hardee at corner. The safeties are seniors Tamir Bellmon and Jayden Ford.
“I like this group’s attitude and approach to work,” King said. “There is no complaining, no whining. When someone makes a mistake they own up to it and try not to make it again. We still a way to go but we’re just trying to get a little better each week.”
Lake View was scheduled to play Hemingway on Aug. 31, followed by a home game against Chesterfield on Sept. 8. The Wild Gators travel to Pageland for a game against Central on Sept. 15, and return home to face another good AA team, Loris, on Sept. 22.
The region opener against Green Sea Floyds is Sept. 29, followed by region games against Latta, Lamar, and Hannah-Pamplico. Latta and Hannah-Pamplico are off to 2-0 starts this season.
“It’s a tough region up and down, no easy nights,” King said. “Nothing will come easy for this team. We have to use these non-region games to improve as much as we can. There are no easy games for us.”
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