GAINESVILLE — Lady Luck was on Lakeview's side Friday night at Maginnis Field -- at least in the second half.
The Lions blocked Riverside's potential game-winning field goal to stun the Eagles, 21-20, on their home field and put a historic comeback in the record books.
The blocked field goal was a culmination of everything going right for Lakeview in the second half and everything going wrong for Riverside.
"We played incredible and had some things go our way," Lakeview coach Matthew Gruhn said. "Some times the ball does bounce your direction. So the kids played great. It was unbelievable.
The Lions trailed at the half, 14-0, but pulled some tricks out of the bag in the third quarter. Lakeview recovered an onside kick and converted four 4th downs on its final drive of the game to go ahead, 21-20.
"It's one the best wins we've had in a couple of years," Gruhn said. "We're kind of like how did that just happen, but we're grateful it happened. We're just enjoying the heck out of it. We just kept making some plays at the end and it just came out our way."
The win for the Lions was the first this season.
"I think it's huge," Gruhn said. "It's been a tough year. The joy and elation that was in our kid's faces, it was just really neat to see. I'm so happy for them that they could experience this."
