LIBERTY TWP. — Jon Kitna watched his Lakota East football team develop a personality during the offseason.
And the second-year Thunderhawks coach is liking it.
“It’s been a lunch pail vibe,” Kitna said. “The kids, they’ve learned that there’s no substitute for the work. You’ve got to put it in. You can’t just say what your dream is and not get after it. They’ve been doing that all year.”
Lakota East started preparing for the 2024 season immediately after 2023 ended. The Thunderhawks went 1-9 last year — their worst record in program history — and didn’t reach the playoffs for a second-consecutive time.
So, a sense of urgency took over.
“They’ve shown up every single day ready to work, ready to work,” Kitna said. “They’re just ready to work. I think they trust us as coaches. So, I’d say the vibe is workman-like. That’s what we’re really trying to produce here because at the end of the day, those traits kind of work in football, and I know they work in life. That’s what we’re trying to produce with these young men.”
Kitna said experience isn’t going to be a factor as Lakota East eyes its season opener at home against Centerville on Aug. 23.
“We played so many young guys this last year,” Kitna said. “We have 19 guys coming back that were either starters or impact players on both sides of the ball. That’s a lot of playing time. That’s a lot of guys who have seen a lot of football and who have grown this offseason.
“All those guys are back this year, and they are bigger and stronger and faster. They’ve been through some shared experiences, and so our fingerprint is that it’s all one.”
Senior quarterback JT Kitna said changing the culture is key for Lakota East in 2024.
“That’s what we were trying to do last year,” said JT Kitna, Jon’s son. “We’ve had plenty of time to kind of roll and develop everyone here. Everyone’s just become a tighter-knit brotherhood. It’s been great. We’re just getting closer with building the culture.”
Last season, JT Kitna threw for 1,489 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions as a junior. His favorite target was Zion Neal, who caught a Greater Miami Conference-best 57 receptions for 621 yards and three scores. Neal is entering his junior year.
“There’s going to be some fast-paced football,” Neal said. “We’re going to be moving around real quick — playing a lot more physical and more aggressive. Then hopefully we can start winning some games — get something going for ourselves.
“I feel like we have the team and the talent. We just didn’t have enough time to build what we were trying to build last year. We’re eyeing on not taking any steps back. We were still trying to learn stuff. Coaches were still teaching us football. Now, we really don’t have to go back on the basics of football. Now, we can just teach football and actually play it and have fun while we’re doing it.”
Junior Ryder Hooks is returning in the backfield. He rushed for 928 yards and four touchdowns a season ago. JT Kitna also ran for 227 yards and found the endzone six times.
“We’ve been through a hard offseason together,” JT Kitna said. “With trials comes bonding. That helps a lot with just trusting the guy next to you and trusting the coaches as well.
“Everyone has already run some of these plays before,” JT Kitna added. “There’s prior knowledge there, and they know what to expect from the coaches. They can trust the coaches. They’ve got my back. Same with the guys next to you. They know you got their back.
“Playmakers everywhere. We were super young last year. We only graduated three guys on offense. We have some replacements that we think are going to be really good. We have a lot of talent everywhere.”
Defensively, senior linebacker Cohen Reip is back as Lakota East’s leading tackler after wrapping up 86 in 2023.
“You’re going to see some nice football from us — some really good football,” Neal said. “I feel like this team right here is real special. We’ve got some dogs. I feel like we have a chance to do something really big.”
