MOHAVE COUNTY — The second installment of our Mohave County Plus One high school football preview turns to the programs beginning their 2026 season on August 28: Lee Williams, Lake Havasu, and the “plus one” across the river, Laughlin.
Lee Williams Volunteers
At Lee Williams, second‑year head coach Zack Regan believes the Volunteers have the talent to make noise this fall — with one important caution.
“I think we have a pretty good squad. I don’t want to put a number to it, but this is a playoff team,” Regan said. “Now that being said, a lot of new guys, so there’s been a lot of catch up with the youngers. The older kids are executing at a pretty high level. The pieces are in place, and that’s just about again, execution.”
One of those pieces is standout running back Lucas Leist, coming off a strong junior campaign and hungry for more.
“I am looking to make a deep playoff run while I’m with my guys,” Leist said. “Everyone’s gotten more physical since last year. I’ve been craving it since nine months ago, since we missed the playoffs.”
Laughlin Cougars
Laughlin represents the “plus one” in the county preview, and the Cougars enter 2026 aiming to build on last year’s progress. Head coach Aaron Schellie sees a senior‑heavy roster ready to take another step.
“We want to stay on track and improve on our three‑win season from last year,” Schellie said. “We’ve got a good core group of seniors — half of our team actually are seniors — and we are just trying to improve and build on the successes we had last year.”
Versatile senior Anthony Brookins will again be one of the busiest athletes in Mohave County. Brookins plays quarterback, defense, punts, kicks off, and returns punts.
“I kind of want the best for me and my teammates and the school and just leave my mark,” Brookins said. “It’s been a great four years. I just want to finish off strong. I gained weight and did the best to prepare for the season.”
Lake Havasu Knights
At Lake Havasu, the Knights were forced indoors during a scorching afternoon, conducting walk‑throughs in the gym while first‑year head coach Tanner Kelly discussed the transition from longtime assistant to head coach.
“Now that they’ve kind of gotten over the hump of getting a new staff and new stuff being involved, you’ve had 60‑some upper‑level guys showing up all summer long, putting in the work,” Kelly said. “It’s going to be a competitive season. We’re going to have a pretty tough region. It will be a battle each and every week. And then the river is the river — long‑standing rivalry with us and Mohave, obviously, and us and Lee.”Kelly highlighted tight end and middle linebacker Luke Johnson as one of the bright spots entering the season.
“I feel and see great things in the foreseeable future,” Johnson said. “With the new offense, that’ll be good for us. And we’ve definitely got some coaches to give us the discipline we needed to make a good playoff run this year.”
A Community Invitation
That wraps up Part Two of our Mohave County Plus One football preview for 2026. Whether you have a student on the field or simply enjoy local sports, we encourage you to take in the family‑friendly — and still very affordable — high school football action this season.
Unfortunate
My apologies to the students, players, and fans at Mohave High School. This is the first time in over 60 years of covering sports; the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Lakers, the San Diego State Aztecs, all the way down to Redfield High School in South Dakota, that I’ve been told that all practices are closed to the media.
