It certainly felt like football weather when LaBrae hosted Pymatuning Valley on Friday. The brisk temperatures didn’t slow down the scoring opportunities as the Lakers triumphed 30-18.

“Our guys gave a great effort,” Pymatuning Valley coach Neal Croston said. “We’re coming off that loss last week to Mineral Ridge. They battled all week in practice, and it showed today. They played with a lot of grit. LaBrae is a tough team. We knew it was going to be physical, and the guys really stepped up tonight.”

Pymatuning Valley jumped out to an 8-0 advantage thanks to a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Britton to senior Jayce Fulkman on 4th down. Junior Kasen Bailer converted on the 2-pointer.

Then, LaBrae (1-1) senior Zach Freeman broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run. The Vikings missed the extra point attempt and the score was 8-6.

The Vikings got the ball back, but a deflected pass by Sean Croston ended up in the hands of senior Chase Guysinger, who rumbled down the sideline for a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“It felt great,” said Guysinger. ” I’ve played on the line my whole life. I’ve never had an interception, or scored a touchdown, but I told the team before the season that I was going to get one. It helped my team to a victory and that’s all it’s about.”

LaBrae quarterback, senior Kenny Yoho, tossed a long pass, but it was intercepted by Britton and the Lakers led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Pymatuning Valley (1-1) punted the ball away to begin the second quarter and the Vikings got back to work on offense.

De’marriyan Jackson picked up a first down on a 4th and 2. Freeman had a big catch and run. Yoho kept it himself, and ran 10 yards up the middle for a touchdown, to make it 14-12 after the Vikings failed on the 2-point attempt.

Pymatuning Valley answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Britton to Fulkman to put the Lakers up 22-12 at halftime.

Sophomore Carter Box gave the Vikings a spark when he intercepted a pass early in the third quarter. Freeman capitalized with a 41-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 22-18 after a missed extra point.

Then, Freeman intercepted the ball on defense, but he fumbled it back to the Lakers on the return and the score was still 22-18 heading to the fourth.

Pymatuning Valley was on the move to start the fourth, and it was suddenly 3rd and goal from the LaBrae 5 yard line. Luckily, for the Vikings, Jamie Faulkner batted the ball down on the pass attempt.

LaBrae stopped the Lakers’ fourth down effort. However, when the Vikings got the ball back on offense, they immediately fumbled it back to senior Stuart Jenick from Pymatuning Valley.

This time, the Lakers punched it in from the 3 yard line. Britton pushed his way through the defensive line for the 2-point conversion to make it 30-18 with 7:03 remaining in regulation.

The Vikings had a couple more opportunities on offense, but the Lakers defense didn’t allow them to get into the end zone.