And the winner would be … Lake City

PREPS

So who would win if Lake City and Gonzaga Prep played?

We had a lot of fun with the mythical matchup this week, with more comments than we’ve ever received here for one subject, and more than 300 votes on our poll – even more than our Apple Cup question.

You got your chance to give your opinions, and, except for a couple, they were civil, intelligent and enthusiastic. Thanks for chiming in. It was fun. But now it’s my turn.

So who would win?

I’ve seen Prep play twice this year and Lake City once. I’ve talked with a lot of football coaches whose opinion I respect. I’ve looked at the stats and the scores.

And I believe … OK. I was going to write this line about if they played 10 times yadda, yadda, yadda, but that’s a cop out. I was going to go into turnovers and crud, but that’s just a bunch of bunk. It’s a mythical game any how, and they’re never going to play so …

Lake City would win.

Simple as that. This is the best Lake City team ever, no matter what happens tonight in the state title game (see Greg Lee’s preview here), and this G-Prep team, as good as it is, isn’t even the best Prep team of the past three years (no matter what happens over the next three weeks). And, yes coach Carson, you’re welcome for the motivational material.

Not to take anything away from another Prep title, but the GSL was down this year and there’s not a coach in the league that will honestly tell you different. The Prep team of two years ago, with Brandon Kennedy, Billy Karwacki, Connor Hare and the rest, was as good a GSL team as I’ve seen in about a decade and won a much tougher league. That team was the best 4A team in Washington and, but for one bad bounce, would have won the state title. This team is just as strong up front (maybe stronger), but doesn’t have the speed, especially at the corners and receiver, that group had.

And that’s why I believe Lake City would win. The T-Wolves can match up with Prep up front – as no one in the GSL could – plus they have the speed to attack downfield, and to run down the Prep offensive backs.

It would be a battle alright, one that any prep football fan would have liked to see – if they played it at Albi, 10,000 people might have shown up – but, in the end LC would prevail. Now, against the Prep team from 2004? That would be an even better game. Mythically, of course.