Who were the Thunderhawks on the opening night of the 2025 season? A dominant team, at least in the second half.
Lakota East rallied from a 13-12 halftime deficit with a 23-0 run in the second half to beat Centerville 35-20 in the first game of coach Jon Kitna’s third season.
Lakota East avenged three straight season-opening losses to Centerville, which beat the Thunderhawks 9-6 in 2022, 30-12 in 2023 and 31-21 in 2024.
“We talked about it,” Kitna said. “This team (Centerville) is what we’re trying to be. Literally, that’s who we’re trying to be. Their tradition, who they are as a community is fantastic. We’re trying to build that.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Lakota East spoiled the Centerville head coaching debut of John Puckett, a longtime assistant coach with the program. Puckett took the reins in January when Brent Ullery stepped down after eight seasons. Ullery coached the Elks to the state semifinals in his final season.
“We have to embrace our mistakes and get better,” Puckett said. “It’s only a wasted opportunity if we don’t learn from it. We all made mistakes. Me, all the coaches, the players, it was a total team effort in that regard.”
While Lakota East had a number of stars, no one had a bigger night than senior running back Ryder Hooks. He ran for two scores and gained 289 yards on 21 carries. He also caught four passes for 84 yards with one touchdown.
Hooks scored on a 64-yard catch in the first quarter, a 57-yard run in the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the third quarter. He had another long touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty.
Hooks didn’t play against Centerville last season when he rushed for 1,423 yards and 14 touchdowns in 11 games because of a collarbone injury. He made up for that missed opportunity Friday.
“It killed me being on the sideline, not being able to be with my brothers,” he said. “No one in the state has worked harder than us. I know that for a fact. Every day for seven months, we’ve been just working our tails off. To see it all come together and pay off ... we came back in the second half and just battled and got the win. I’m so grateful for my teammates.”
Kitna is pushing for Hooks to be a Ohio Mr. Football candidate.
“Not only did he start and play running back, he broke up three or four passes,” Kitna said. “He made a sack. He had a tackle for loss. I have to pull him off the field.”
Lakota East quarterback Nile Knutson completed 22 of 29 passes for 290 yards. He threw three touchdown passes. Carter Jones and Patrick MacFarlane also caught touchdown passes from Knutson.
Centerville took the lead into halftime thanks to two first-half touchdown runs by Parker Johnson, who added a third touchdown in the fourth quarter. Johnson gained 153 yards on 23 carries.
Johnson scored on a 48-yard run in the first quarter to give the Elks a 7-6 lead. He then scored on a 1-yard run in the final minute of the first half to give the Elks the halftime edge.
The lead didn’t last long as Lakota East scored touchdowns on its first two drives in the second half.
“We had to make some adjustments,” Kitna said. “They did some things we hadn’t seen. And we had five new offensive linemen and a new quarterback. That’s not going to be easy. We just had to get them settled in.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
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