HSFT Stop #51: Lafayette
After making significant strides last season, the Lafayette Commodores enter the 2026 season with plenty of motivation and something to prove.
Lafayette finished 6-6 last year, including a 2-3 record in district play. While the season marked a clear improvement from the program’s 0-10 record the year before, the Commodores were left disappointed after falling just short in the playoffs. That experience has provided extra motivation heading into this season.
“It feels good to have something to prove, like I don’t want to be playing for nothing. I just look back at our last playoff game from last year; we lost in like the last 40 seconds, and it made me not want to ever feel that again for sure. We came up short like this close to making it to the next round.”
Lafayette has traditionally built its identity around a ground-and-pound style of football, and head coach Anthony Hart is continuing to emphasize that philosophy.
This season marks Hart’s fourth year back with Lafayette after previously serving as the Commodores’ head coach for eight seasons, compiling a 79-18 record. Since returning to the program, Hart says each season has provided new opportunities to develop his players and staff and find ways to get the most out of the team.
“There’s a lot of differences in us compared to what we were when I was here before, and we really made some adjustments in how we do things here, and I’ve had some kids that are bought in and got good kids coming back and just feel like we are ready for it.”
That buy-in has helped create a strong culture within the program. With a large group of seniors and returning players, Lafayette believes its leadership and experience can make a difference in one of the state’s highly competitive 5A districts.
“I feel like all of these seasons have built us together as a team, and I feel like we have a really good culture and everything. I think this is the tightest team I’ve been with.”
Leadership has also become a major point of emphasis for the Commodores. After going winless two seasons ago, the team has worked to develop more players who can step into leadership roles on and off the field.
“See, the first year when we didn’t win any games, I feel like we really didn’t have any leaders, but this year we’re really trying to emphasize that more and have more leaders on the field and people who you can look up to.”
With several starters returning from last year’s team, Lafayette believes the playoff loss can serve as valuable experience rather than a setback.
“We’ve got a lot of starters back and got beat in the first round of the playoffs last year in a game that was really competitive for us, and we are just looking to build on that. We’ve got a tough region, a lot of good teams, but we feel like if we can play with other teams in our region, we can play anybody in our classification, so we feel going into it.”
Now, the Commodores are focused on turning that confidence and experience into another step forward. Lafayette will open the season at home on August 28 against Wooddale, beginning a new campaign with hopes of making another playoff run — and this time, advancing further.
