Story by Kyle Klemme
(Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

(Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

Owning it on the field

The Lake Highlands Wildcat football team has been through a bit of a rollercoaster in the past decade. The team’s best record was 10-3, that was in 2008.

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Since then, the Wildcats have only had three winning seasons. Lonnie Jordan was hired in the spring of 2015, bringing with him a new, and seemingly winning, era.

“We cannot have built in excuses for failure,” he says. “Whether it is in the classroom, on the field or at home… No excuses — own it.”

His first two seasons were rocky, as is often the case with new teams. But this year the Wildcats almost bested notoriously hard-to-beat Skyline, a signal of a new day. Jordan is focused on building a program that will sustain generations.

“Our current challenge is to create an atmosphere and culture that is magnetic,” he says. “We want these young families and players to yearn to be an LH Wildcat.”

Team Captain Hill Hardin, a senior, has seen progress under the new coach’s guidance.

“We have a great offseason that prepares the kids for the next season,” he says, “and it’ll only keep getting better.”

Jordan also has an eye on his players’ futures, luring in college scouts with recruitment packages and highlight reels.

“I want what our kids want, so if I have a player that wants to play at the next level and has the ability to do so, then that just became my passion,” Jordan says.