Writing a New Chapter: First-Year Coach John Ware has Lakeside Off and Running with Best Start in School History

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Without a Walmart for locals to convene and social avenues in the tiny community of Sibley (population 1,127) reduced to a Dollar General and other convenience stores, the rise of the hometown’s football program has become a big topic of conversation.

“There’s not a lot to do,” Lakeside’s first-year football coach John Ware said. 

Ware’s made Lakeside football a must-see product, guiding the undefeated Warriors (6-0) in Webster Parish to their best start in school history going into Friday’s 7 p.m. District 3-2A game at Red River (2-4) in Coushatta.

“It’s steadily getting better and that’s in anything you do,” Ware said of the increased interest in his program. “You win, more people get involved, more people come around. You win some more and a few more come around. People come and see the product on the field, and they start coming. Then you gain more. It’s been fun. The community’s bought in big time. They’re excited to see things going in the right direction in football.”

The 25th anniversary of the consolidation of Lakeside High School from the communities of Sibley, Heflin, Dubberly, and Central has coincided with the best start in the school’s history. The Warriors, who started 5-0 in 2006, remain one of 26 teams still undefeated statewide.

Ware, a 25-year coaching veteran, has breathed life into a program that’s currently won more games than it had in any of their previous seven seasons. The Warriors have an unofficial power rating of No. 5 in this week’s GeauxPreps release of Division III non-select schools, a far cry from last year’s 3-7 finish which included a 0-5 showing in district play.

Lakeside has nine playoff appearances to its credit but none since 2022.

“We’ve definitely had to hold their feet to the fire a little on some things,” Ware said of his team’s 6-0 start. “What starts happening is you start to feel yourself and think you don’t have to do all of the little things that got you to that point. That’s something I harp on daily. You’ve got to keep doing the little things that got us here. You can’t forget about these things, you can’t forget about where you were six weeks ago, and you have to keep making the little things important.”

Drawn to Challenging Situations

Ware learned at the feet of one of Louisiana’s most iconic coaches in Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Red Franklin of Haynesville. He was the starting center on two of Franklin’s state championship teams in 1990-91 and was part of a 41-game winning streak that was stopped by Welsh.

Ware, who was also part of two state semifinals in baseball during his playing career, returned to coach at his alma mater and was the defensive coordinator under Franklin, and his unit produced 12 shutouts in a 15-0 season en route to the 2000 state championship. He also spent nine years coaching the Golden Tors in baseball, producing a record of 109-73, four district titles, and was highlighted by trips to one state semifinal and a quarterfinal.

When it came time to choose a path to becoming a head football coach Ware opted to travel one opposite to the ultra-successful one, he enjoyed while playing in high school.

In the opportunities he’s had to coach at Bolton, North Caddo, North Webster, and now at Lakeside, Ware dove into situations that were beset by losing and declining numbers.

Ware’s latest trip within Webster Parish, where he coached for 12 years at North Webster High and tutored former LSU standout and Super Bowl winner Devin White, took him 35 miles south to Sibley on Hwy. 371. He became the head coach at Lakeside on Feb. 15 after Mike Santelices stepped down following a 3-7 season.

Santelices remains on staff where his son Eli has been a versatile contributor to the Warriors this season.

“I had never jumped into a job that was winning,” Ware said. “Coming here was another challenge, and I enjoyed that. It’s a whole lot of fun to take programs, put your spin on it, and watch it grow. You don’t always have the best records when you take the path that I’ve taken. It’s always something I’ve enjoyed.”

Bolton, which had won four games in its previous five years, made two trips to the state playoffs in three years under Ware and also won a district title. A move to North Caddo, which had three wins in five seasons, was 13-18 under Ware but showed promise in its final two seasons at 11-9.

North Webster, formerly Springhill High, was 1-9 in 2011, but turned it around with Ware on board, going 75-64 with four district titles and 11 state playoff appearances. The Knights advanced as far as the state semifinals made two trips to the quarterfinals, and played four times in the round of 16.

North Webster was 7-5 in 2023 and reached the Division III non-select state regionals before falling to St. James.

“There were some things going on and I felt like it was time for me and my family to make a change,” Ware said of his departure from North Webster. “I have three daughters. Sometimes when you’re at a place like that for 12 years. Sometimes you wake up and say it’s time to do something else. That’s where we were at. This is in the other end of parish with phenomenal facilities and we’re working to make those things better.” 

Building a Roster Through a Consistent Message

Improved facilities and the school district’s first ‘A’ rated school were catalysts in Ware’s decision to move to Lakeside High which has an enrollment of 320 students.

After his first team meeting, which netted 23 players, Ware watched from afar to assess his next steps. He secured a coaching staff that not only included Santelices but also featured the arrival of offensive coordinator Blake Branch who spent seven years with him at North Webster, including the 2023 season as offensive coordinator. 

Roster numbers gradually increased to 35 players by spring practice and swelled to its current number of 44-45 players. With 10 seniors, Ware believed he had a foundation to build on, but still waited for players on the fence about playing this season.

“We had a couple of guys that were right on the border of playing and it certainly helps,” Ware said. “People didn’t know and were kind of apprehensive about things. Once you get them to figure it out, most of them wanted to be a part of something they thought was going to be good.

“When you come in the spring you don’t have a clue what’s going on, I was like that,” Ware said. “Luckily, I got to come in late spring. I did more watching of people than I did anything else. I tried to get a feel to make some changes. That’s the part you have to figure out. Getting those guys to buy in and the numbers got steadier with more coming on. That was a good thing.”

