Lakeview Named GeauxPreps Football Team of the Week
by Marshall Loeffler // GeauxPreps.com
On September 22, 2023, the Lakeview Gators traveled east to Olla, won a game against the LaSalle Tigers 36-34, and headed back to Campti, not knowing they would have to wait 1,085 days before their next victory on the football field. But last Friday, Lakeview snapped a 28-game losing streak with a 35-0 win over Plain Dealing and is this week’s GeauxPreps.com Football Team of the Week.
Lakeview finally got the win that some players had been chasing for almost three years, with a team that has no seniors on the roster but, according to them, still had the utmost amount of confidence that a win was coming soon. When interviewed by KALB Sports in the preseason, All-District LB Corey Logan, Jr. said, “This season is different because we’re really taking ownership of turning our whole program around. We look forward to putting the product on the field to show that we put the work in to get what we deserve.”
Lakeview took control of Plain Dealing early, taking a 16-0 lead into halftime. Ashton Sowell led the Gators’ scoring effort, notching three scoring receptions (of 59, 31 and 12 yards). Brycen Smith added a 12-yard touchdown reception, and Daylon Ayres scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. William Harris converted on four extra points to add to the scoring for LHS.
The win marked the first career victory for Lakeview head coach Lawrence Seawood, who told Chris Salim of Inside Natchitoches Sports that the pursuit was motivating the team every day. “I told the team before the year that we just want to get off the list. Now that we have, and now that this group has tasted what it’s like to win, we can start to move towards the goals of more competitive days week after week. This one is over, and we can enjoy it for a few hours and then go back to work.”
Lakeview will now look to win the program’s first home game since September 15, 2023, when they welcomed Magnolia School of Excellence in Week 3. It’s a chance for this confident group of young players to get a different kind of streak going. Lakeview nearly pulled off a state championship basketball run earlier this year, and I saw first hand in Lake Charles the kind of athletic program that this community supports in full.
For sticking with it for almost three full years and following a coach’s devotion and belief to get a completely dominating win in Week 2, the Lakeview Gators are the GeauxPreps.com Team of the Week.
Thanks to Chris Salim (Inside Natchitoches Sports) and Harrison Vapnek (KALB Sports) for stats and reporting on the Lakeview Gators.