In the words of head coach Jason Yantzer, Lyons football is “roaring” following a perfect regular season and a state quarterfinals appearance.
The Lions’ 10 wins marked the program’s most since 2011, thanks in large part to quarterback Miles Dumbauld and running back Malik Sigg-Brown. Combined, they accounted for nearly 3,000 total yards en route to Lyons outscoring its opponents, 512-130.
Dumbauld, a junior, credited the success to both his team’s offseason weight room work and the play-calling from the coaching staff. It was also nice to have the A-8 League 5’s leading rusher in his backfield.
“Every time I gave the ball to Malik, I really expected it to be a touchdown,” Dumbauld said. “He’s just insane. It’s absolutely crazy.”
Despite having a fairly young team, the Lions didn’t have much difficulty building chemistry, and that only became easier when the wins began piling up. Dumbauld and the sophomore Sigg-Brown were quick to develop a strong connection during their first season playing together.
“Malik’s new to the program, (he) moved last year, and we just clicked,” said Dumbauld, who was also a key piece in Lyons’ secondary. “He’s a great guy, he’s really athletic, he’s fun to play with, he’s competitive and I think we share a lot of those same factors.”
Dumbauld’s relationship with Sigg-Brown isn’t unique, however, as LHS receivers also found ease in syncing up with their quarterback. Yantzer said that Dumbauld thrived in going off-script and even added in the occasional Patrick Mahomes-style sidearm throw.
“He trusts his teammates like you wouldn’t believe,” Yantzer said. “He and his receivers and the rest of the team, they have a connection that they know what each other is going to do. If somebody gets in trouble or if the ball’s not out when it’s supposed to be out, then receivers will come back and try to help him out.”
After beating Dayspring Christian Academy in the first round of the Class A 8-man state playoffs, Lyons’ season was ended by Mancos in the quarterfinals on Nov. 12. Dumbauld was disappointed in the “premature” finish but remains excited for what’s to come.
In addition to bringing back Dumbauld and Sigg-Brown returning, Lyons has a slew of juniors expected to return in leading receiver Maregu Sullivan, leading tackler Keenan Young and do-it-all weapon Finn Oetting, among others.
“It’s going to be huge,” Yantzer said. “We’re only going to get better, and they’re only going to get better because I know they got a deep desire to go even further than what we did this year. Everybody was healthy pretty much all year long, so you’re continuing to build that chemistry with the quarterback and the receivers and the timing with the quarterback and the running backs.”
Just like last offseason, hard work remains the focus heading into next fall.
“We have a great group of guys that love each other, they’ll do anything for each other, they’ll work hard for each other and they hold each other accountable,” Yantzer said. “I’m really excited to see how we grow from here until the start of next season.”
