Lake View Beats Pecos to Clinch First Winning Season in 21 Years

PECOS, TX — The Lake View Chiefs clinched their first winning season in 21 years Thursday with a 42-14 win on the road over Pecos in their district opener.

The game was delayed by lightning numerous times and didn’t finish until 11:30 p.m. when it was called with 7:59 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Lake View improved to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in District 3-4A Division I. This is the Chiefs' best start to a season since 1996.

“It means a lot to us, not just the boys but for the community, for Lake View,” Chiefs head coach Hector Guevara said. “We’ve just got to refocus and get ready for the next one.”

Lake View will play again next week at Big Spring as the Chiefs try and take the next step toward their first district title since 2004.

Lake View quarterback Chris Alvizo turned in another strong performance with 258 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-26 passing. He completed 17 passes in a row at one point, though he also threw two interceptions.

Nick Leyva was his top target with eight catches for 101 yards.

Chiefs running back Izaiah Rios had 13 carries for 189 yards and a TD.

Lake View had two first-half turnovers that kept the game close, but the Chiefs finished the half with a flurry by scoring twice in the final 1:13 to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.

A 26-yard TD pass from Alvizo to DJ Munoz with only two seconds left in the first half was an enormous momentum boost for the Chiefs, who then received the opening kickoff of the second half.

Alvizo fired an 8-yard TD pass to Gabriel Alvarez to start the third quarter to make it 28-7. A 21-yard TD strike to Cristian Esparza gave Lake View a 35-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Lake View's defense had one of its best efforts of the season. The Chiefs gave up a 72-yard TD pass in the first quarter after a defender slipped, but Pecos didn't score again until the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs forced two turnovers — interceptions by Roman Garcia and Evan Gallegos — and they stood strong despite three turnovers from Lake View's offense.

Despite the turnovers, Lake View never punted. The Chiefs scored a touchdown on every other drive.

"Give all the credit to the kids. They stuck with it. They stayed focused," Guevara said. "Chris (Alvizo) did a great job moving the chains. Izaiah (Rios) ran the ball well. The linemen did great, and the defense stepped up big time. It was an overall win. It was a good job by all three phases of the game."

The game started about 15 minutes late due to a lightning delay. Once it began, only three offensive plays were run before it was stopped again — this time for more than two hours — until it resumed about 9:30 p.m.

Another dreaded delay came with Lake View holding a 42-14 lead with 7:59 to play. Fortunately, the decision was made to end the game at that point, ending what had already been a long night.

San Angelo Lake View 42, Pecos 14

Lake View   7   14   14   7 — 42

Pecos   7   0   0   7 — 14

First Quarter

LV — Izaiah Rios 62 run (Rios kick), 6:01 remaining

P — Adrian Mendoza 72 pass from Michael Garcia (kick good), 3:13

Second Quarter

LV — Braylon White 10 pass from Chris Alvizo (Rios kick), 1:13

LV — DJ Munoz 26 pass from Alvizo (Rios kick), :02

Third Quarter

LV — Gabriel Alvarez 8 pass from Alvizo (Rios kick), 8:25

LV — Cristian Esparza 21 pass from Alvizo (Rios kick), 3:24

Fourth Quarter

P — Alerick Dominguez 14 pass from Garcia (kick good), 11:19

LV — Alvizo 7 run (Rios kick), 8:26