The Blue Streaks just might be getting accustomed to come-from-behind triumphs.

Even if it means reaching a pivotal milestone in the 51 years of Lake High School football at the expense of their suburban rival Green Bulldogs.

On Aug. 22, the visiting Blue Streaks were trapped in a 16-0 chasm against the formidable hosts before taking control with a 39-14 scoring edge the rest of the way for the 350th win in the Blue Streak program.

Current head coach Jeff Durbin is the ninth head coach in the program and has the longest tenure of the coaches before him.

Currently, he has 138 wins and needs 12 more to reach another milestone: his 150th. That would mean Lake is close in the proximity of a potential appearance in the Division II state semifinals. Although he is appreciative of that fact, he is taking the season one week at a time.

“We always talk about the tradition here at Lake and what it takes to be a part of that. You look at the 51 years of the program and that is about seven wins a season,” Durbin said.

In his tenure nearly spanning two decades, Durbin has only absorbed two losing seasons as a head coach. His teams have made numerous playoff appearances while playing in three Division II title games, the last in 1997. In addition to that, they have seized four regional titles and four Federal League titles.

The greatest tribute that has always been withstanding at Lake has been the fact while most players may not be as well-known as others in reference to talent level and physical ability, Blue Streak players are known to keep quiet and play for 48 minutes with no intention of failing.

During his tenure, Durbin has witnessed his share of major wins. But of all the wins he has amassed according to his testimony, the biggest win was against notorious Ohio Division I skyscraper Canton McKinley.

Playing with a cold and fearless instinct, the Blue Streaks turned in a defensive masterpiece in holding the glamorously high-scoring Bulldogs offense to seven points in a 14-7 triumph. But the way they went about doing that is what impressed the devoted father of three.

“We have a mantra about that. Never bet against the Blue Streaks,” he said with a laugh. “We had a game plan and we executed that real well. Aside from that, there have been other big wins, the 1991 game against Steubenville and against Alliance in 1997.”

"But the win against Canton McKinley was the biggest as you are aware they played for a state title that year.”

A vital cog to the success of the Blue Streaks in the 350 wins of their program has also been the importance of fundamentally sound assistant coaches who know the nuances of formations and how to execute them.

It helps also when there are former football players who come back to the commencing of their prep careers to attain roles as assistant coaches. Former Lake standouts Steve Lippe, Chris Shreve, and Luke Durbin are the alums on the staff. “They pass it on to the current players and they develop that passion for Lake High School football.”

Passion was noticeable against a forceful Green football team.

“You know, composure in a game like that is very important. We stuck to the game plan and kept believing in the players and they came up with big plays,” Durbin said.

They came from behind last year against Louisville and this year Green. They just might be accustomed to such wins if it means achieving milestones.