LAKEVILLE - One thing that most all head football coaches will argue with is it is hard to win when teams have multiple turnovers. As LaVille and Jimtown met for the 52nd time in Indiana high school football, the Lancers wanted to show their improvement and extend their winning streak against the Jimmies. Last season, LHS won a 28-27 overtime game at Knepp Field, snapping the Jims 25-year string. In week #8, Jimtown returned to Lancer Field and took a 37-10 win to close out the Indiana Northern State Conference portion of the schedule. "We could have and should have played better!" said LaVille football coach Matt Thacker. "The game plan was to use the option game to exploit our QB. That didn't happen." The Lancers turned the ball over six times and made it hard to gather any momentum. Trailing early on, LHS got close enough to be in PK Caleb Skiles field goal range. Skiles then had room to spare in connecting for a 47-yard attempt to get LaVille on the board. "Having someone like Caleb is a blessing, because kickers at a smaller school are hard to come by," Thacker noted. "Getting points was huge. We were able to move the ball and get points and that is objective. Wasn't 6, but points are points." A couple more positives in the game for the Lancers included scoring a touchdown after trailing 28-3 just before halftime. The LaVille Blue Crew forced a punt, then was able to provide pressure on the play, that ended up going for just 15 yards. On the first play from scrimmage, the Lancer offense found QB Griffen Smith tossing a 25 yard strike to Johnny Yoder to get the ball to the Jimmie five-yard line. On the very next play, Noah Menis darted in from five yards out for the touchdown. Skiles came on to add the point-after and narrowed the lead to two possessions. "Getting it to a two-score game shows our potential," said the Lancer boss. "Allowing two easy scores for Jimtown shows how far we need to go." Despite six turnovers from LHS, Thacker's team continued to battle. Six turnovers is tough on a team. Talk about how those bugs interfere with what we want to go in the game plan and mentally. Seemed like the boys kept battling, though? "It is tough to win games when you turn it over six times," explained Thacker. "We have to be willing to make the simple play and to not make a bad play worse. Unfortunately, they are difficult lessons to learn and lessons none of us want to see, but they are lessons and we have to learn from them." ***** WEEK #9 - Osceola Grace at LaVille, October 16, 2026, At Lancer Field, 7:00 PM Kick The Osceola Grace Eagles football program has been active for at least 16 years, dating back to its earliest recorded schedules in 2010 This will be the first-ever meeting on the gridiron for both teams. The Eagles are 6-2 overall following a 60-26 victory over Calumet Christian a week ago. LaVille, meanwhile, is 2-6 overall following a 37-10 loss to INSC rival Jimtown a week ago. "They like to make you think on defense by using several formations in the run and pass game," Thacker said when asked about the Week #9 opponent. "We'll need to use our rules and fundamentals in order to be sound. They like to sling it around and every game we have watched there have been around 150 clips of plays. "Luke Cocanower (#2) is their QB and he can run and throw. On defense, a couple of players that will stick out will be Nate Cocanower (#54) And Titus Wade (#55). They play ILBs and both kids can move well and get to the ball." As we closed our time with Thacker, we asked about keys to being successful against Osceola Grace? "Have to play our responsibilities in their option game and not watch the QB in the passing game. On offense we'll need to run the ball and keep their offense off of the field. Let's play ... GAMEDAY Teams: Osceola Grace (6-2) at LaVille (2-6) Site: Lancer Field | Lakeville, IN. Kick: 7:00 PM Coaches: Phil Cox, 12-6 in 2nd year at Osceola Grace. Matt Thacker, 2-6 in 1st year at LaVille, 34-56 in 9th year overall. Last Outing: LaVille lost to Jimtown, 37-10. Osceola Grace def. Calumet Christian, 60-26.