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Lakes Eagles plans to carry on championship tradition

It's been about 10 years since Lakes High School first opened its doors.

But that's been more than enough time for the football team to establish quite an enviable tradition.

The Eagles have won the last four North Suburban Conference Prairie Division titles and have earned six straight playoff berths.

"There's no doubt that success helps breed success," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "The kids on the current team feel an obligation to live up to the standards set by previous teams, and even surpass that.

"Everyone wants to leave their own mark. I think that's a typical human trait. Our kids intrinsically say, 'This is our senior year. Last year was great, but let's do even better this year.' "

Lakes has plenty of talent this season to keep the upward trajectory going.

Senior quarterback Jordan Mercure was one of the better quarterbacks in Lake County last season as a junior. He passed for 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns while also running for 659 yards and 6 touchdowns.

"Anytime you return your quarterback, you're really excited about that," Mertens said. "Jordan's been doing great. Obviously, he's such a focal point of what we do as a team."

Mercure was inserted into the starting lineup midway through his sophomore year when injuries shelved the Eagles' top two quarterbacks. Those early reps helped him hit the ground running last season.

"His confidence and knowledge of the playbook has really evolved," Mertens said of Mercure. "You can really tell that he feels comfortable and that he knows what to do and when to do it."

Mercure will have a couple of speedy receivers to target in senior returner Lucas Kuzmanovich and junior Cameron Ruiz, who played running back last year. Junior receivers Brandon Khan and Connor Chamernik and senior tight end Matt Heerema will also get plenty of throws their way.

The Eagles will keep the offense balanced with running back Colton Jewell, a tight end last year who is athletic enough to play just about any skill position.

"We have a lot of different options with our skill positions," Mertens said. "The strength of our offense will be our balance. We're going to be able to throw and run the ball. We had that kind of balance last year, too."

Defensively, Lakes welcomes back seven starters, including four of five linebackers: Nick Austill, Dave Boudart, Jeremy Sasser and Kuzmanovich.

"It's huge to have so much experience back with our linebackers," Mertens said. "We play so many good offensive teams. Your linebackers are a real focal point of your defense. Our linebackers are really smart football players.

"There have been some good linebackers before them and these guys just really want to carry that torch."

"Carrying the torch" seems to be a popular theme at Lakes.

"Our main goal since our program started has been to get those six wins to get into the playoffs," said Mertens, whose team advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs last year. "We want to be playing our best football in the playoffs."

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