WHITE LAKE >> Donovan Triplett knew he had to wait his turn … and now it’s here.

After watching two other all-state caliber backs get the preponderance of the carries for Walled Lake Western over the last year, now it’s the junior’s turn to shine, and he’s not wasting a minute of the spotlight.

Despite only three carries after halftime and none in the fourth quarter, Triplett ran for 215 yards and four scores in No. 1-ranked Western’s 42-7 walloping of Lakeland on the Eagles’ homecoming Friday.

“It all comes from my faith in God. I honestly came into this, knowing that this was going to be my year. You know, I waited the last two years, patiently, behind great backs. I got to learn. So I came into this year, you know, my coach told me, (Kory) Cioroch told me, you know, ‘This is your time.’ My team is telling me, ‘This is your time.’ So I came in, I knew it was my time,” Triplett said. “I was ready to go. Little bit of jitters. But, you know, I’m out here, I’m performing. I’m doing what I do.”

To be fair, that’s what Western tailbacks all do lately.

Last year, it was Gavin Noonan racking up 1,734 yards and 28 scores as the lead dog. Prior to that, it was Minnesota-bound Darius Taylor racking up school records in yards (2,450) and rushing TDs (36).

And Triplett’s keeping pace with that, just fine.

Through the first four weeks of the season, Triplett had 52 carries for 809 yards and nine scores, averaging 202 yards per game and 15.5 yards per carry. Friday’s work put him over the 1,000 mark for the season, and kept his per-game and per-carry averages at their same gaudy levels.

“He had a really good season last year. He rushed for over 1,200 yards as the ‘second’ tailback last year, right? And he knows that, you know, this is his year, as he’s stepping in with losing Noonan. … It’s great to have all three of those players, and they were great players, but a lot of it has to do with the kids who don’t get much notoriety, and the offensive line, obviously, starting with Liam Vaughan. We’ve got four seniors on there and a junior and, you know, and plus our fullback, Lucas Hoffmeyer, is just a heck of a player, and our tight end, Kayson Legg-Carr is a heck of a player too,” Cioroch said. “So Donovan is a absolute stud and a weapon and a special player, but it’s our whole team that does. It’s not just him.”

The Warriors (5-0, 5-0 LVC) remained unbeaten on the season with Friday’s win, extending their winning streak in the Lakes Valley Conference to 25 games. That dates back to a Sept. 24, 2021 loss to Milford, their third LVC defeat that season, a trio of games that included a Week 3 forfeit loss to Friday’s opponent, Lakeland.

Since then, the Warriors haven’t lost to the Eagles, beating them 42-10 in a playoff rematch in 2021 — led by 296 yards and four scores from Taylor — then 52-7 in the 2022 regular season — with Taylor racking up 284 yards and two TDs. Last year, Noonan had 223 yards and three scores against Lakeland in a 56-21 Warriors win.

If you’re sensing a theme, there is one. But it’s not just isolated to the Eagles.

“You know that’s not just Lakeland, it’s everybody, right?” Cioroch said.

That’s what happens when you churn out offensive linemen, and backs to run behind them, as Western has.

“It’s been great for tailbacks, man. We come out here, we breed tailbacks here,” Triplett said. “We breed tailbacks.”

Two plays after an apparent 47-yard touchdown run was partially called back for a hold downfield, Triplett got the Warriors on the board with an 11-yard scoring run. His next carry — just one play after the Eagles had honored Olympic hurdler Grace Stark at the break between the first and second quarters — Triplett was off to the races again, breaking off a 64-yard TD run.

“It’s not about, you know, the score and stuff, I just come out here and I just do what I do for my team. And I learned that, you know, God, put me in an opportunity, a place to make plays for my team and score touchdowns, and at the end of the day, that that’s all it’s about,” Triplett said. “It’s just about being a leader. You know when that flag comes down, you know, pick my teammates up. That just means we got another opportunity in the end zone. So, you know when that happens, it’s just ‘Next play.’”

Two carries later, Triplett burst up the middle for a 38-yard TD run to make it 21-0.

After the fullback, Hoffmeyer, got a tote at the goal line for a 1-yard TD run, making it 28-0, the Warriors got the ball back one scrimmage play later, after a Lakeland fumble, and Triplett capitalized with a 25-yard TD run to make it 35-0 with 4:48 left in the first half.

The Eagles (3-2, 3-1 LVC) finally moved the ball right before the half, but the drive spluttered out at the Western 34, and they turned it over on downs.

With the running clock in the second half, the possessions were few for either team.

David Krall hit Troy Temple with a 5-yard TD pass late in the third for Western’s only score, making it 42-0, then Carter Travis scored on a 1-yard run, when the Eagles capitalized on a short field after a turnover in the fourth.

It was what they hadn’t done earlier in the game, turning the ball over multiple times themselves.

“When you have an opportunity to do something like a turnover, and on a short field, on a 32-and in and you turn the ball over, with the game 0-0, you can’t make mistakes against really good teams,” Lakeland coach Jim Calhoun said. “And they’re really, really good. So yeah, we paid for it.”

Lakeland is at Waterford Mott next week, while Western hosts South Lyon East.