The dive after five overtimes: Lake View beats Von Steuben in rain-soaked thriller

Early Thursday evening, everyone at Lane Stadium would have agreed that Lake View vs. Von Steuben was a crucial White North game.

When it finally ended at nearly 11 p.m., after five overtimes, the game had become much more.

“You are going to remember this night for the rest of your lives,” Lake View coach Kipp Duplechine told his team after their 36-34 victory.

Outside the stadium, a large Von Steuben player sobbed as his much smaller father hugged and consoled him, saying, “Sometimes that is how life is going to go.”

Both teams left everything on the field, battling each other and the constant rain. There were 13 fumbles. Lake View was 0-for-7 passing, and Von Steuben was 3-for-14.

Several large puddles lined the sideline, and some of the Wildcats dived into them to celebrate the win.

“It was hard,” Lake View running back Kaleb Lovett said. “I lost my voice I was yelling so much. I just thought of my coach’s voice telling me to keep going. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”

Lovett scored the game-winning two-point conversion after his five-yard, game-tying TD in the fifth overtime.

Von Steuben (5-1, 3-1) stopped Lovett at the goal line to end the fourth overtime. The brutal hit left both players reeling. For a moment it appeared Lovett might not stay in the game.

“It was very physical,” Wildcats linebacker/running back Aithan Guallpa said. “You had to put your body on the line if you want to win. That is what it takes, and that is what I was willing to do.”

Guallpa’s 18-yard touchdown run with 1:24 left in regulation tied the game at 22.

“It wasn’t the perfect conditions,” Guallpa said. “But as a team we stick together. The first half was rough, but we pulled it together at the end.”

Lovett had 25 carries for 296 yards and two touchdowns. His 56-yard TD early in the fourth quarter cut Von Steuben’s lead to 22-14.

“This is a beautiful game,” Panthers coach Demetrius Hughes said. “There are highs and lows. My kids are fighters. They fight hard. I will rock with this team anytime.”

Both teams fumbled the ball away in the first overtime. Lake View (6-1, 4-0) fumbled it away in the second overtime but then blocked Von Steuben’s field goal attempt to send the game to a third overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns with two-point conversions in the third overtime. Lovett was stopped at the goal line, and then Von Steuben missed a field goal to end the fourth overtime.

The Panthers scored on a six-yard pass from Christian Welk to Zidan Raya in the fifth overtime, but they came up short on the two-point conversion.

“For the first time I watched my kids fight and never stop,” Duplechine said. “I told them after the second overtime that even if we lose, I am proud of you guys. That last play of the game, we gave it to our best player. If we are going to lose the game, I want to give it to my best guy. The blockers were there, heart and soul into it. I am so proud of this team.”