Former NC star named NFL assistant
Jimmy Lake, a standout football player at North Central High School and Eastern Washington University, is joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as assistant secondary coach.
Lake, who was on the Montana State staff last season, interviewed with the Bucs on Friday and was immediately offered the job.
“I’m so excited,” Lake said Sunday morning while cleaning out his office in Bozeman. “It’s a great opportunity.”
Lake, 28, had interviewed at the University of Washington on Sunday and Monday. He had worked at UW two seasons ago but lost his job when Keith Gilbertson was fired. When he came out of an interview with Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham on Monday, he had a message from Monte Kiffin, Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator. After several phone interviews, he flew to Tampa Bay to interview with head coach Jon Gruden.
Lake said he was told he was about the 56th person interviewed, and halfway through, he was offered the job.
After his playing career at Eastern, he was a secondary coach for the Eagles before going to UW for one season. He worked last spring at Idaho State before Mike Kramer hired him at MSU.
In his quest to move into pro football had been hoping to join Scott Linehan’s staff in a defensive quality control position.
“I’m a coach now. I’m a coach,” Lake said. “There are five coaches on defense, and I’m one of them.”
Baseball
Patrick Donovan pitched a three-hit shutout as Gonzaga shared the Banana Belt Tournament title with Washington State by beating the Cougars 7-0 Sunday at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.
Donovan retired the first 13 batters he faced for the Bulldogs (10-7) and faced just 28 batters, one above the minimum, in snapping WSU’s seven-game winning streak.
Zach Woodward and Aaron McGuinness each had a pair of hits for Gonzaga.
Zach McAngus hit singles in the fifth and eighth innings for the Cougars (13-3).
Softball
Jo Sonnett pitched a two-hit shutout to give Whitworth a 6-0 victory over Pacific in the first game of a Northwest Conference doubleheader at Marks Field.
Sonnett earned her third victory of the weekend for the Pirates (3-3, 3-1) by retiring the final 15 Pacific batters and striking out four.
In the nightcap, Andrea Bansen allowed one run on five hits as the Boxers (5-5, 1-3) defeated the Pirates 4-1.
Basketball
Pairings have been finalized for the Region 18 basketball tournaments, which will be held at North Idaho College’s Christianson Gym this week.
On Friday, the No. 1 seed NIC women will face the Dixie/Eastern Utah winner at 6 p.m.
The second-seeded NIC men, who earned a share of the Scenic West Athletic Conference title with Southern Idaho, will face the Dixie/Colorado Northwestern winner at 8.
The women’s championship game is Saturday at 5 p.m. The men’s title game follows at 7:30.