Seniors Lucas Anderson, Carlos Leon, Louis Raffin and junior Zane Westerlund earn All-DAC football honors.

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Senior running back Andrew Goveia was shaken up on a late-season play and headed to the sideline. Linebacker Lucas Anderson seized the opportunity, made a bee line for head coach Mark Peterson and asked him if he could take his place, which would have given him his first snap at running back since his freshman season.
Peterson answered in the affirmative and Anderson started to sprint toward the huddle until he was called back by the coach. Peterson thought it was backup running back Bobby Spencer who had asked him, so when he noticed Anderson running onto the field, he called him back.
Don’t waste too much sympathy on Anderson, though. He carried the ball plenty for the Trojans this season, although from his linebacker position. Anderson intercepted four passes and amassed 40 yards in returns. He took his two fumble recoveries to the end zone and totaled 122 yards in returns.
Anderson also led the team in total (79) and solo (51) tackles. He tied with Westerlund for the team lead in tackles for loss (six).
His statistics, value to the team, and penchant for the big play combined to make Anderson an easy choice for All-DAC honors. Seniors Carlos Leon, an offensive lineman, and receiver Louis Raffin, and junior linebacker Zane Westerlund join Anderson on the all-conference team.
Leon, selected to the junior class all-state team as a junior, had another strong season for the Trojans. A center last season, he spent most of this season at guard and helped open holes for Andrew Goveia, who rushed for 893 yards and seven touchdowns. Leon was a three-year starter.
Raffin, the team’s fastest runner among players who took regular snaps, made 40 receptions for 571 yards, a 14.3 average, and scored four touchdowns. He also totaled 97 yards in kick returns and 75 yards in rushes.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Westerlund had a monster junior season, disrupting offenses and special teams in multiple ways. He led the team with five sacks, three forced fumbles and two blocked punts, recovered two fumbles and returned his second blocked punt for a touchdown.
Conference champion Crown Point had the most selections (seven), followed by runner-up Merrillville (six).
Offensive MVP: Michael Hill, Merrillville; Defensive MVP: Trevor Gibbs, Crown Point; Kicker: Oliver Brewer, Crown Point; Punter: Trevor Faughnder, Valparaiso.
Chesterton (4): Lucas Anderson, Carlos Leon, Louis Raffin, Zane Westerlund; Crown Point (8): Griffin Van Tichelt, Dom Fantin, Mark Gonzales, Trevor Gibbs, Nolan Cicero, Austin Reading, Caydon Smith, Zach Clark; Lake Central (3): Cameron Reddick, Brody Ramirez, Matt Kafka; LaPorte (3): Jack Borrelli, Lucas DelRio, Reed Raymond; Merrillville (6): Jac’Quarious Johnson, Mikel Smoot, Rynell Lewis, Cameron Jordan, Michael Hill, Stanley Freeman; Michigan City (5): Trin Hart, Zaire McKinney, Ethan Buskirk, Izaiah Gipson, Meek Laurent; Portage (3): Christian Partlow, Tristan Burelison, Daniel Warmick; Valparaiso (3): Ben Fedorchak, Ryan Cheek, Jimmy Parisi.