Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Lakeview’s Nolan Toth slips a tackle attempt by LaBrae’s Aaron Dewberry while rushing for a gain in the first half Friday night at Lakeview High School.

CORTLAND — Coming off of a down year, the Lakeview Bulldogs knew the first game of the season was going to be a tone-setter for their 2022 campaign.

The Bulldogs, who went winless a year ago, bested the LaBrae Vikings 34-7. Head coach Sam Bellino picked up his first win at the helm of the program.

“It took a lot longer than I wanted it to take, but it’s still just as special. I want this program to be under the expectations of a winning program. We’re going to take this win and enjoy it,” he said.

Out of the gate, Lakeview took control of the game and kept it for all four quarters.

Lakeview got the ball to start the contest and methodically pushed the ball down the field, resulting in a Nolan Toth three-yard run. The opening drive burned nearly seven minutes from the first quarter without LaBrae even touching the football on offense. For the first few possessions, the Bulldogs would manage a few smaller gains to get near midfield and then explode for a big play to get the ball closer to the end zone.

Bellino said that was the game plan heading into Friday night.

“Our guys are good, big and strong, let’s wear these guys down. You can tell our guys were working hard on the offensive side of the ball,” he said.

The offensive unit was headed by senior quarterback Damien Natali who took ownership of the position due to an injury to junior Boom Gillis. The two were squaring off for the starting job, but an injured hand to Gillis in a scrimmage quelled his chances for a few weeks.

Natali led the offense with 115 rushing yards on 13 attempts and he crossed the goal line twice in the win.

“Dame (Natali) is a special kid. I’m happy that we have him. He and Boom both took the QB battle and together they got better. When Boom went down, I knew we were going to be OK with Dame (Natali),” Bellino said. “He stepped up big and the guys rallied around him. He did a great job, I’m so proud of him.”

In addition to Natali, scoring for Lakeview were juniors Nolan Toth and Hayden Bartram.

For LaBrae, an injury shifted the offensive scheme. On the sideline was senior wide receiver and defensive back Jay’Marion Jethroe with a walking boot on his left foot.

“He got hurt in our scrimmage last Friday. We don’t know the extent of it yet and we’re hoping to get him back in a week or two,” LaBrae head coach Jon Elliot said. “It affected the game plan completely. We had guys in new positions and it didn’t help either. He’s our best player.”

LaBrae’s defense struggled to stop the run game, allowing 291 rushing yards. Elliot believes the Bulldogs capitalized on missed assignments by his defensive unit.

“We had guys not being in the gap they’re supposed to be in. We tell them all the time ‘as soon as one guy misses their assignment, it seems that’s where the ball goes’,” Elliot said. “I think that’s what happened… I told them they needed to limit the big plays we’ve been giving up or they’re going to be killers. That proved it tonight.”

For Lakeview on defense, however, the defensive squad held LaBrae to a total of 148 yards. The team forced numerous three-and-out situations and Bellino said the experience of the returning players was a key factor.

“We have a lot of our guys back from last year. We’re a year older, a year stronger and we put a ton of work in on these guys… they were hungry after going 0-10 last year. Defensively, the message was simple: run to the football and tackle and that’s what we did,” he said.

A key moment for Lakeview came in the form of a Gillis interception. The Bulldogs scored early to start the fourth quarter and on the first play of the ensuing drive, Gillis made a diving interception to give Lakeview great field position. A couple of minutes later, Lakeview scored to go up 34-0.

LaBrae did not go down without a fight, however. The Vikings stormed down the field and crossed the goal line on a Trenton Stehura 2-yard run.

Elliot said he and his staff will be working to make adjustments where needed, but he told his team there are still games to be played.

“I told them it doesn’t matter about the scoreboard, but you can’t give up. It’s only week one. We’ve got a lot of time to go and we have a lot of work to put in,” he said. “You’ve just got to come back ready to go and get better.”