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| HOUSTON - The Longview High school football team battled back from halftime deficits, faced massive offensive lines and shut down blue-chip tailbacks several times during their march to Saturday's state championship showdown.
But the Lobos' dream season ended Saturday when the Katy Tigers unleashed all three on Longview, rolling to a 24-3 win in the Class 5A Division I Texas Bowl Championship before a crowd of 25,000 at Houston's Astrodome. Katy, making its second trip to the state finals this decade - the Tigers lost to Plano in the 1994 title game - scored with just three seconds to play int eh first half to take a 14-3 lead into the locker room. Longview, which had repeatedly come back int he second half this season, never recovered and suffered its first loss of the season. The No. 1 ranked Lobos, seeking a state championship in football for the first time since 1937, finished the season with a 14-1 record. Unranked Katy, the Class A state champion in 1959, also closes out the year with a 14-1 record. "I'm proud of this team," Longview head coach Robert Bero said. "We showed a lot of heart, a lot of character all year long. We beat a lot of good football teams getting to this point. We just came up short today." Katy tailbacks Bronston Carrol and Rian Green, running behind an offense line that featured two Division I college prospects and averaged 260 pounds per red jersey, combined to rush for nearly 200 yards as Katy put together several long drives to keep the potent Lobo offense off the field. Carroll, a junior who entered the game with 1,418 yards and 16 touchdowns, carried 26 times for 121 yards and one touchdown. Green, with 1,239 yards and 19 touchdowns heading into Saturday's contest, finished with 63 yards on 14 carries. Green did most of his damage on Katy's first scoring drive, picking up 53 yards on 10 carries as the Tigers marched 77 yards in 16 plays - using up more than six minutes of the clock to take a 7-3 lead late in the second quarter. Longview never led again, falling behind 14-3 at the half when Katy quarterback Matt Gore delivered a 38-yard pass to a diving Mason White for a touchdown with just three seconds showing on the clock. The Lobos managed just 65 total yards in the second half - including minus 22 yards on the ground as Katy sacked senior quarterback Jay Hurst four times in the final 24 minutes. The Lobos scored first, driving 60 yards in six plays before settling for a 27-yard field goal by Erin Roerecke with 9:26 to play in the first half. Longview took over in good shape at the Katy 46 after a 21-yard punt return by Dexter Daniels. Senior tailback Fred Talley, who rushed for 91 yards on the day to top 2,000 for the season, did most of the damage on the drive with 50 rushing yards. Katy answered with its 15-play drive, capped by Gore's 1-yard touchdown plunge, and then went on top for good with Gore's 38-yard scoring strike to White. The Tigers added to the lead by taking their first drive of the second half 58 yards in nine plays to build a 17-3 cushion on Ryan Nugent's 38-yard field goal with 4:38 to play in the third. Carroll's 9-yard run with 3:41 remaining in the contest gave Katy its second state title and put an end to Longview's dream season. |