Former Panthers doing well in their football careers

Lakeside High School's football record has been less than stellar in recent years, but the products of the Panthers program have consistently found success.

For starters, the only former Columbia County player currently affiliated with an NFL team is Brian Bratton, a former Lakeside football star who just finished a season representing the Baltimore Ravens in NFL Europe.

Ashley Brown (also a former Panther) is boasting in his column about Charles O'Byrne and his recent success as an offensive lineman at the College of Charleston.

Move over, A.B., I'm hopping on the bandwagon.

Former Lakeside three-year starter Adi Filipovic has made a name for himself as an offensive guard on the Furman Paladins football team. This past week, Filipovic was named Student Athlete of the Week by the Southern Conference for his play in Furman's 17-13 season opening win over Jacksonville State.

On the offensive line at Lakeside in 2001, Filipovic allowed only one sack all season. In Furman's season opener, the Lakeside graduate showed that his high school days were no fluke. He led an offensive line that helped tally 314 yards of total offense.

That's not even the most impressive part. Filipovic is listed as a senior on the roster. Actually, he graduated in June with a 3.92 GPA and a degree in economics and math. Why is he still on the football team for another school year? Filipovic returned to the classroom to pursue a second degree.

Want to see more of Lakeside's football phenoms? Go see Filipovic in the trenches against Wofford College on Sept. 30 in Spartanburg, S.C. One of Filipovic's jobs on the offensive line that day will be to protect his backfield from a freshman linebacker on the Wofford squad by the name of Paul Miller - a top defensive player on last year's Lakeside football team.