Lakeland blanks Preston in opener

BUTTE, Mont. — Senior John Cornish rushed for three touchdowns, two in a 21-point first quarter, and the Lakeland Hawks beat the Preston Indians 28-0 in the season opener for both teams Friday at Montana Tech's Bob Green Field.

Cornish scored on runs of 22, 60 and 45 yards for Lakeland, in the debut of head coach Mike Schroeder.

“The first quarter was fantastic; we played well, we were fresh,” Schroeder said. “We got a little lackadaisical in the second quarter. But the kids played hard, gave it all they got.”

Cody Morse caught a 9-yard pass from quarterback Caysen Loutzenhiser for Lakeland’s third TD of the first quarter.

With Cornish and Thomas Calder handling most of the ball carrying, Lakeland controlled the game on the ground, and Schroeder praised the play of his offensive line for much of the game.

“We want to control the ball, that’s our philosophy, and out-execute our teams physically,” Schroeder said.

Lakeland stopped Preston inside the 10 yard-line once each half, and near the 20 late in the game, to preserve the shutout.

“Even though it’s a shutout, our alignment and positioning still needs some work,” Schroeder said. “We made a ton of errors. Physically we did a good job, but mentally we have a lot to work on.”

The teams met in Butte last year in the season opener as well, with Preston winning 7-6.

Lakeland plays at Lake City next Friday, in the Timberwolves’ season opener.

Lakeland 21 0 0 7 — 28

Preston 0 0 0 0 — 0

First quarter

LL — John Cornish 22 run (Owen Forsman kick)

LL — Cornish 60 run (Forsman kick)

LL — Cody Morse 9 pass from Caysen Loutzenhiser (Forsman kick)

Fourth quarter

LL — Cornish 45 run (Forsman kick)