On Friday, October 25, 2024, the Lakota West Firebirds defeated the Mason Comets 41-0, ending their regular season. With that win, the Firebirds won a share of the GMC title, which they shared with the Princeton Vikings. The Firebird’s only loss throughout the season was to Princeton 14-6, and Princeton’s only GMC loss was a 34-0 blowout to Hamilton.
With the regular season wrapped up, it is time to look ahead to the postseason matchups, which look to be very compelling this year. The Firebirds have the number two overall seed in Region 4 of the OHSAA state playoff bracket and will face off against the 15-seed Walnut Hills Eagles.
When asked about the postseason, Lakota West head coach Tom Bolden said “GCL teams always present problems”. Lakota West is very familiar with the GCL, as in past seasons they have played St. Xavier in the opener many times, including this year where they won 17-13. The Firebirds are also very familiar with another GCL team in Archbishop Moeller, who has beaten Lakota West in the playoffs each of the last four years. Moeller is also the highest seed in the region, just one above the Firebirds, and once again it seems as though the Firebirds will have to get through the Crusaders if they want to make it to the state semifinals.
When asked about a potential matchup against Moeller, coach Bolden said, “You don’t want to tunnel vision with the Moeller thing but it’s obviously been there the last four years”. While things may seem destined to end in a battle between Lakota West and Moeller, coach Bolden also said, “There’s a lot of good teams in the playoffs this year”. The Firebirds will likely play either 3-seed Winton Woods or 6-seed St. Xavier in the third round of the playoffs if they can take care of business, and both of those teams could present problems for the Firebirds. Winton Woods went 9-1 this year, with the only loss coming 31-17 at Anderson. St. Xavier managed a 7-3 record, with close losses to both West and Moeller.
With all the expectations for a deep playoff run, Coach Bolden points out something many forget, “The biggest thing people don’t realize—you gotta stay healthy, you’ve got to get lucky”. Bolden is right, if the Firebirds want a chance at beating Moeller and making a run to state, they’ve got to stay healthy.
