Humboldt, Lake Co. play for playoffs

The TSSAA football playoffs may not officially begin until Nov. 4, but for Lake County and Humboldt, they start on Thursday.

Humboldt head football coach Junior Reid said he felt like they began a couple weeks ago.

“When we took some of the losses in region play we’ve taken, we got to the point where we couldn’t lose anymore if we want to make the playoffs,” Reid said. “So if you ask me, I feel like we’re already in the third round.”

Either way, the winner of Lake County and Humboldt moves on after Thursday to a first-round game at the Region 8-1A champion, which will be determined on Friday with the winner of the KIPP Academy-Middle College game. The team that loses will either begin basketball practice on Monday or will begin initial preparations for the 2017 football season.

The teams have played eight times in the past seven years as they’ve been a part of the same league. Humboldt won the first six games including twice in 2013 with a playoff game. Lake County has won the last two.

But the running game that helped the Falcons win those two games isn’t as powerful as it’s been the last two years.

“They’re still pretty good though,” Reid said. “They’re young, but they’re already pretty good.

“Lake County and Humboldt is one of those rivalries that we always have great games in football and basketball and baseball and anything else we want to compete in.”

But Humboldt does have the experience advantage if either team has one 11 weeks into the season with the Vikings’ big senior class.

“A lot of guys on our team, they’ve been in those big games in the past,” Reid said. “They might not have won all those big games, but they’ve played in those circumstances and against that kind of adversity.

“So hopefully playing in this situation won’t rattle our guys any.”

Brandon Shields, 425-9751