The Lakota West Football Firebirds have completed their fourth regular season under the Coach Bolden regime. Their 2022 season marked The Firebird’s third consecutive GMC football title, but the Firebirds are still alive and well for the playoffs. Lakota West finished this season 10-0, the first perfect season in all of Lakota history. They were ranked number two in Ohio after week ten, via an AP poll, and they currently sit at number 57 in the nation at the time of writing this article. What clicked for the Firebirds this year? Who were the difference makers? Does West have a shot to win it all this year? It’s time to look back on an incredible year and answer some big looming questions.
The Firebirds handled the regular season with relative ease. Their year started 1-0 after a close last-second victory over the Saint Xavier Bombers. This game would be their only out-of-conference regular season matchup, and teams like St. X from the GCL are never easy. The game started with a 13-0 lead for the Bombers headed into half, but the Firebird’s dominant defense would give a preview of the talent Firebird fans have all come to know and love. St. X would be scoreless in the second half of the ballgame, which allowed West to post 16 unanswered points, enough to win the tight contest.
Going forward, there weren’t many other scary games for the Firebirds. When thinking of tough games on the West schedule, most will look back to the Fairfield game. However, in the preseason, nobody would have guessed that to be the roughest game. Princeton was ranked higher, and to most, looked a whole lot more talented. That game, held down I-75 in Princeton, would end up being one of the better games of the year for the Firebirds. The all-around dominant performance, led by guys such as Taebron Bennie-Powell, Trent Lloyd, and star quarterback Mitch Bolden, would end with a controversial final of 31-7. The reason many say this is a controversial final is because of the punt return touchdown where Princeton’s return man was visibly down. This was a shutout win to most West fans, and it was one of the more fun contests all year long.
Going back to the aforementioned Fairfield game, West would end up winning, albeit very concerningly. Heading into the half the Indians held a lead over the Firebirds, a very unusual sight. Other than St. X in week one, nobody had held a halftime lead over West. The final score was 38-31 Lakota West, but it did take two overtime periods to get to that final. The game-winning play came on Fairfield’s offensive drive in the second overtime period. Star defender Jacob Asbeck was able to punch out the football for fellow star, Elijah Davis, to scoop the football and return it to the endzone. Sadly, the scoop-and-score play did not count on the scoreboard, but it was one of the cooler plays of the year nonetheless.
Of course, the year ended with another GMC title with the Firebirds beating out the Mason Comets by one game. That one game just so happened to be homecoming week at Lakota West. The game was a tight ballgame at the half, but Lakota West turned on the jets in the second half. They eventually put a running clock on the Comets and finished with a score of 37-7. After the game against the Colerain Cardinals in week 10 to clinch the season, senior kicker, Tyler Bohn, stated in an interview with the Lakota West Student Broadcast Club, “It’s cool, man, to be the first” in regards to the first perfect season. Bohn was one of the key contributors this season with a consistently dominant performance on special teams.
Currently, the Firebirds are in the midst of the OHSAA’s annual state tournament. They hold the three seed in the region and are looking to pursue a coveted state title. While things aren’t yet completely over for the Firebirds, West siders can still take a look back and appreciate their fantastic year.
