The Lake Highlands football team saw its season end Nov. 20 in thrilling fashion: A 53-46, second-round playoff loss to Tyler John Tyler before a packed Wildcat-Ram Stadium. There will be no Wildcat Sports Report because of the Thanksgiving break, but we did catch up with head coach Scott Smith for a Q&A.
Q: Any lasting thoughts about the loss to John Tyler?
A: I’m still pouting a little bit. It’s still kind of bittersweet, but I’m very proud of our kids and the way they played. We knew John Tyler was going to be one of the best teams we’ve played and they lived up to that.
At halftime we were not where we wanted to be (trailing 36-23), but we felt like if we refocused on what our plan was and went back to executing, we could get back in the game.
And we did that. To put ourselves in a position to win it at the end, or at least tie it and send it to overtime, we’re proud of that.
Q: Those third-and-longs that John Tyler quarterback Jeremy Johnson was able to convert with scrambles seemed to be what hurt you the most.
A: Third-and-longs got us. Really, all three third-and-longs were quarterback draws and that was something we had not seen them do. It’s something we should be able to [defend] in our base scheme, but we were a little slow in our reads to it.
Q: Any regrets about anything you could have done differently?
A: We ask our kids to give everything they can between the lines and let the scoreboard take care of itself. If that was our goal, our kids played their hearts out…We did everything we asked our kids to do. 
Q: What did you think of the atmosphere at The Boneyard?
A: It was awesome. From a noise level, an excitement, level, it was awesome. There was a point in the game when I looked up I don’t think I saw a person on either side of the stands sitting down. You didn’t want to, because you didn’t know what was going to happen.
Q: The next night, Allen lost its playoff game when its coach decided to go for two in overtime. Any idea what went into his thought process?
A: There was some thought process for us, too. If we had put the ball in the end zone [at the end of the John Tyler game] we would have had to make that same choice.
You look at the game situation, what kind of success you’re having, whether the opportunities are there. Because we were at home, we had huge fan support and everything was there for us to be successful in overtime, we would have kicked it and gone for overtime.
Q: Last year’s team went 10-3 and won a district title. This year’s team went 9-3 and finished second, but probably faced better teams overall. So which team was better?
A: That’s a tough one. I think that’s a pretty good conversation. There are parts of this year’s team that were better, and parts of last year’s team that were better.
Q: You’ve got to like what you have coming back for next season.
A: We’re really excited. Obviously we lose our big gun. You don’t ever replace a kid like Ricky Zorn, but we feel good about our backups and what we’ve got coming back. Desmond Roland, Scott Hanks, Kent Perkins, Jeff Gebara at guard, Deondre Glover at wide receiver, Michael Wright and Devonte Sunwengham. Offensively, I feel pretty good about that. And you can put Roderick Mackey in that mix in the backfield.
Q: Will the freshman quarterbacks, Michael Ketchmark and Trent Jones, compete for the starting job next season?
A: As we’ve told those guys, this freshman year was about getting their feet wet and learning about the tempo and the pace of the game. We’ll go through offseason and the spring and summer and let them compete a little bit. That’s going to be fun to watch.
Everybody saw Michael and the way he performed in the Creekview game and would say he surged ahead. But what people didn’t see is the way Trent progressed in practice and in JV games. It was just a rotational thing. We’re really excited about both of them.
Q: What about what the defense has coming back?
A: We’ve got Mitch Marzuola at defensive end, Tre’ Stewart at defensive tack, linebackers Clint Hardemon and Roderick Mackey, David Greene, Jalen Broussard and Jaquille Myles in the secondary. We’re excited about that group we’ve got coming back.
Q: Although you didn’t win as many games as last year, it appears the program has taken a step forward in terms of developing depth and overall momentum.
A: Each year our goal is to take it a week further. We didn’t do that, but from a progression standpoint we took everything to the next level.
Q: Since you aren’t practicing on Thanksgiving, none of your assistants will wear the turkey suit like Brandon Carder did last year.
A: Nobody got to wear the turkey suit. It’s up on the shelf for another year.
Q: I understand your newest assistant, Rod Sneed was in line to wear the turkey suit this time. Does this mean he won’t have to wear it next year?
A: Is he off the hook? (Laughing) No, he ain’t off the hook!
