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| LONGVIEW - Longview trailed early, but used a strong finish to the game to earn a 49-7 home district win against McKinney North at Lobo Stadium on Friday night.
The Lobos improved their season record to 8-0 and their District 7-5A Division I record to 5-0, while the Bulldogs dropped their respective marks to 6-2 and 3-2. McKinney North received the opening kickoff, and quickly moved down the field for the first score of the night. Colin Hitchcock completed four passes on the drive, including a 37-yard touchdown pass to Korbin Hendrix that gave the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead at the 9:19 mark of the first quarter. Longview answered with four scores to take a 28-7 lead before the halftime break. The Lobos started going to work when Jordan Allen found Jalen Hale on a 19-yard touchdown pass and tied the score at 7-7 at the 7:22 mark of the opening period. "Answering with a touchdown was one big thing to get it back even," Longview athletic director and head football coach John King said of what turned the tide for his team in Friday's win. "I thought our defense [also] did a good job stopping the run." The two teammates then connected for an explosive 41-yard touchdown strike that gave Longview its first lead of the night at 14-7 with 1:46 remaining in the frame. Allen finished the game with a 9-of-16 passing performance for 233 yards. Five of his completions landed in the hands of Hale, who finished with 162 receiving yards and three touchdowns. DaKaylen Reese also caught three of Allen's passes for 53 yards. The Lobos turned to their productive run game in the second quarter to wrap up their first half scoring. Taylor Tatum found enough space on a 12-yard carry to grow his team's advantage to 21-7 at the 11:52 mark of the period, and Alijah Johnson added a one-yard score on the ground with 7:49 remaining until halftime. The trend continued on the first drive of the second half. Tatum picked up five yards on the first play and added a 70-yard touchdown run on the second to make it a 35-7 Longview lead at the 11:06 mark of the third quarter. Longview changed course when Allen found Tatum on a 18-yard connection and Hale on a 54-yard touchdown strike. That made it a 42-7 score with 4:58 remaining in the period. Tatum finished the night with 146 of Longview's 272 rushing yards and also found the end zone on two occasions. "We made big plays in the throwing game, and had some big runs," said King. "I thought it was huge to start the second half, and come out with a touchdown. Taylor busted the big play on the cutback and took it to the house. I thought he ran the ball well all night." Brandavion Steverson then helped Longview wrap up the game's scoring in the fourth quarter. He earned 28 rushing yards and a six-yard touchdown on three carries of a drive to make it a 49-7 final score at the 4:32 mark of the period. |