Lakeville South’s football team entered the 2024 season with state championship aspirations that ultimately went unmet. The Cougars lost four games, with their final defeat coming at the hands of Anoka in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. This disappointment prompted reflection among the players, especially the current senior class. They asked themselves: What went wrong, and how could they fix it for their final season?
“We realized last year’s team was not as connected,” said senior offensive lineman Oscar Anaya. “It felt kind of forced at times.” This lack of connection was evident throughout the season, with occasional finger-pointing between the offense and defense.
“We learned that we can’t do that. We have to be together,” said senior defensive lineman Carter Mayer. “We can’t be making fun of each other, pushing each other down. We’ve got to lift each other up.”
In April, Lakeville South coach Ben Burk met individually with every senior on the roster. The coaching staff aims to create a player-led program—teams, as Anaya put it, that “elevate to championship-level teams.” To achieve this, coaches ask questions in pursuit of player-driven answers. When Burk asked his seniors what was most important to them, “the brotherhood” was the most frequent response.
The reason? The seniors recalled how meaningful it was to be intentionally included as true, valued members of the program back when they were sophomores. This sense of brotherhood has become a defining feature of the current team, who will face Moorhead in the Class 6A state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
### Making It Fun
The Cougars watch film with coaches early in the week but gather without them on Wednesday nights—offensive players at one house, defensive players at another—to review game tape. Burk and his staff only discovered these weekly sessions a few weeks into the season. Mayer noted that similar gatherings existed last year as well.
The 2021 team watched film together on weeknights during their state championship run. The 2024 group revived this tradition in hopes of achieving the same result.
“It didn’t work,” Mayer admitted. When asked why, he replied, “We just watched film. We didn’t have any fun.”
This fall, adjustments were made. Film sessions still last about an hour, but afterward, the defense enjoys a “movie night” featuring a cinematic version of the film. The offense adds activities like poker nights.
“It’s more of a fun time to hang out,” said Anaya.
The team has spent plenty of time bonding outside of football, too. Burk recalled nights during the offseason team camp at St. Olaf when the coaches couldn’t get players to go to bed—they simply wanted to be together in common spaces.
Summer activities organized by players included a volleyball tournament and cookout at Marion Lake, along with a pool and basketball tournament at a teammate’s home.
“Those were all about being together and building this group we have now,” Mayer said—one where every player is valued.
Freshmen and sophomores participate on the scout team during the postseason once their own campaigns have concluded. One day after practice, senior lineman Mitchell Kelvie took a moment to “shout out the scout team,” recognizing their importance.
“Things you wish kids did, and these guys are doing it. I don’t think anybody told him to do it; it was just on his heart that day,” Burk said. “It’s all the freshmen and sophomores getting a shoutout from this guy who’s normally gruff and whatever. It’s like, ‘Dang, dude. OK.’ Some of those things have been really powerful indications of the team.”
A quote from former Cougars offensive coordinator Jon Bakken resonates deeply with Anaya: “My most talented team never won a state championship, but the most connected team has.”
“It made me realize talent truly isn’t everything,” Anaya said. “When you have guys who will literally die on the field for you.”
### Bonds That Weather Storms
Burk briefly left the program this fall to take the offensive coordinator job at Cretin-Derham Hall before deciding to stay with the Cougars. During this uncertain time, the players formed a book club reading *Chop Wood, Carry Water* by Joshua Medcalf, which emphasizes the importance of enjoying the process required to reach greatness.
The team met in a classroom, with small groups presenting different sections of the book.
“We made it so we were together,” Mayer said. “All we cared about was that we were together, and it didn’t matter what was going on outside of us that we couldn’t control.”
This was their program, and they were determined to take ownership. Burk encourages player ideas related to team building or bonding and never shoots them down.
“It’s their team, right?” Burk said. “When you find chances to give them a say, they take it and run with it. (Our coaches) would rather enable the kids because it ultimately reflects their performance in a positive way.”
This approach also fosters resilience.
Culture isn’t critical when things are going well. It’s mandatory when they aren’t.
Lakeville South dropped its regular-season finale to Rosemount, 20-15, losing the subdistrict title and the top seed in the Class 6A playoffs. In different seasons, one might look elsewhere to assign blame, but when it’s truly your program, accountability starts with yourself.
After that defeat, an offensive player approached Burk saying they “need to pay for our mistakes.” Coaches don’t punish players with sprints, but the defense had been self-penalizing all season. The offense joined in during the postseason.
Players track their mental mistakes—from missed assignments to false starts—and effort-based errors like not carrying out a fake. At the end of practice, they run “for their sins.”
The Cougars have averaged 40 points per game across three playoff contests, including a 49-point explosion in the state quarterfinals to knock out reigning state champion and top-ranked Maple Grove.
“If you have an ego that you can’t learn something from (a loss), then you won’t,” Burk said. “But if your mindset is of ownership—we talk about extreme ownership all the time—if you can do that and look for what’s the lesson, then you’ll learn it.”
They have to. Their teammates are counting on them.
“We’ve got to lift each other up,” Mayer said, “and believe in each other that, when it gets tough, you’re going to believe in the other person to do their job.”
### A Life Lesson
Balancing school, sports, and team activities is a lot for these players, yet Anaya has enjoyed every bit of the journey.
“I don’t see it as homework or a chore,” he said. “I see it as a bonding experience and an experience where I can not only grow as a player but also grow as a leader and a person.”
This has been Anaya’s favorite season so far. Mayer agrees, noting that the pure enjoyment has eased much of the usual Friday night pressure.
There is a calm that comes with genuine belief in and care for the person next to you.
This fall has taught Mayer a life lesson he plans to carry forward.
“You have to enjoy who you’re with,” he said. “How you do that is you set up things to make it fun. You don’t want every day to be long and grueling, where you don’t want to be here or the people next to you aren’t fun to be with. You’ve got to work hard and have determination, but it’s really what you make of it. You have to have it be fun to be with each other.”
That may be the 2025 Cougars’ crowning achievement—regardless of whether this campaign ends in a championship.
“When you’ve got such a loving group of guys you’re around, it makes it really easy to commit to them every day,” Anaya said. “I have a deep love for all of them. When you become connected with this many guys, it’s like you have another family to go to.”
https://www.twincities.com/2025/11/12/minnesota-high-school-football-lakeville-south-fun-team-bond/
