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| LONGVIEW - High school football fans in the Metroplex must have been glad to see their neighbors from the East finally head back to the Pineywoods late Saturday night. Call it: The Beast from the East slays the North Texas Preps.
Longview, Mount Pleasant and John Tyler all strolled into Texas Stadium and humbled the home folks with a triple-header high school football sweep. It wasn't just scraping by or narrowly winning, but good ole fashioned smash-mouth, stick it down your throat thumping. First, the Class 5A No. 1 -ranked Longview Lobos took a high-powered Duncanville squad completely out of its option attack by a 3621 count. The Panthers, who had rushed for nearly 5,000 yards behind pair of scat-cat quick running backs, were forced to take the passing game off the shelf. The passing netted Duncanville 149 yards, but the passes found their wya into he hands of the Lobos almost as much as the Panthers. Longview cornerback Dexter Daniels picked off three and linebacker Jacob Pierced netted a fourth, returning his to within a couple of inches of the end zone. "Right about the one-inch line, he (defender) knocked the ball out of my arms," said Pierce, who appeared to be the intended receiver at the Panther 26-yard line. "He couldn't let me have any glory. "I saw both backs come out and I responsible for them in the flats. So I just moved in there and he (quarterback) threw it right to me. They just started throwing (the ball), I guess we stopped their running game enough to make them throw That was our main focus to stop the running game and we did." Pierce's interception set up the Lobos' final points as Fred Talley scored his third touchdown of the game. The pick was the senior's second this season and came right after he had broken his right bill bone in the season opener. He'll certainly be ready for Saturday's Division I state championship game against Katy in the Astrodome. In the second game, unheralded Mount Pleasant spoiled Terrell's unbeaten season to capture a Class 4A, Division II state quarterfinal by a 14-7 count. The Terrell Tigers must still be looking for the number of that truck that came rolling down interstate 30...or make that one Chris Campbell. It was Campbell's 12-yard run in the second quarter that gave Mount Pleasant a 7-0 halftime lead. He later added a crucial quarterback sack, along with Nathan Grundy, that helped kill a potentially game-tying score late in the closing minutes of the game. Terrell came in averaging 33 points per game, which included one game of 55 and 40 or more six times during the season. The Mount Pleasant defense, led by Campbell, dug in with such ferocity it left skid marks on the artificial turf. Mount pleasant's 9-5 record is truly deceiving. In five years under head coach Marc McDaniel, the Tigers are only 11-12-2 in non-district, but 20-5 in district and a remarkable 9-2 in the playoffs over the last three years. Two years ago they reached the semifinals, which is where the school is headed again this week. Not to be outdone, John Tyler finished off the East Texas hat trick by de-boning Lake Highlands' triple-threat wishbone offense. The Lions beat the Wildcats for the second time in the last three meetings, 24-7, to win the Class 5A, Division II state quarterfinal match up. The JT defense held its fifth straight opponent to under 200 yards total offense. Lake Highlands came in averaging just 300 yards on the ground per game. The Wildcats' only score Saturday came on a pass play. On the offense, the Lions were equally devastating, getting a career-high 214 yards. Although JT continued to shuttle in one running back after another, handing the ball off to eight different players as the team mustered 298 rushing yards. They also tossed a touchdown pass for their first score in the opening quarter. The win moved JT to within one win of playing for its second state championship this decade. Imagine that, two possible state champions out of District 12-5A. So take that North Texas, now bring on the rest of the state, we're ready! |