Football: Sterling ready to kick off new season against Lakes

STERLING – With less than 48 hours to go before its first game against Lakes, the Sterling football team can hardly wait.

In 2021, the Golden Warriors opened against Lakes in a Week 1 at Lake Villa, winning the nonconference contest 31-9. This year, they hope to repeat history on their home turf at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

Last year, the Eagles went 5-5, sneaking into the 5A playoffs before falling to Wauconda 41-7 in the opening round.

This year, Sterling is preparing to face another competitive Lakes team.

“Last year, we saw them; I know they were a playoff team last year, and they return their quarterback, who’s a good player. They’ve got a new head coach, and we know he was on their defensive staff last year,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said. “But as far as offensively, you go into a Week 1, you really never know what you’re going to get – and we’re kind of in that situation right now. So we’re preparing for everything throughout camp and just hoping our kids understand fundamentals, and our coaching staff needs to make the adjustments to make sure we’re aligned right. And we just gotta go out there and play football. So it’s somewhat of an unknown offensively this week for us, but that’s what Week 1 brings you.”

Senior middle linebacker Lance Wren is expecting some new looks from the Eagles this year, but he’s confident his team will be ready to answer.

“They’ve got a new offensive coordinator, and they’re really run-dominant,” Wren said. “We’ve just gotta be really locked in, and we have really try hard in all of our defensive segments to make sure we can stop the run game.”

Senior center/defensive lineman Chase Ullrich shares Wren’s confidence.

“Last year, they came out hard, but after halftime, we came out even harder and just won the game,” Ullrich recalled. “I feel really confident. The team is really coming along now this past week or two.”

To beat Lakes this Friday, the Golden Warriors must do well in three key areas, Schlemmer says.

“They’re similar to always. I think if we take care of the ball, we don’t have a lot of penalties and we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, and we win the line of scrimmage, I think those are three huge things this week,” he said. “If we can win up front and we don’t beat ourselves, we’re gonna give ourselves a chance to be in the ball game in the fourth quarter.”

After opening last season on the road, Schlemmer is glad to be home again for this year’s season opener.

To earn a win against Lakes, he knows the level of execution needs to be high.

“I think our kids are ready, and I’m sure they’re chomping at the bit to play somebody different, as well. So for our kids, it’s just about going out and executing,” Schlemmer said. “We’re lucky to be home this year, and we’re excited to be home, but we know we’re going to have to play a really good football game to beat a good football team.”