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| IRVING - The Green and White live on for another week.
Behind a 167-yard rushing effort from junior tailback Fred Talley and the two-way performance of Dexter Daniels (three interceptions, one receiving touchdown), the Longview wLobos are headed tot he "Big Dance" at the Astrodome in Houston next Saturday for the Class 5A Division I state championship game against Katy. A 36-21 win Saturday over Duncanville at Texas Stadium sends the Lobos on to their first state title appearance since 1937. Longview defeated Wichita Falls 19-12 on Christmas Day that year. The furthest a Longview team had been since was the semifinals in 1975 before losing 10-9 to Odessa Permian. "It's all happening so fast right now, its kind of hard to enjoy everything," said Robert Bero, who is in his 10th season as head coach. "But we're going to enjoy this moment. I just hope we've got one more big game there in us. I know we'll be ready to play." Longview's march through a 14-0 season began almost immediately after the Lobos' were eliminated from the post-season a year ago. The team returned 41 letterman from last year's 9-4 squad, which included 10 third-year letterman who had started since they were sophomores. This year's team began the season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press preseason poll. They moved into the top spot after the eighth week. The Lobos have also won 10 games outside the friendly confines of Lobo Stadium after playing just four at home. Along the way, Longview defeated No. 5 Lufkin (28-17) and No. 6 John Tyler (20-14), which had been the top-ranked team in the state for most of the regular season, both on the road. Last week, the Lobos defeated previously unbeaten and nationally-ranked Killeen Ellison to win the Region II Championship, 14-0. "It really hasn't hit me yet," said Talley about reaching the state title game. "I know it will later. I knew we could do it." |