Correspondent photo / Michael G. Taylor Girard wide receiver Stephen Sims (9) takes a pass for a touchdown as Lakeview’s Luke Canzonetta (22) defends.

CORTLAND — A gaggle of geese kept flying in the V-formation over the football field in Cortland on Friday and the V stood for victory for the Girard Indians.

It was a Northeast-8 matchup between Lakeview (3-2) and Girard (5-0) and the Indians remained undefeated by crushing the Bulldogs 49-0.

“I’m so proud of these kids,” Girard coach Pat Pearson said. “They worked hard all week. They’re just getting better and better. They’re playing Girard football. It’s a group that just loves to play football. They love representing this community.”

The Indians didn’t waste any time getting started with touchdowns on their first two possessions.

Then, senior quarterback Nic Bengala found sophomore receiver Stephen Sims, over the middle, for a 72-yard score and a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I seen that the safety was over,” Sims said. “My quarterback made a good read on the slant. We executed the play very well. I love it here. We’re not just a team. We’re a family.”

Sims looked like he intercepted the ball back for the Indians on Lakeview’s next possession, but the play was called back for pass interference.

Unfortunately, for the Bulldogs, senior Bobby Alejars picked off the very next pass, and took it back 35 yards for another touchdown and a 28-0 advantage.

Junior Domenico Simone made a tremendous leaping interception for the Indians when Lakeview got the ball back.

Senior Michael Palmer punched it in from 5 yards out. Zack Morris tacked on the extra point and it was 35-0.

Lakeview turned the ball over again when Palmer recovered a fumble with 2 minutes remaining until halftime.

Bengala pounded it across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown and a 42-0 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs seemed a little shell-shocked after beginning the season 3-1 with victories over LaBrae, Liberty and Niles.

“We’re trying to take it one game at a time,” Lakeview coach Sam Bellino said. “Credit to Girard. They showed up. They were prepared. They came out and played some good football.

“We didn’t show up. We didn’t respond. We’ll go into the locker room. We’ll lick our wounds over the weekend and move on to Struthers.”

The Indians will move on to a huge showdown with South Range (5-0), who dismantled Poland 48-0 on Friday.

“It’s Northeast-8 football,” Pearson said. “Every week, it’s a crazy matchup. South Range has a heck of a program. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll start a new.”

After the game, when the players were spelling out Girard while doing jumping-jacks, Sims was already thinking about next week.

“We have a big game next week,” he said. “We have to be prepared to execute. We need to have a good week of practice, but I think we’ve started off very well.”