The Lakeview offense goes head-to-head against the Lake Shore defense.
By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published October 16, 2023
It was rivalry weekend all around the state of Michigan, and the bragging rights for the city of St. Clair Shores were up for grabs on Oct. 13 at Lake Shore High School for the game against Lakeview.
Hometown rivalries are a unique dynamic because players that were once teammates and friends now represent their respective high schools, and all love is lost once the players take the field.
“I grew up playing with a lot of those guys, and their quarterback, Jordan Alston, was my little league quarterback,” Lakeview junior Eric Simmons said. “But when the first whistle is blown, all the friendships are out of the window until the final whistle.
Behind four rushing touchdowns and an impressive defensive showing, Lakeview (6-2) earned the 28-8 win over Lake Shore (3-5). It was their sixth-straight win over the Shorians.
Senior running back Branden Harris continued his dominant senior campaign with two rushing touchdowns while senior Gary Winston and Simmons each tacked on a rushing touchdown in the win. Simmons had 13 carries for 119 yards while senior Tucker Weddle ran for 75 yards on 11 carries. Seniors David Osagiede and Keonte Woolf led the Huskies defensive effort. Lake Shore junior Cam’ron Flowers tallied the lone touchdown for the Shorians.
It was a much-needed victory for a Lakeview team who suffered a crushing 27-0 loss to Grosse Pointe South a week prior, which was a winner-takes-all matchup for the Macomb Area Conference White league title.
Lakeview has been battling injuries the past few weeks but the Huskies, almost back to full strength, returned to action and took care of business against Lake Shore.
“We fell short, and there was nobody to blame but ourselves. We didn’t show up,” Osagiede said. “We wanted to get back to the winning side knowing that Lake Shore, no matter their record, was going to put on a show for the city. We had to come with the same mindset.”
Lakeview will look to earn their seventh win this year when they travel to Berkley on Oct. 20 to take on the winless Berkley Bears. The Huskies last won seven games in the regular season in 2019.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Lakeview coach Pat Threet said. “Getting a seventh win next week would be a huge accomplishment because there’s not a lot of teams that win seven games in the regular season.”
Lake Shore will finish their season in a road matchup against Ferndale.