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| MCKINNEY - The Longview Lobos dropped their second district game in the last three contests when they suffered Thursday night's 37-35 road defeat against McKinney North at McKinney ISD Stadium.
The Lobos fall to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in District 7-5A Division I play before they face Tyler in next week's district finale. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, played their final regular season and league game of 2021. They improved their overall record to 5-5 and their league record to 4-2. "We fought until the end, but we didn't play very smart," Longview athletic director and head football coach John King said of his team's outing on Thursday. "Had too many turnovers, missed opportunities and penalties. Hats off to McKinney North. They earned it. They came out and beat us." The first half featured plenty of back-and-forth action. McKinney North kicked off the scoring with Colin Hitchcock's 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Alexander. That gave the home Bulldogs a 7-0 lead at the 9:18 mark of the opening quarter. Longview immediately answered with Jordan Allen's six-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Tatum, which made it a 7-7 game at the 5:03 mark of the first period. The Lobos forced a three-yard punt on McKinney North's next drive, and took advantage of the starting field position on the Bulldogs' side of the field. They earned a one-play, 35-yard scoring drive with Allen's touchdown strike to DeKalon Taylor, and took a 14-7 lead at the 3:28 of the first quarter. McKinney North answered with back-to-back scores to retake the lead at 21-14. The Bulldogs tied the score at 14 on Alexander's eight-yard touchdown run at the two-second mark of the opening frame. Then, they added Jayden Walker's four-yard touchdown run at the 11:02 mark of the second quarter to make it a 21-14 game. Longview followed with Tatum's 69-yard touchdown run, which made it a 21-21 game at the 10:12 mark of the second frame. Along with that score, Tatum finished the night with 16 carries for 155 yards. Allen struggled with turnovers in the first half, including a pair of interceptions and two fumbles, so McKinney North was able to add scores before halftime. He finished the game 9-of-14 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed seven times for 14 yards and a pair of scores. Jalen Hale caught five of Allen's passes and finished with 93 receiving yards. The Bulldogs retook the lead at 27-21 on Alexander's three-yard touchdown run with 2:38 left before halftime, but were unsuccessful on their PAT attempt. The home team forced Allen's fourth turnover of the game, and used the defensive stand to set up Trevor Dutton's 40-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the half. Longview continued to fight in the second half, but its comeback attempt fell a little short. The Lobos cut their deficit to 30-28 on Allen's one-yard touchdown run at the 1:55 mark of the third quarter. McKinney North responded with Alexander's three-yard touchdown run at the 8:20 mark of the fourth, and the Lobos followed with Allen's three-yard quarterback keeper touchdown with 6:26 left in the game to make it a 37-35 game. |