Coaching teams to consecutive Greater Miami Conference is nothing new for Tom Bolden.
It’s a bit of a bigger deal at Lakota West.
Bolden, who led Colerain to 12 straight GMC outright or co-championships, now is 2-for-2 at Lakota West after the Firebirds clinched their second straight outright conference title on Friday with a 34-7 win over intra-district rival Lakota East at Firebird Stadium.
Bolden’s son, Lakota West junior quarterback Mitch Bolden, was 5-for-8 for 76 yards and two touchdowns – both to wide receiver and classmate Trent Lloyd – and senior running back Cameron Goode gained 107 yards on 11 carries, including a 67-yard scoring run with 5:23 left in the game before a packed house that weathered a persistent mist.
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No Lakota team – West, East or Lakota back when the two high schools were one – ever has won back-to-back GMC titles.
“It feels amazing, especially doing it against your rival,” Lloyd said. “It’s huge. To see so many people come out is amazing.”
Added Tom Bolden, “The kids were talking about how we at least got a share of the championship after last week. and we said, ‘We don’t want to share anything. I was so proud of our defense. We grinded it out. We knew it’d be hard-nosed.”
Lakota West (8-1, 7-0) has won eight straight games since losing, 31-14, to St. Xavier in the season opener. They went into Friday’s game third in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Division I Region 4 Harbin computer rankings. Lakota East, which finishes the regular season 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the GMC with losses in their last two games, was rated fifth in the region.
Thunderhawks junior fullback Eric Davis gained 82 yards on 22 carries and senior quarterback T.J. Kathman scored the Thunderhawks’ only touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions, one by Lakota West senior linebacker Aden Miller after being hit while throwing by sophomore defensive back Jacob Asbeck. Lakota West senior defensive back Jyaire Brown came up with the other interception.
Mitch Bolden turned that turnover into a touchdown with a 15-yard pass to Lloyd on a play called “Knife Bender” added just this past week to the Firebirds’ playbook.
“We practiced that play all week,” said Lloyd, who caught four passes for 64 yards. “It worked perfectly.”
Lakota East coach Rick Haynes said about Lakota West, “That’s a really good football team. We fumbled a pitch and T.J. threw a pick while getting hit. He hasn’t done that all year. We turned it over too much. We’ve got to play better.”
Lakota East – 0-0-7-0 – 7
Lakota West – 3-7-14-10 – 34
LW – Bohn 33 field goal
LW – Lloyd 15 pass from Bolden (Duncan kick)
LW – Afari 30-yard blocked punt return (Bohn kick)
LW – Lloyd 12 pass from Bolden (Duncan kick)
LE – Kathman 6 run (Hoffman kick)
LW – Goode 67 run (Duncan kick)
Records: Lakota East 7-3 (6-2 Greater Miami Conference), Lakota West 8-1 (7-0 GMC).
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