Bloomfield Hills Lahser

Helmet courtesy of MichiganHelmetProject.org

League: Oakland Activities Association Blue Division
Last season: 11-2
Opening game: 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Farmington Hills Harrison

Offense

Key player: B.J. Lavalis, junior, running back

The Knights averaged 29 points per game en route to the Division 3 semifinals before falling to Inkster High last season. Lahser returns five players from that squad, but it’s their new starting running back, Lavalis, that coach Dan Loria believes will be a big-play threat.

Lavalis, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall and 205 pounds, saw spot time at running back last season.

“He’s more of a slasher,” Loria said. “For as big as he is, he’s extremely fast. But he’ll lower his shoulder when it’s needed.”

Special teams

Key player: Cody Henderson, senior, kicker

Henderson made kicks of more than 50 yards last season and will once again be counted on to handle the kicking duties for the Knights.

Coach’s outlook

The Knights battled their way to a Blue championship and a Division 3 semifinal appearance last season, but they’ve lost a lot of talent from those squads. According to Loria, how good this team can be is going to be determined by effort.

“We have enough talent that we can be a good team,” he said. “The difference between a good team and a great team is a couple of kids stepping up. We’ve been lucky that that has happened for the better part of the last eight years.”

— Christian Davis