LAKE VIEW

San Angelo Lake View's playoff run continues against Wichita Falls Hirschi

Amy McDaniel
San Angelo
Lake View's Rudy Martinez runs the ball against Fabens Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, at San Angelo Stadium.

The Lake View Chiefs can’t think of a better complement to their Thanksgiving weekend than their own participation in a holiday football game.

“You always spend Thanksgiving watching football, so getting to play around this time is really great,” Lake View senior Dalton Ratliff said. “It’s something you grow up with: Thanksgiving and football, that’s what you think of. You sit down and eat and then enjoy football with your family.”

Lake View's Kendall Blue defends against Brownfield Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, at San Angelo Stadium.

Ratliff wants Lake View’s extended family – which hopefully includes current students, parents who have some extended time away from work and out-of-town family – to converge in Abilene on Saturday after the holiday meals are over and get a helping of Chiefs football.

Lake View (3-8) takes on Wichita Falls Hirschi (9-2) in a Class 4A Division I area round playoff game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Shotwell Stadium. The game will be broadcast on KWFR 101.9-FM. 

“What really helped us last week was the fan bus,” said Ratliff, of Lake View’s 28-21 win over Clint Mountain View to win a bidistrict championship. “It felt like a home game. It gave us momentum.”

Instead of taking it easy and preparing for a relaxing week at home -- filled with food, family and football -- the Chiefs have worked to build on their first playoff win since 2014 and also reflected on what it means to be playing football late in November.

“It’s a really humbling experience,” Lake View junior Logan Sanders said. “It makes me proud to be a Chief really because we’ve worked so hard since being a freshman and the people who have talked down on us, and we’ve overcome that. We’ve gotten chances and to see we’ve taken those chances and run with them a lot, it’s really humbling. I like being a Chief. It says something about us.”

Lake View's players celebrate a touchdown against Fabens Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, at San Angelo Stadium.

Lake View senior Ahmad Daniels, who came back from an injury that had him sidelined for a three-game stretch in the middle of the season, said he was grateful to be able to bounce back.

“I’m thankful that I’m here, that I have my coaching staff, and that we brought that gold ball to the school,” said Daniels, who recovered a fumble and had a pass deflection against Mountain View.

The Chiefs know that the Hirschi Huskies, a 56-23 winner over Pampa last week, present a very tough challenge.

Despite being led by a backup quarterback, Hirschi led 35-0 going into the fourth quarter.

“They’re quite talented,” Lake View head coach Hector Guevara said. “Coach (Danny) Youngs does a good job, he’s got good kids and they work hard.”

While backup quarterback Fred Fleeks debuted with three consecutive rushing touchdowns to open the game, the Huskies rely heavily on 2,000-yard rusher Daimarqua Foster, a TCU commit, both offensively and defensively.

Hirschi's Fred Fleeks runs for a touchdown against Pampa Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in the Region I-4A bi-district game in Vernon.

Both Fleeks and Foster ran for three TDs apiece as the Huskies racked up more than 500 yards on the ground.

“We have to slow down the running game. ... Their running back’s a talented, talented young man,” Guevara said.

“Hirschi is everything that you hear about them,” Lake View defensive coordinator Ben Lyons said. “But we’re going to … try to make them get out of their game, get out of what they want to do, and put them in situations they don’t want to be in.

“They’ve got some big bodies up front, but we’ve got some defensive guys that we’re going to put in positions where we’re going to show those big ol' offensive linemen some fast things. Each of them brings something to the game, and this week, they’ve got to bring it and use it to the fullest.”

Offensively, the Chiefs started fast against Mountain View, taking advantage of an early fumble with a touchdown to take the initial lead, but they’ll need to keep offensive momentum more effectively against Hirschi.

“We kept battling,” Guevara said. “We weren’t ever behind, which was good, but we could have put ‘em away.

“We have to sustain drives, keep that ball as much as we can, sustain drives and score some points to stay in the ball game. We’ve got to minimize the mistakes."

The Chiefs hope they are buoyed by another big turnout of fans, since it's a shorter drive and more people are off work.

"We'll take all the support we can get," Guevara said.

The winner of the game advances to the regional semifinal round against the winner between Decatur and Lake View's district rival Andrews.

Lake View's Conner Robinson attempts to catch a pass against Fabens Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, at San Angelo Stadium.

Lake View Chiefs

Head coach: Hector Guevara
Record: 3-8
Season notes: Lake View beat Mountain View 28-21 to win its first playoff game since 2014 and only its third since 1996. The Chiefs have also won back-to-back games for the first time since 2014. Lake View came into the playoffs with a motivating win over Big Spring to capture third place in District 2-4A Division I.
Players to watch: QB/RB Kendall Blue – 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns passing, 499 yards and six TDs rushing; QB – Albert Rodriguez 935 yards passing in seven games; WR/DB – Ahmad Daniels 532 yards and 8 TDs receiving, 1 TD rushing, three interceptions and five pass deflections in eight games; WR/DB – Johnny Espinosa 514 yards and seven TDs, 11 interceptions, nine pass deflections, one defensive TD in eight games; DE/OL Manuel Baeza 51 tackles, two sacks, four QB hurries; LB Anthony Martinez 58 tackles, one sack, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery.   

Results
Lamesa               L 47-42
Fabens                W 35-0
Snyder                L 61-21
Fort Stockton     L 34-6
Llano                   L 27-7
Brownfield         L 34-27
Hereford             L 56-7
Seminole            L 55-6
Andrews             L 55-14
Big Spring           W 35-20
Mountain View     W 28-21

Hirschi's Daimarqua Foster holds up a six for Nate Downing after scoring a touchdown against Pampa Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in the Region I-4A bi-district game in Vernon.

Wichita Falls Hirschi Huskies

Head coach: Danny Youngs
Record: 9-2
Season notes: Hirschi overcame injuries to run away from Pampa 52-23 last week. The game was quickly out of hand for the Huskies, who were without their starting quarterback and safety, Nick Downing, and another top defensive player. They still led 35-0 going into the fourth quarter.
Players to watch: TB/LB Daimarqua Foster 2,376 yards, 34 touchdowns; QB/LB Fred Fleeks 382 yards and 5 TDs (Hirschi QBs accounted for 18 rushing TDs for the season), 78 tackles (seven for loss); LB Calvin Murray 65 tackles (six for loss), two interceptions, nursing injuries, availability uncertain; CB J. Jordan 30 tackles, three interceptions.

Results
Graham              W 43-29
Frenship             L 36-23
Sweetwater       W 51-7
Vernon               W 36-6
Aubrey                W 34-10
Decatur              L 22-21
Gainesville         W 52-12
Burkburnett       W 56-14
Springtown        W 55-37
Mineral Wells    W 41-20
Pampa                W 56-23