Williamstown's Lott wants to finish the job
Thursday, December 1, 2005
By JAY W. BENNETT - The Parkersburg News & The Parkersburg Sentinel

WILLIAMSTOWN - Any high school football team that's still playing in December is good.

Such is the case with the Williamstown Yellowjackets of second-year head coach Terry Smith, whose squad plays for the Class A state championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium against Wheeling Central (9-4).

For two teams that rely on running the ball, it's not hard to figure out the keys to their respective success.

While running backs at all levels usually get more ink, every coach knows the beginning to a good offense starts with the center and No. 1 Williamstown (13-0) has an outstanding one in senior Ryan Lott, who also doubles as the starting middle linebacker.

Not only does Lott have 87 total tackles and three interceptions - with one being returned for a touchdown - but he also has family ties to the program.

Older brother Darren Lott, who went on to play at Marietta College, helped the 'Jackets to an 8-3 record during his senior year in 2000, when the Yellowjackets lost in the first round of the playoffs to Tyler Consolidated, 32-6.

Since that time, the Yellowjackets have been to five consecutive state semifinals and now own the state's longest regular season winning streak at 46 games.

"They got the program started really, the winning aspect of it," Ryan Lott said of his older brother's class. "That was the foundation of it with coach (Bernie) Buttrey.

"All the seniors on that team really got it started and after that year, the streak started."

Although the streak is nice and fun to discuss, Lott knows the only true goal is to win Saturday, which is something that's never happened with the 'Jackets having lost their only other two finals appearances, the most recent in 2003.

"When we first started talking about it, you couldn't even dream about it from there," Lott said of the streak. "But now it's here and it's pretty amazing.

"It's pretty cool for our senior class. We never lost a regular season game and that's something you can always say."

Even after last week's semifinal win against St. Marys, the fact the senior class had played its final game at Yellowjacket Field hadn't even seemed to kick in yet.

"We didn't even realize until after the game that it was our last one on that field ever," Lott said.

"We've played there for 12 years, pee wee and everything."

"It was good that we got to leave with that win because last year's seniors left with a loss and it was good for us to do that."

What Williamstown has accomplished this year is pretty amazing, considering the Yellowjackets only returned four full-time starters, one of which was Lott.

"Every year it's the same, younger guys stepping up and filling the shoes of the seniors that have left," Lott added.

"It's hard work and we have a lot of young guys, but we pride ourselves on conditioning. We've been in games where guys across from us are dead and we're just full of energy."

While it's unlikely the defending state champion Maroon Knights will find themselves running out of gas, Lott knows two great teams will be going after one another but only one will walk away as king.

If that does come to fruition, not only will Williamstown win its first football title in school history, but this group of Yellowjacket seniors will put a 14-0 feather in their cap as well.