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| AUSTIN - If you want to believe the stories told by his Lake Travis teammates, Ian Lazarus lives a, well, interesting life.
Senior linebacker Bret Plymire related how Lazarus insisted to his friends one time that their Saturday night activities should consist of studying. Lazarus, for the record, recalled that the conversation happened on a Sunday. Another senior linebacker, Quinton Crow, said Lazarus camped out in November to see the premier of the newest "Twilight" movie. Lazarus, however, pointed out that his time was being devoted that weekend to Lake Travis' football playoff game against Cibolo Steele in San Antonio. A group pf cavaliers also swore that Lazarus owns five cats, but Lazarus, and his mother, said the family only has one dog at home. While his teammates' stories about Lazarus' off-the-field life appear to be more joke-filled fiction than fact, no Cavaliers cast doubt on his on-field legacy. The senior linebacker, who has started 46 consecutive games, will be aiming for his third championship ring on Saturday when Lake Travis plays Longview in the Class 4A Division I championship game. Lazarus has played in each of the Cavaliers' 45 consecutive wins, a streak Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine lists as the fourth longest in state history. "He's been there for three years, he's been the starter and he's played really well," senior offensive lineman Ian Kelso said. "He's a great player." "Ian, he works hard and he plays even harder when it comes to the games, and I have a feeling that a lot of the kids look up to him," Crow said. A week after entering Lake Travis' 2007 season opener as an injury replacement, Lazarus started in the secondary against Westlake. That Friday in September ended with a 28-21 loss to the Chaparrals. "I went into the locker room crying; being a sophomore, I thought it was all my fault and that I could have done better," Lazarus said. "I didn't like it and I'm glad that I haven't had to lose another game since." The next week, Lazarus intercepted a pass in the final minutes of an 18-10 over Westwood. The Cavaliers have won 44 straight games and two titles since that night. Lazarus is one of three seniors who have played significant minutes for the Cavaliers since the start of the streak, but he is the lone starter over the whole stretch. Running back Andy Erickson and Kelso played on special teams during the 2007 season. While the results on the scoreboard have been pretty similar for Lake Travis over three seasons, some things have changed for Lazarus. Since he cried in the Chaparral Stadium locker room, he's had two head coaches, started at two positions and worn two different numbers. He's also had two girlfriends since the loss, received two different nicknames from teammates, gained 15 pounds and grown an inch. His musical tastes from switched from hip-hop to country, and he estimates that he's seen 50 movies from "Superbad," to "The Blind Side." "It's been crazy," Lazarus said. "I've played in 47 games, and it's unreal to think that the last game I lost was 46 games ago." This season, Lazarus has 132 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions. He's also earned a reputation for delivering big hits. "He makes big plays," Lake Travis coach Chad Morris said. "(He's) a great leader on the defensive side. Usually when there's big hits involved, he's part of it." "I know that if I'm hitting someone," Crow said, "he's coming right there and making the hit harder." Next year, Lazarus hopes to be playing football and studying business at an Ivy League school. But before he started picking between Harvard, Dartmouth and Cornell, he is going o have to worry about picking apart a talented Longview rushing attack. As his stellar prep career comes to a close, Lazarus said he feels lucky to have been on the Lake Travis roster since he was a sophomore. "It really must a lot to me," he said. "Football is everything" "I breathe, eat and sleep and then football." |