He was a basketball player.
OK, to be fair, he still is a basketball player. A really good one, in fact.
But this is football season.
And Zayne Latham has found his calling.
A senior at La Center — a small school with a big, proud athletic program — Latham is the kind of athlete that Class 1A schools need. The kind of guy who refuses to specialize.
For a while there, he thought maybe he was just a basketball guy.
Now? He is hoping to play college football some day.
On Friday night, he showcased his talents on offense and defense, one of many Wildcats who made huge plays.
Adrian Whited scored three rushing touchdowns, Jack Glackler added another touchdown, and the La Center offensive line took over the game during crunch time as the Wildcats went on the road to take down rival Woodland 27-20.
This was the 70th meeting between the two schools that are less than 10 miles from one another, and this was the seventh consecutive win for the Wildcats.
“We can’t stop our winning streak,” Latham said. “Our team, we all love each other. Football, it’s a game of love. If you’re on a team that you love … that’s why we won. We just stay together.”
Woodland scored first and got the ball back, hoping to increase the lead.
The La Center defense was having none of that.
Latham, a defensive end, had a huge sack to stall aWoodland drive.
Then on offense, as an H-Back, Latham had a long run to set up the tying touchdown late in the first half.
In the third quarter, it was a long catch-and-run from Latham that set up another Whited touchdown run for a 13-7 lead.
Latham, who is 6-3, 220 pounds, played football as an eighth grader. He went out for the game his freshman year but before the season started, he suffered a concussion.
He was done.
Or so he thought.
“I was sitting, watching Friday Night Lights. I was like, ‘I miss this,’” Latham said. “I don’t know why I quit.”
He returned to football as a sophomore. And a special group of leaders that year made everything click for Latham.
“That senior group, my sophomore year, they made me realize I loved the game,” Latham said.
He was behind a year, but clearly, he has made up for that by now.
“He was a basketball-first guy,” La Center coach John Lambert said.
And that would have been perfectly OK, as far as Lambert was concerned. However, the coach added, athletes do not need to limit themselves.
“I want our kids to compete and play multiple sports,” Lambert said. “They’re finding with research that simply doing the same action over and over and over again is not healthy.”
Lambert said his football team is also full of wrestlers. The tackling on Friday night, especially from Jett Johnson, was superb. No surprise, Johnson is a wrestler in the winter.
Lambert said he wants his players to say football is their favorite sport in the fall, and then excel in a different favorite sport in another season.
“I want Zayne, once he gets to basketball, to use his experience and dominate basketball,” Lambert said.
By the way, Latham also said that it is very possible he will add to his sports, looking at going out for track and field in the spring.
“Having guys play multiple sports … for small schools it is critical,” Lambert said.
That has always been a key for La Center’s winning ways in football this century.
And now, this season, too.
La Center improved to 2-0 on the young campaign. Latham hopes it is the start of a very long season. Basketball can wait.
“It’s amazing here. La Center has one of the biggest reputations for carrying ourselves high. We’re playing with heart, playing with energy,” Latham said.
Notes: Whited rushed for 161 yards to go with his three touchdowns. … Good sportsmanship alert! Toward the end of the game, La Center was getting first down after first down to secure the victory, and Connor Ohman showed some emotion with an emphatic first-down signal. But he also realized he might have done that a little too close to an opponent. Not wanting to show anyone up, he quickly regained his focus and helped his opponent up from the turf. … Woodland’s Jackson Andrews had an interesting summer. A wide receiver and a back-up quarterback, he was the Woodland quarterback at team camp at Linfield College. He did so well, he was named QB of the camp. Good problem to have, two quality quarterbacks, right? Well, on Friday, Andrews caught a touchdown pass from Michael Belvin in the first quarter. Belvin was banged up a bit, and Andrews came in the game as QB in the second half. He threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns. … While La Center has won seven in a row in this rivalry, Woodland still owns a commanding 40-29-1 lead in the series.
