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| MIDLOTHIAN - An all too familiar feeling hit the Lobos hard on Saturday.
The same place, the same time, the same round. For the second straight season, Longview's season ended in the third round at Midlothian ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium, this time falling 45-35 to College Station A&M Consolidated in the Class 5A Division II Region II semifinals. Longview's season ends at 11-2. The Tigers will face Lake Travis in the 5A Region II final next. After a back-and-forth shootout in the opening half, a disastrous third quarter plagued the Lobos with two turnovers resulting in points for Consolidated. It marked the second-straight year that opposing defenses took advantage of Lobo miscues with Austin Westlake turning in three defensive scores to end the Lobos' 2012 campaign on the very same turf. "We had the turnovers that gave them defensive touchdowns. but we still fought back," Longview head coach John King said. "Kids kept fighting - kept trying to win the ballgame and that's all you can ask them to do." Longview took the ball to start the second half trailing 28-21 before a pick-six from the Tigers gave them a two-score advantage early in the third quarter. Longview answered with a quick scoring drive to make it a one-possession game. The Lobos' hopes were high as they recovered the following kickoff on a designed squib kick but disaster was waiting once again for Longview. A high snap on fourth-and-two resulted in Consolidated's second defensive score of the third quarter, putting the Tigers ahead 42-28 with 4:37 left in the third quarter. Consolidated rolled up 334 yards in the first half behind a strong showing from senior quarterback Kobe Miller, who had 273 passing yards and three scores in the opening half. He finished 22-of-26 for 309 yards for the Tigers (10-2). "We made the adjustments to what they were doing," King said of Consolidated's offense. "The big thing was that they got the lead and ran the clock. I thought our defense played well - they gave up some plays - but they played well. They gave us chances - even as bad as the third quarter was at times, we pulled within one possession and have the ball on fourth-and-two and have a mishap on a snap that they turned into points." Dezmond Chumley finished with 215 yards passing and three touchdowns for Longview. Texas commit Dorian Leonard hauled in six passes for 79 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown. Chris Pellum had a 62-yard score and Jordan Whitaker had a catch-and-run touchdown reception from 14 yards out for Longview. JaMycal Hasty led the ground attack, finishing with 177 yards and touchdown bolts of 24 and 26 yards. Defensively, Laurent Johnson brought down two first-half interceptions and scooped a Tiger fumble for Longview. Consolidated opened the contest with a six-play, 75-yard march with Miller finding KJ Dukes for a 46-yard score. Johnson hauled in a pass from Miller on the Tigers' second possession, setting up a 24-yard touchdown from Hasty to knot the contest after the first quarter. Johnson brought down his sixth interception of the season on the Tigers' ensuing drive and the Lobos took their lone lead of the night on Chumley's 14-yard strike to Whitaker. Tyri Merchant sparked 21 unanswered points for Consolidated on a seven-yard run. Miller had touchdown passes of 52 and 22 around two three-and-outs for Longview. Chumley found Pellum amidst two Tiger defenders and the senior turned upfield for a 62-yard score to pull Longview to within a touchdown heading into halftime. Hasty added a 26-yard score between Consolidated's two defensive touchdowns and Longview's fourth three-and-out of the night put the Tiger offense on the field for the first time in the second half with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Johnson recovered a Tiger fumble with 11:54 to go in the contest, but the Lobo offense failed to capitalize with a three-and-out. Consolidated chewed up close to seven minutes off the game clock on a 12-play, 71-yard drive, ending with a 21-yard field goal to extend the Tigers' lead to 45-28 with 4:12 to play. Leonard made a leaping catch in traffic in the end zone for Longview's final touchdown of the season for the 45-35 final. "I'm extremely proud of these kids and this group of seniors that were a big part of this football team and our coaching staff with everything they have done," King said. "There's some kids that will get the opportunity to keep playing and some that wont, either way, it hurts the same. "You grow fond of them and develop a relationship that you hate to see end as a player and a coach. They're always going to be one of your guys but the day-to-day battles in the trenches - whether it be the offseason, in-season or the summer - whenever - you hate for that to end." |