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| LONGVIEW - Domination accompanied the arrival of the postseason for the Longview Lobos in a big way.
Longview's offense clicked on all cylinders and the Lobo defense made an early statement in a 70-22 thumping of Copperas Cove in a Class 6A, Division II, Region II bi-district playoff on Friday at Lobo Stadium. With the win, Longview (11-0) moves on the area round, where they'll meet 9-2 Prosper at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Star at the Ford Center in Frisco. Longview put the pedal down and stayed there on both sides of the ball, jumping to a 35-0 lead after the first quarter, a lead they expanded to 56-0 at halftime. "I'll tell you, it was pretty impressive, almost shocking how well we played in the first quarter both offensively, defensively and in the kicking game," Longview head coach John King said. "It was a dominant performance in all areas." Keilyn Williams led the charge in an all-around night, finishing with four total touchdowns - one on the ground and three through the air from quarterback Haynes King. Williams finished with 90 yards on seven carries, including a 20-yard score, and had touchdown hauls of 24, 34 and 45 yards. King, who finished 9-of-12 passing for 191 yards, rounded out his night with a fourth touchdown to Kamden Perry on a 26-yard connection. Jessie Anderson hit paydirt twice on scores of two yards. Sophomores Kaden Meredith and Shannon Jackson rounded out a 257-yard nigh rushing for the Lobos with touchdowns of 10 and two yards, respectively. Jephaniah Lister returned a punt 43 yards to the house, following up a 41-yard punt return on the previous possession in a big night on special teams that pinned Copperas Cove (7-4) deep and set up the Lobos with a short field throughout. Defensively, Longview, behind an all-around night from the defensive line, held the Bulldawgs to 74 first-half yards and 306 total. Jaylon Allen forced and recovered a fumble deep in Bulldawg territory to go with two sacks. Jared Reese had a sack as did Sawyer Goram-Welch. The Bulldawgs had its initial first down with 7:03 left in the second quarter and finished 7-of-16 on third down. "They did a good job of getting penetration but not running up the field, that can get you gashed with traps and sweeps," King said. "They were disciplined with their pressure. Our linebackers did a good job of fitting the run, as did our safeties. "Copperas Cove definitely jumped off the tape at you in watching what they did offensively and the style of defense that they played. They're a good football team. We just got on them early and made them do some things that they really don't want to do." Haynes King finished 3-for-3 on the opening drive as Longview methodically marched 60 yards on seven plays, capped by a two-yard score from Anderson on third down, the first of three Longview touchdowns coming on third down. Longview's defense started with two three-and-outs as well as Allen's fumble recovery after he deflected a pitch from Copperas Cove. After Lister's 41-yard punt return, King and Perry connected for 26 yards on third down for a 14-0 lead with 6:24 left in the first quarter. "That was a key play for us on third down after a big punt return," King said. "We kind of stalled a drive and he caught a big pass play. "Next drive, we hit Keilyn, get the punt return and all of a sudden it's wham, wham, wham, score, score, score and we rocked them back on their heels." King hit Williams for 24 yards after Allen's fumble recovery, he added his 20-yard run after a 19-yard punt set Longview up at the Cove 20 and Lister made it 42-0 early in the second quarter. "That couldn't have happened to a better kid," King said of Lister. "I'm fired up for him to get that touchdown, especially after he fell down on the first return. "That's Jephaniah, a team favorite of a lot of kids and coaches. It's great to happen for him." Longview scored on drives of three, four and four plays in the second quarter, two from King to Williams as well as Anderson's second touchdown run. Copperas Cove got on the board twice in the third quarter around a 10-yard score from Meredith. Jackson added a two-yard score in the fourth quarter before the Bulldawgs scored last on quarterback Easton Simpson's third touchdown pass of the night. |