Lake View Chiefs Open Playoffs Against No. 4 Stephenville

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Lake View Chiefs football team will open the playoffs Friday against No. 4-ranked Stephenville.

The Class 4A Division I bidistrict playoff game will be at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.

“It’s a big challenge, but I think our kids are going to give it their best shot,” Lake View head coach Hector Guevara said. “We respect them and what they’ve done in the past. You play the game to win, so our job is to compete and give it our best shot.”

Stephenville is a six-time state champion, with the most recent title coming in 2021.

If things had played out just a little differently, Lake View could have been the No. 2 seed from District 3-4A and avoided this matchup.

However, a 45-37 overtime loss to Pecos and a 28-21 loss to Big Spring doomed the Chiefs to fourth place in district.

Yet any playoff path was going to be difficult. Even district champion Andrews could have its hands full with the No. 4 seed from District 4-4A, Burnet, a team that beat Lake View 57-14.

If the Chiefs are going to have any chance at hanging around against Stephenville, they’ll need their offense to control the ball and finish drives with touchdowns.

Lake View has averaged 28 points per game, so the Chiefs have a capable offense. A defense that has allowed 39 points per game will have to step up. Special teams can’t afford to have any miscues either.

“Obviously, we have to control the ball offensively and tackle well, like we’ve been talking about all year long. All three phases have got to be clicking,” Guevara said.

Lake View has had some key injuries this season, losing top offensive lineman Trey Henry and running back Sammy Ramirez.

Quarterback Chris Alvizo missed last week’s 65-7 loss to Andrews, and his status is uncertain for this week.

Another sophomore, Caleb Shumpert, was pressed into action. He was 13-of-35 passing for 106 yards in his first start, which was on the road against the district’s top team.

“We had some opportunities early in the game to move the ball and just sputtered,” Guevara said. “I thought Shumpert did a great job throughout the whole game trying to make things happen, make the throws, manage the game. But obviously Andrews is a good team, and our defense didn’t do a very good job tackling, so we didn’t help our offense at all. We settled down late in the game, but it was already out of hand.”

Braylon White had seven catches for 72 yards, while Izaiah Rios had 13 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Those two players, along with Alvizo, are part of an exciting group of underclassmen returning next year for Lake View.