NILES – Following several years of struggles, the Lakeview Bulldogs have been eager to put together a statement game signaling the rebirth of their program.

That statement may have been made Friday night at Niles’ Bo Rein Stadium by way of a pair of touchdown drives which exemplified the Bulldogs’ team-first mentality.

Those two drives, along with a stout defense, led the Bulldogs to a 21-13 win over Niles in what was a Northeast-8 Conference lidlifter for both clubs.

Lakeview lifts its record to 3-1. Niles falls to 2-2.

With the win, Lakeview equaled its combined win total of the past three years. The victory also gave the Bulldogs their first conference win since 2019.

“It’s been awhile since we won a league game and that was a huge emphasis this week,” said Lakeview coach Sam Bellino. “I’m not really surprised at our 3-1 start. All offseason, the kids bought in to every little thing that we preached.

“The big thing for me is that they don’t care who does what, to a man they don’t care about stats. It’s a true brotherhood. They play for the guy lined up next to them. It’s all about teamwork. You’re never going to see one guy stand out in the stat sheet. That’s what’s beautiful about our program right now.”

Lakeview’s final stats back up Bellino’s comments. The Bulldogs’ leading rusher was senior quarterback Damien Natali, who gained 68 yards (two touchdowns) on 19 carries. Nolan Toth and Hayden Bartram each carried the ball 16 times, rushing for 66 and 61 yards, respectively.

Toth also pulled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Natali.

Lakeview opened the game with a 14-play, 69-yard touchdown drive which was capped by a Natali four-yard run. The drive took 7:56 off the clock.

Lakeview took the 7-0 lead into halftime, limiting Niles to just 11 offensive plays and 14 yards in the first half.

The Bulldogs quickly upped their lead to 14-0 in the early stages of the third quarter. Natali connected with Toth, who caught a pass in stride at the Niles 20 and raced untouched for a 38-yard score.

Niles immediately answered when Nathan Coots took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to the Lakeview four. The Dragons needed just one play – a Joe Smith (11 carries, 33 yards) run – to cut their deficit to 14-6.

However, Lakeview then put together a 16-play, 70 yard drive capped by a Natali 10 yard touchdown run which ate up 9:06 of the clock.

“Those two drives, that’s who we are,” Bellino said. “We wanted to create an identity and our identity is run downhill and at guys. Last week we put together an 11-minute drive to start our game against Liberty.”

“We have our hogs up front and we’ve been telling them since last winter that we’re going to trust in them to carry this offense.”

Trailing by 15, Niles made things interesting by scoring with 3:24 left in the game on a Smith two-yard run. The Red Dragons had one final possession and marched down to the Lakeview 39 before a Luke Canzonetta interception sealed the win.

Anthony Budak completed nine of 22 passes for 102 yards to lead the Niles offense.

“It’s been a rough four years, and I really feel like we’ve now turned the corner and we’ve made a change,” Natali said. “Man, my voice is gone, my excitement level is sky high. I just can’t express how great this feels.

“The great thing is, we haven’t played near our best football just yet. We have a long way to go and really the sky’s the limit for this program.”

Lakeview returns home Friday to host Girard. Niles will play host to Jefferson.