NWPASports.com

2025 LAKEVIEW SAILORS PREVIEW
By Joe Saqer, NWPA Sports Senior Contributor

STONEBORO -- A game program is a must-have for Lakeview fans this fall.

That’s because the Sailors have an all-new look as they seek to replace seven starters on both sides of the ball.

“We definitely have a lot of younger kids this year,” Lakeview coach Blake Reddick said. “We’re up and coming.”

Because of heavy graduation, Lakeview lacks a lot of varsity experience. But, the Sailors are eager to earn shots to get it.

“Whenever you have seven positions open on either side of ball, there will be heavy competition,” Reddick said. “The men will separate themselves from the boys, that’s for sure.”

The team’s backfield is different this year as top rushers Brayden Booher, Blake Skiles and Leyton Zacherl (also the quarterback) graduated. Gavin Schell, who gained 195 yards on 39 carries last year, will be the go-to guy. However, he must sit out the season’s first two games after being ejected from last year’s playoff loss to Greenville.

“He’ll be there for our first region game. I think he’s going to have a breakout season,” Reddick said. “We have to figure out running back until he comes back.”

Michael Strohl and Julian Zacherl could get some carries, in addition to fullback Ethan Johnson.

“We have some freshmen who could tote the rock, too,” Reddick said. “Hopefully, we can work them in and get them some carries. Our freshman class is going to be strong, but I am not sure how many are ready for a full game of varsity at this point.”

Owen Reynolds (5-foot-6, 145 pounds) is set to handle the quarterback duties.

“Leyton did a good job for us for two years,” Reddick said. “I didn’t think we could get smaller at quarterback, but we did with Owen. He’s tough as nails and gets the job done.”

Kye Brown, Karson Mathieson, Gregory Leige and Zacherl will be counted on to catch passes, same with freshman Remi Marsh.

“He had a great junior high season,” Reddick said. “We are hoping he can avoid letting the Friday night lights cause big mistakes. He’s been awesome in practice. As long as he translates that to Friday nights, he will be a special player for us for four years.”

Wyatt Maxwell and Cole Klonowski return to lead the offensive line.

“We have a bunch of sophomores and freshmen competing for spots up front. It’s going to be real interesting,” Reddick said. “We have some big boys, but do not have the experience, that’s for sure. We look the part, but, hopefully after camp, we are the part.”

Defensively, up front, Maxwell and Klonowski lead the way, too.

“I hope we can compete along the way and continue to get better,” Reddick said. “The big guys we have up front, we will develop more depth there. I am excited about that.”

Ethan Johnson is back at linebacker. Schell will play there, too. Mathieson and Leige provide depth.

Reynolds moves from middle linebacker to safety. “We wanted to move him back there to see the entire field. Hopefully, we’ll have a tackling presence at safety,” Reddick said. “We haven’t had a safety that wants to come up and make a hit in a long time.”

Zacherl returns to cornerback, while many other players are battling for time in the secondary.

“These kids are very competitive. Competition breeds excellence,” Reddick said. “If we improve a little bit every day, we’ll be a pretty good team by the end of the year. We’re going to lose some good guys in this senior class, which is going to hurt us next year. We want to improve all year for those guys, but also to get better for next year because we return a lot of guys. I am excited to watch another group of kids develop throughout the year, work hard and see what we can put together.”