LONGVIEW VS MESQUITE
TEAMS
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
FINAL
LONGVIEW
0
0
0
7
7
MESQUITE
17
6
3
7
33
INFORMATION
E.H. Hanby Stadium
Mesquite, Texas
Friday, September 28th, 2012
District 12-5A
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM
QUARTER
PLAYER
YARDS
TYPE
Mesquite
1st
Junior Session
1
Run
Mesquite
1st
Marco Rodriguez
28
Field Goal
Mesquite
1st
Rashard Higgins
49
Pass
Mesquite
2nd
Marco Rodriguez
22
Field Goal
Mesquite
2nd
Marco Rodriguez
36
Field Goal
Mesquite
3rd
Marco Rodriguez
26
Field Goal
Longview
4th
Antonius Sanders
8
Run
Mesquite
4th
Alex Cooper
49
Run
GAME STATISTICS
STATISTIC
LONGVIEW
MESQUITE
First Downs
12
13
Rushing Yards
78
87
Passing Yards
72
213
Passes
11-21-0
16-25-0
Punts
4-33.0
5-31.4
Fumbles/Lost
9-5
3-0
Penalties
8-72
8-83
LOBOS STRUGGLE WITH TURNOVERS IN 33-7 LOSS
MESQUITE - Longview's District 12-5A opener looked a lot like the last time it was in the Metroplex.

Anything that could go wrong did.

The Lobos lost five first-half fumbles and struggled to stop Mesquite quarterback Alex Cooper early as the Skeeters built a big lead en route to a 33-7 win at Hanby Stadium.

The game was reminiscent of Longview's 41-8 loss against Coppell in the season opener, a game the Lobos took themselves out of with three early turnovers and poor pass defense. Mesquite capitalized on the Lobos' miscues Friday, building a 23-0 halftime.

"Nine fumbles, five lost, a blocked punt, muffed kicks - you name it," Longview coach John King said. "We played bad. The kids played their tails off, but we just didn't execute. We fumbled about every way you can.

"We've just got to get better or we're not going to have a chance to get a playoff spot."

Longview (3-2, 0-1 District 12-5A) struggled offensively all night, managing just 168 yards of total offense.

Mesquite (5-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead after scoring and then recovering a pooched kickoff when Longview's return team didn't react quickly. The recovery was the first of two Lobos turnovers on skied kickoffs and set up Marco Rodriguez's 28-yard field goal with 2:06 remaining in the first quarter.

"We made an adjustment to try to handle the kickoffs, but we didn't," King said. "I'm not going to point a finger at any one player or coach. It just didn't happen."

Longview quarterback Dezmond Chumley struggled to handle snaps from the shotgun and under center in his first varsity start, fumbling three times and losing two.

The Sophomore dropped a slightly low first-quarter snap out of the shotgun, a fumble that set up Cooper's 51-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins on the ensuing play to give Mesquite a 17-0 lead.

Cooper threw for 210 yards and a touchdown as the Skeeters finished with 307 yards of total offense. They could have scored more, but Longview's defense forced them to kick four field goals and Cooper completed just five of his final 11 passes.

"I thought the defense stepped up," King said. "They gave up a few big plays early on, but they had their backs to wall and held them to field goals."

Mesquite increased the lead to 20-0 when they capitalized on the second kickoff miscue with another Rodriguez field goal. Then Chumley fumbled a snap from under center on the first play of the ensuing drive, setting up another field goal.

Following his second lost fumble, Chumley was replaced by junior Stephon Dunn, who started the previous three games. Chumley did return to play four of five drives in the second half.

"It may have been nerves," King said. "I thought after what he did at Lufkin that he'd be OK. Things were moving and things were different. Mesquite's got a good defense. We've got to settle down and regroup."

Longview struggled to throw the ball and Mesquite limited senior running back Tory White when the Lobos did hang onto the ball, holding him to 58 yards on 19 carries. White also lost his third fumble in three games on a run into Skeeters' territory.

"They loaded the box on us," King said. "We busted some assignments and got behind the sticks. We just couldn't get enough first downs to get our offense going."

The Lobos scored their only touchdown on fullback Antonius Sanders' 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The game got chippy after that when three personal foul penalties were called in a three-play span.

Longview was penalized for two personal fouls, including junior defensive back Jhavaurian Moore's ejection for throwing a punch. Cooper was penalized for taunting after his 49-yard touchdown run gave the Skeeters their final score of the night.

Longview has a bye week before hosting Rockwall Heath on Oct. 12.