Lucas Szymborski Brings Tough Name and Tough Game to Cleveland

Cleveland, TN-(WDEF-TV) Cleveland High school’s Lucas Szymborski may not have the easiest name to say, but that is nothing compared to how tough he is as an athlete.

News 12s Brian Armstrong speaks to the standout player shining for the new look Blue Raiders.

Lucas Szymborski is shining in Cleveland’s new football system.

Said Szymborski “And it’s just, not just me, uh, my teammates too. Uh, my quarterback throwing me the ball. Uh, the other guys, uh, making tackles, all that. It’s a great team win.”

Said head coach Chandler Tygard “He’s really buying into our new culture and what we’re doing. And, uh, honestly, I’m just as proud of him for blocking on the perimeter as I am catching touchdowns or making tackles or interceptions and big hits. So, how you play without the ball tells us how much you love your teammates. And he’s playing so hard right now, it means he really cares. And that’s what we appreciate.

He plays both ways in the high up tempo offense and has over 200 yards receiving and 32 tackles and a defensive score. You get no breaks around here.

Said Tygard “Brian Beard, there’s a bunch of them. Micah Jordan, um, you know, we play Brayden Carroll. Everybody plays both sides. Aaron Smith. We only play about 25 players in a game yet we’re running, you know, 75 plays a game on offense and then you get another 65 on defense. So you just got to be in really good shape. That’s why we do what we do in the summer and we’re pretty well conditioned by now. We’re used to it.”

Said Szymborski “Listening to my coaches. Uh, I’m just giving me tips every week. Just getting better people coming to our games more. We have a lot of more fans this year than we did last year. Uh, just like thinking like that.”

They’re here for us and playing for them is just a great thing with eight touchdowns already this season. He is always a threat to get in the end zone and the P. A. Announcer might have had to work a few times at pronouncing his name correctly.

Said Szymborski “Yeah, all the time. I mean, some of my coaches call me Zembrowski and I just hear so many things.

Said Tygard “It’s just, it’s crazy. I always can’t spell it or say it. Uh, yeah, he’s getting recruited by Wisconsin and I told him the other day, like, you’re the perfect name for Wisconsin football. You sound like some Polish jacked Wisconsin football player.”