Iron Cloud answers the bell for Lakeside

Ultimately, the final score read Wallace 62, Lakeside 24.

But the big takeaway of the night belonged to Lakeside, who saw a teammate step forward and help his team when it was needed most.

Lazarus Iron Cloud, one of the team's top linemen, was pressed into duty as the Knights' quarterback and responded with three touchdown passes in the second half.

It is uncommon, to say the least, to see a coach turn to a lineman when a backup quarterback is needed, but Lakeside head coach Chris Dohrman said his team was ready for this.

"We had Laz practicing that position so it was something the team and staff was somewhat prepared for," Dohrman said. "You can’t predict injuries so I thought the team handled it as well as they could."

The injury came in the second quarter, when starting running back Vincent Howard tweaked an ankle. At that point, the Knights coaches decided to call on Iron Cloud, rather than putting freshman Tucker Sanchez into a tough situation against a good Wallace team.

Iron Cloud threw three scoring tosses to Jayson Hall, leading his coach to say, "Laz did a very good job stepping in as QB."

Dohrman said it is no surprise that Iron Cloud was there when the Knights needed him on Friday night.

"He has filled a lineman position for us the last two years because it was a need for us and he has done it without complaint," Dohrman pointed out. "He has also been willing to learn other positions in a backup role. Laz is very coachable, works hard, is dependable and just a great young man to coach."

Iron Cloud's success will force opposing coaches to prepare for him in coming weeks, too, which gives Dohrman game-plan options.

Lakeside plays its first road game of the season this Friday, August 31, at Kendrick. The Knights return to their home field in Plummer on September 14 to host Timberline of Weippe.

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