One element of the job that drew comparisons to his time at Haynesville was player development and getting the best out of players who may not have looked the part, but through all-out effort, the ability to take coaching and a commitment toward a common goal made them role players capable of contributing. 

“You have to make football players,” Ware said. “You look to the side, and you have three kids sitting there and they have to play. You have to figure out as a coach how to make them better, how to get them involved. That’s kind of what we did at Haynesville over the years. You have to make them believe they’re 6-5, 300 (pounds), and they’re not but 5-7, 180. That’s kind of the way I grew up. I was a little guy playing. It’s not too long ago I just figured out I wasn’t big.”

Season-Opening Win Sets the Tone

The team’s belief grew once Lakeside started this season with a 32-14 road victory over Arcadia.

“It was so rewarding,” Ware said. “I just stood back and watched. You kind of see the light bulb go on. For the buy-in into the program, that was a huge win for the program. It was gratifying, not only for the football team, but the cheerleaders and everybody that was involved, to be so excited about a game. It was just one game, but it set the tone for where this program was going. To watch the reaction of the people in the stands. Their eyes were big. They were like wow when they saw the product on the field.”

Senior running back Taron Riley produced the season’s first milestone effort from Lakeside’s Wing-T offense with 21 rushes for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-22 victory over LaSalle.

Riley’s success wasn’t hard to figure out with the Warriors returning four of five senior starters on the offensive line, a group that included Willie Jenkins (left tackle), Eli Campbell (center), Jamarion Evans (right guard), and Freddy Danzy (right tackle). Sophomore left guard Caleb Barber is the lone non-senior on that unit. 

“With their experience,” Ware said, “they’ve gotten better and better. It always goes back to those guys.”

A 62-0 demolition of Plain Dealing improved Lakeside’s start to 3-0 and the momentum within the program continued to blossom behind 177 yards and 2 TDs from Riley in a 55-20 win at Northwood-Lena followed by a 26-22 over Montgomery at home.

The latter triumph, though, proved to be Lakeside’s biggest test after outscoring its opposition by an average of 48-14 through four weeks.

The Warriors positioned themselves for another blowout win, leading 19-0 nearing the end of the third quarter and threatening more when they lost a fumble. 

Instead of a 26-point lead going into the final 12 minutes of play, Montgomery stormed back to make it 26-22 when Lakeside was able to bleed the clock with a pair of time-consuming drives.

“That was a turning point for us because it wasn’t easy,” Ware said. “It was easy and then it turned, and it wasn’t easy. We had to do a lot of things right to get to that point and I was proud of them for that.”

With the start of 3-2A play, Lakeside hosted Many and led 7-0 at halftime on quarterback Brock Case’s 15-yard TD pass to Riley on fourth down. The Warriors fumbled on their first series of the third quarter, leading to a touchdown when Many’s try for a go-ahead two-point conversion was stopped. 

Riley got loose for a 60-yard TD and junior running back Kentravion Miller added a pair of touchdowns in the 28-6 victory.

“Those are some things I think six months ago I would never have thought we would be able to do,” Ware said. “That’s stuff we’ve built on and gotten better at. That’s all an attitude of how you handle things and technique, and my coaching staff’s done a good job.”

Getting the job done

None of Lakeside’s remaining four opponents have winning records, but Ware is cautious about Red River which won 20-12 last week at Mansfield, the league’s preseason favorite among the league’s coaches. The Warriors are in the midst of a season-long three-game road swing with upcoming games at Ringgold and Mansfield before finishing the regular season at home on Nov. 8 with Winnfield.

“We weren’t really sure,” Ware said of the district. “You know what you’ve got and we’re still unsure. Red River will be the best team we’ve played so far athletically across the board. We don’t have a whole lot of team speed, but we play well together.”

Case has completed 20 of 30 passes for 396 yards with four TDs and no interceptions. His top targets have been Riley (6-100, TD) and senior James Maxie (4-105, TD).

Lakeside’s maintained a consistent threat on the ground, led by Riley with 886 yards and 7 TDs on 76 carries, and Miller adding 521 yards and 12 touchdowns in 66 attempts.

“He’s a good athlete and we haven’t run it a lot with him, but will further into district,” Ware said of Case. “He makes it go. The backs have done very well, and neither were the running backs. This is really the first year they’ve toted the football ever. You can see them getting better and better with live carries, with seeing holes and how to hit it.”

The strength of Lakeside’s defense has been the play of its linebackers in the team’s 3-4 alignment.

Barber, a middle linebacker, has a team-high 39 tackles representing a balanced number of tackles with outside linebackers Jamarion Evans (29 tackles), Bryce Parker (28 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 sack), and Maxie (17 tackles, 2 interceptions). Junior defensive lineman Shavell Randall (20 tackles, 2 TFLs, sack) and sophomore outside linebacker Eric Jones (17 tackles, 4 TFLs, 3 sacks) have also contributed to the team’s success.

Eli Santelices has provided production on offense with three receptions for 67 yards and a TD, 25 tackles, and two interceptions on defense and has successfully kicked 23 of 32 extra points on special teams.

“You come and look at these guys right now and go, ‘this is the one you’re talking about?’”, Ware said. “They may not be fancy-looking guys or any of that kind of stuff. They just get the job done, enjoy playing and they play well together. We’re certainly happy with where we’re at and no one can take that away from us. I’m so excited for these kids and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”