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| MESQUITE - It was a dark night for the District 11-5A dark horse on Friday, with the Longview football team providing the darkness.
Longview head coach John King said Mesquite could be the dark horse of 11-5A earlier this week, but that upset potential never emerged as the Lobos stormed past the Skeeters 54-21 in the 11-5A opener for both teams at Hanby Stadium. The Lobos squashed Cinderella hopes for the Skeeters with an unstoppable offense which built a 40-0 lead and scored seven touchdowns on its first eight drives, with the exception because time ran out for halftime. The Lobos (5-1, 1-0 in 11-5A), ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press' Class 5A state poll, rolled up 566 yards of offense. This included 351 yards rushing and six touchdowns, including 100 yards from Tory White as well as 64 yards and three touchdowns from J'Haston Faggans. Quarterback Bivins Caraway accounted for 220 yards and three touchdowns in about 2 1/2 quarters of play. King said he was concerned about Mesquite's running game this week, but that turned about to be practically no concern at all. Thanks to a Longview defense which had 13 tackles for losses and eight sacks - including three tackles and two sacks from linebacker Torean Shepherd - the Skeeters were knocked back for minus-two yards rushing on 25 attempts. Mesquite, which had won two games combined in the previous two years, falls to 3-3, 0-1. Longview overwhelmed Mesquite in the first half as the Lobos scored touchdowns on their first six drives of the game. Longview took the opening drive 80 yards and capped with a 38-yard touchdown run by fullback Deontre Wilson out of the Wildcat formation with 10:20 left in the first quarter. The Lobos marched 87 yards on their second drive, ending with a three-yard touchdown run by Faggans. The Lobos practically had victory clinched early in the second quarter thanks to special teams play. After Faggans' first touchdown, the Lobos forced Jordan Bracy to fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Nakia Brown recovered the loose ball at the Mesquite 14-yard line setting up a seven-yard touchdown run by Faggans three plays later. On Mesquite's next drive, Longview linebacker DeMarkus Lathan blocked a Jose Salas punt to give Longview the ball at the Mesquite 25-yard line, setting up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Caraway to Colin Jeter with 10:30 left in the second quarter, giving the Lobos a 26-0 lead. Caraway would also throw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Eric Hawkins with 8:28 left in the second and scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown run with 5:05 left in the first half to give Longview a 40-0 lead. Caraway had 189 total yards of offense in the first half. The Lobos had 144 yards rushing on 17 carries in the first half, led by 48 yards by Wilson, who finished with 66 yards on six carries for the game. D.T. Jackson had four receptions for 60 yards in the first half and would lead Longview with five receptions for 68 yards for the game. Mesquite finally broke through with an 82-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Alex Cooper to Junior Session with 57 seconds left in the first half to cut Longview's lead to 40-7 at halftime. Cooper had 91 yards passing in the first half, but Mesquite couldn't get its running game going, with two yards on 16 carries. Longview had six tackles for losses in the first half with three sacks while safety Stephan Maxey led the Lobos with six tackles. That would be Maxey's total for the game, sharing the Longview team high with Shepherd. Jordan Burton added two sacks for Longview. Cooper would throw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, but was left the game with 6:51 left in the third quarter. Cooper appeared to suffer a concussion, although he was able to walk from the field. Cooper passed for 176 yards before leaving the game. Higgins had four receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard touchdown reception from reserve quarterback Dezmon Jackson with 8:28 remaining. Faggans would complete his trifecta of touchdowns with a two-yard run with 7:39 left in the third quarter, capping a 64-yard game on 10 carries. Reserve running back Antonius Sanders had a nine-yard touchdown run with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter for Longview. Jacoby Redden had 64 yards rushing on four carries off the bench for Longview. Mesquite defensive back Charles Grant led all players with eight tackles. |