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Lakeway Christian Academy is entering just its fourth year as a football program, but if you watched them in the Air Raid City 7-on-7 tournament last week at Sullivan East you wouldn’t know it.

The Lions came in first place, defeating Science Hill, a 6A state quarterfinalist from a season ago, twice in the process.

“It was a great opportunity for our guys. When it comes to the playoffs in Tennessee you’ve got to play private schools,” Lakeway Christian head coach Thad Wells said. “But going into our fourth year as a program, you can learn from any competition and our guys played really well.

“7-on-7 does level the playing field to a degree. You’re only 20 minute games, so depth doesn’t come into play, the lines don’t come into play; it’s really just your best skill guys against everybody else’s best skill players. We have a really good quarterback, and 7-on-7 takes a really good quarterback to win, so we just had a lot of fun.”

Last week’s 7-on-7 was just a small piece of the work the Lions have been putting in this offseason. An opportunity to get a look against good competition before finally putting the pads on this week.

Last season, former University of Tennessee strength and conditioning coach Dustin Whitt joined the coaching staff, and has had the Lions in the weight room since December to help the players reach their full physical potential.

Senior running back Shajai Jackson has made particular progress this offseason, coming off a galvanizing junior season in which he amassed 1,855 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns.

“Shajai (Jackson) is absolutely electrifying. He’s gained probably 20 pounds this offseason and increased his 40 time. So not only did he get bigger and stronger, he got faster,” Wells said. “He was extremely effective last season, and now he’s bigger and faster so we’re excited for him this year.”

Physical improvements aren’t the sole focus for the Lions. With a program as new as theirs, solidifying a collective culture is paramount.

“Every offseason you’re trying to take the God-given potential that you have, and increase your physical ability while simultaneously improving the mental side. Every offseason is about trying to grow physically, mentally and spiritually as a team in general. We’ve had really good numbers and participation from December until now.”

Lakeway has improved each season since its first four years ago, culminating in its first playoff victory in program history last season, Wells’ first with the program.

This season presents a new challenge. The Lions are making the move to DII-AA, a large step up in competition from DII-A.

“Even though we’re moving up from DII-A to DII-AA private, we still have expectations to improve. You always would like to see growth. We have a tougher schedule than last year, but we’ve grown up a lot,” Wells said. “We only lost four seniors from last year, we have a lot of seniors that are four-year starters because of the nature of a new program young kids get to play, so four years ago when they started, they were playing, so they have a lot of games under their belt.”

If ever there was a time for the Lions to make the jump, it’s now. Quarterback Levi Martin returns for his senior year to accompany Jackson behind center.

The Lions’ offensive line is comprised entirely of seniors, something Wells has never had as a coach at the high school level. Cooper Cox at center has been snapping the ball for the Lions for four years, his Father Chad Cox, former Carson Newman lineman, is the offensive line coach. Ryan Ball returns after a broken collarbone that ended his season early last year looking to make his presence felt. Kegan Tennell will be valuable on both sides of the line this year. Zeke Johnson and Caden Dimery round out the line for the Lions, a group that has Wells feeling confident entering the season.

On the defensive side, Aidan Dooley returns for his senior season at linebacker. While it’s only his second year of organized football, he’s going to make an impact. Caleb Davis, also entering his second year of football, will sure up the defensive line on the edge. His 6’5, 230 pound frame will wreak havoc on opposing offensive tackles.

With the clash of the classification jump and the group of seniors Lakeway has this season, it should be a fun one to watch. The players have been putting in the work, and Wells and his staff are doing everything they can to put them in positions to succeed. Their performance in last week’s 7-on-7 action certainly gives them something to build on.

“We desire to do our best this year, and we think our best will put us in a lot of ball games,” Wells said.