2020 Lake Catholic Football

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wickb2233

Active member
After a decent first season with new head coach Marty Gibbons what do we think is in store for the 2020 cougars? I know there will be some new teams on the schedule, a lot of new faces on the field, and a few new faces on the sideline.
 
 
wickb2233 said:
After a decent first season with new head coach Marty Gibbons what do we think is in store for the 2020 cougars? I know there will be some new teams on the schedule, a lot of new faces on the field, and a few new faces on the sideline.
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What's the full schedule look like?
 
The Lake Catholic program has really fallen on challenging times. The competition for the CYO players that are still playing football is fierce and the more urban kid was never attracted to this particular school. NDCL & Walsh Jesuit are in the same spot. But unlike these schools the real head scratcher is the overall drop in enrollment. Just a few years back this was a solid Div II size school, now they are Div IV including a competitive balance multiplier. I know it has been discussed quite a bit but many inside and outside of this community think Sal was a big contributor to this slide. The school is in need of a spark and at this time the football program doesn't look to be a contributor to getting the Lake Catholic brand name in front of potential paying customers.
 
The last three frosh classes are really bad. They have pulled in some transfers but I have a hard time thinking they’ll be competitive. Likely a 3-7 or 4-6 group.
 
Auggie said:
The Lake Catholic program has really fallen on challenging times. The competition for the CYO players that are still playing football is fierce and the more urban kid was never attracted to this particular school. NDCL & Walsh Jesuit are in the same spot. But unlike these schools the real head scratcher is the overall drop in enrollment. Just a few years back this was a solid Div II size school, now they are Div IV including a competitive balance multiplier. I know it has been discussed quite a bit but many inside and outside of this community think Sal was a big contributor to this slide. The school is in need of a spark and at this time the football program doesn't look to be a contributor to getting the Lake Catholic brand name in front of potential paying customers.
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Its pretty safe to say that most people in the LC community, to put it nicely ‘disapprove’ the overall existence of Sal and his time there.
 
wickb2233 said:
Not sure of dates and I know they’ve talked to Mayfield but nothing official. But on the schedule they have: University, Western Reserve, VASJ, St Francis (New York), Ursuline, Padua, Benedictine, Walsh, and NDCL. Still looking for one more team.
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Mayfield's open date is week 1 to replace Walsh Jesuit. Makes sense and would be a great local game/series!
 
BlackandGold said:
Mayfield's open date is week 1 to replace Walsh Jesuit. Makes sense and would be a great local game/series!
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Never mind. I see on arbiter Lake's open date is week 2 and they host Stow week 1.

Lake's 2020 schedule per Arbiter:

08/29 H Stow
09/04 Open
09/10 H Ursuline
09/17 A University
09/25 H St. Francis
10/02 H Padua
10/09 A Walsh Jesuit
10/17 A Villa Angela-St. Joseph
10/23 H Benedictine
10/30 A Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin
 
Football Fan 1 said:
Any chance Lake Catholic and St Vincent St Mary start playing each other again?
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I think playing STVM would be a nice fit. I know they wish to get rid of these D1 programs. There's really no need for Lake to play them like they used to. At this point they cannot compete.
 
Any chance Lake goes independent with the continued drop in enrollment? There is only so long I would want to stay and get kicked around that conference especially when I'm not growing in the slightest...
 
Auggie said:
The Lake Catholic program has really fallen on challenging times. The competition for the CYO players that are still playing football is fierce and the more urban kid was never attracted to this particular school. NDCL & Walsh Jesuit are in the same spot. But unlike these schools the real head scratcher is the overall drop in enrollment. Just a few years back this was a solid Div II size school, now they are Div IV including a competitive balance multiplier. I know it has been discussed quite a bit but many inside and outside of this community think Sal was a big contributor to this slide. The school is in need of a spark and at this time the football program doesn't look to be a contributor to getting the Lake Catholic brand name in front of potential paying customers.
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I think the fact that Mentor, Kirtland, and Chardon have been really good the last 10 years or so hurts LC. There was a time kids from these areas would go to Lake specifically for football. Now, with players receiving D1 scholarships who go to these public schools it seems ever single year along with them being very successful on the field it definitely doesn't help.
 
ChampaignCountyFan said:
Any chance Lake goes independent with the continued drop in enrollment? There is only so long I would want to stay and get kicked around that conference especially when I'm not growing in the slightest...
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They are independent now (football only). The NCL broke up after last season. Many of the schools were left scrambling so they are still playing a few of them this season.
 
