Printer Friendly Version - Lavoie Grew as a Lineman and a Leader

Senior captain Colton Lavoie earned a spot on the All-Pequot Conference Team while playing center and linebacker for the Haddam-Killingworth football squad last fall. Colton guided the Cougars to a school-record total of 11 wins, as well as berth in the championship game of the Class S State Playoffs. Photo courtesy of Colton Lavoie

Colton Lavoie gained a lot of physical strength as he manned the middle during his three varsity seasons with the Haddam-Killingworth football team. Along the way, Colton also displayed a great deal of mental fortitude while competing with plenty of pride for the Cougars.

Colton served as a senior captain who played both center and inside linebacker at Haddam-Killingworth. Last fall, he earned All-Pequot Conference honors and helped H-K reach its second state final in school history with a program-best record of 11-2. More recently, Colton took first place in the shot put by launching a toss of 42 feet-9.5 inches at Shoreline Conference Championship, helping the Cougars’ boys’ indoor track team claim the league title.

“I’ve been playing center every year that I’ve played the game, and I’ve been able to improve my skills and work on the key points of the position,” says Colton. “My early varsity experience helped. As a sophomore, we were young and didn’t have many linemen. At 185 pounds, I got good practice against larger opponents. I improved in the weight room, and our team is devoted to it. Mentally, I’ve always had a good in-game mindset. I never get frustrated, and I stay cool and focused.”

As a center, Colton liked making key pre-snap decisions to help get the Cougars’ offense moving. On the defensive front, he was always eager to lay on the licks at the linebacker position.

“I like center, because you don’t have to pull. You also have only two directions to go, and you get to think about the line calls to help the other linemen with double teams,” Colton says. “With linebacker, it’s fun to run full sprint and hit someone.”

Colton wasn’t necessarily the Cougars’ most vocal leader. Instead, he let his actions speak volumes on the field.

“I’m glad the team voted for me as a captain. I got along with most of the guys, especially with the younger guys,” Colton says. “I wasn’t the most talkative, so I just hoped to lead by example. I just hope I led those younger guys in the right direction.”

Head Coach Mike Baklik says that Colton made an immense impact on both sides of the ball throughout the past three seasons. Baklik adds that Colton set a template for future Cougars to follow by proving an ideal leader in the captain’s role.

“To hold down the same job for three straight years is quite the feat for anyone in high school,” says Baklik. “Colton has been dependable on offense and has been a staple of our team for three seasons. He became an essential player on defense as linebacker. He was a captain that led by example.”

Whether it was the first preseason practice or the Class S state final, Colton and the Cougars left everything on the field in the 2018 season. H-K experienced a few setbacks during the year, but Colton says the Cougars merely used them as fuel to generate their landmark campaign.

“We had quite an incredible year. We put a lot of effort in every practice, so whenever we played a game, it was just like practice,” Colton says. “The Cromwell loss in the regular season affected us, but we knew we had to get better and we pushed ourselves. It all went really well.”