Lakes Enters 3A State Playoffs with 56-21 Victory Against Nathan Hale

Air or ground, Lakes' offense was unstoppable.

Lakes senior quarterback David Wood completed 14 passes for 352 yards and senior running back Levonte Littlejohn carried the ball 14 times for 153 yards against Nathan Hale of Seattle in a 3A play-in game at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood Friday night.

The air attack of Woods combined with Littlejohn's powerful running scored a combined seven touchdowns. Lakes senior wide receiver and defensive specialist Cedric Dozier was an early recipient, catching TDs of 61 and 67 in the first half. He caught four balls for a game-high 175 yards as the three helped the Lancers dominate the Raiders, 56-21.

Wood — in his biggest game of the season — completed 70 percent of his passes, picking apart the Raiders' defense. He accurately completed short throws, and his speedy receivers caught the ball downfield in stride.

"The line was amazing," Wood said. "I never had so much time to sit back and find the open receivers. "The coaches were calling great plays. Everything was working today."

Lakes scored three TDs on 14 plays. Littlejohn then capped a 12-play, 93-yard drive on a simple run with 4 minutes, 29 seconds in the second quarter, 35-14.

"The only time we got stopped is when we had some penalties," said Lakes head coach Dave Miller. "(Le)von(te) ran really hard. Our offense was pretty dynamic."

The Raiders (5-5) matched Lakes' offensive firepower in the first quarter with their wing T offense. Senior running back Markeith Harris tallied 179 yards in the first half on just eight carries. He finished the game with a pair of touchdowns.

Hale led twice in the first quarter with several big plays. Its 21 points were the most Lakes has allowed this season.

Lakes made adjustments in the second quarter, forcing three consecutive punts to end the half. Lakes offensive tackle Zach Banner said Hale gave them a good look at the wing T.

"It wasn't like they were driving the ball down the field and scoring," Banner said. "Once we got those couple of plays shut down, it was all said and done."

Lakes head coach Dave Miller said it was good to see a team play the wing T.

"It took some time for us to get adjusted," Miller said. "But once we saw it, we started understanding how they’re going to attack and our (line)backers started reading their plays. Defensively, we got better as the game went on."

Dozier, who plays cornerback, said the defense definitely benefited from playing that style of offense.

"You can't simulate a wing T until you see it," Dozier said.

Miller said the teams they could likely face — Mount View in the opening round and potentially Bellevue in the quarterfinals — run the wing T much better.

"And probably 10 times better," Miller said.

Lakes host the winner of Auburn Mountainview and Mountain View of Vancouver in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs in Lakewood next week.