Hearing that LC has some players transferring out. One for sure, was a starter last season. Now there are a few that are being poached from a few area schools that were in the NCL
 
Why the transfers? Wish that open date could be filled here in Central Ohio with a CCL school. Any hope for a Lake turnaround?
 
Transfers- Parents know where their son should play more than coaches, duh!!! Plus schools in the area smell blood in the water.. spreading rumors that LC will close... I don't think a trip down to central Ohio is in the cards... LC did that a while back with Dublin Coffman and it just didn't work (for DC the year after either). In a perfect world they would leave on Friday after school, stay the night and then play Saturday afternoon/evening. But I don't foresee that coming. Hope for a turnaround - yes, they have a coach that the alumni really love. Just a matter of getting some talent on the field. These things happen in waves. Lake had a hell of a run there for a while and they'll be back. Just may take a few years.
 
Very manageable schedule. Lake Catholic should try to get into the CVC while football is down.
 
2020 Official Schedule Dates and Times:
*All Home Games To Be Played @ Jerome T Osborne Senior Stadium*
WEEK 1
*Thursday Aug 27 7PM*
Stow @ LC
WEEK 2
Saturday Sept 5 7PM
LC @ Western Reserve
WEEK 3
*Thursday Sept 10 7PM*
Ursuline @ LC
WEEK 4
*Thursday Sept 17 5PM*
LC @ University
WEEK 5
Saturday Sept 26 7PM
Saint Francis (NY) @ LC
WEEK 6
Saturday Oct 3 7PM
Padua @ LC
WEEK 7
Friday Oct 9 7PM
LC @ Walsh Jesuit
WEEK 8
Saturday Oct 17 7PM
LC @ VASJ
WEEK 9
Friday Oct 23 7PM
Benedictine @ LC
WEEK 10
Friday Oct 30 7PM
LC @ NDCL
 
claynation said:
I believe most of the former NCL schools (sans Hoban and Bene) intend to realign in a new conference for the 2021-2022 academic year.
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I've heard this as well. Basically the NCL minus Bene and Hoban. I do hope LC continues to play Bene (I think they are scheduled to play for at least a few years) even though it's been tough in recent years. It's an underrated rivalry game in my opinion.
 
No surprise here, but things don't look good for LC's schedule...
Stow, Walsh, Western Reserve: Summit county ruling that they wont play teams out of county.
St. Francis (NY): Enough said.
University: Paused athletics.
 
New 6 Game Schedule:
8/28 vs Kirland (7:00 PM)
9/5 @ VASJ (2:30 PM)
9/11 @ NCDL (7:00 PM)
9/17 vs US (7:00 PM)
9/26 vs Walsh Jesuit (7:00 PM)
10/3 vs Padua (7:00 PM)
 
GAME DAY!
Lake takes on Kirtland at the JTO tonight at 7.
Will be a tough test for the cougars in week 1. Kirtland is a powerhouse, doesn't matter the division. Unfortunately, the rain will only hurt the cougars.
Traditionally, Lake has a way of competing with / beating teams they aren't supposed to.
Would be surprised if LC pulled this one out. But that's why you play the game!
 
Good luck to the Cougars. Been a rough few years. They're going to need to catch lightning in a bottle to get things turned around (both in terms of football and more broadly overall enrollment). The state of Catholic grade school education in Lake County (and the overall cost of Catholic education at any level) is clearly an issue for Lake Catholic that has no good answer.

The fact we're playing Kirtland and probably a heavy underdog going into the game is completely mind-boggling to just about any alumni over the age of 35.
 
If Lake is holding in person classes they should see a bump in enrollment this year as many parents feel a need for this since many public schools are not. What is the status for the public Districts in Lake County?

Moving forward this should become a traditional week 1 game, should hold the game annually at JTO and split the gate.
 
wickb2233 said:
GAME DAY!
Lake takes on Kirtland at the JTO tonight at 7.
Will be a tough test for the cougars in week 1. Kirtland is a powerhouse, doesn't matter the division. Unfortunately, the rain will only hurt the cougars.
Traditionally, Lake has a way of competing with / beating teams they aren't supposed to.
Would be surprised if LC pulled this one out. But that's why you play the game!
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I’ve waited for this matchup for a while now. Kirtland is a tough draw for most teams, but kudos to Coach Gibbons & LaVerde & AD Colacarro & Paul for getting this game on the docket. IMO, this should become a yearly non-conference game for Kirtland, but that’s just me.
Lake’s schedule year in and year out prepares them for teams like Kirtland, which has me thinking it will be a somewhat close affair. Each team has inexperience in one area, and a lot of experience in another. Hope it’s a fun one for both sides...too bad rain is in the forecast.
 
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