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 LONGVIEW - The head coach wanted a send-off, rather than a pep rally, and he got it. Hundreds of Longview Lobo football fans lined McCann Road on Friday to wish the Lobos well as the team departed for Waco. Longview meets unbeaten Lake Travis in the Class 4A Division I state title game today at Floyd Casey Stadium. Dorothy Blakeley, joined by her sister and niece, said they've had tickets on the 50-yard line at Lobo Stadium for years. They've made it to several Lobo playoff games each season, but the women - who refused to yield their ages - said the drive to Waco is too far for them to travel. So they joined the crowd Friday, waving to the team as it passed by in chart busses with a Longview police escort. "We want to wave them on to victory," Blakeley said. "I know they're going to win. Theyve got to win." Lobo head coach John King asked fans to join in the send-off party. He said a pep rally might have interfered with the team's traditional weekly schedule and end-of-semester final exams.
 Longview High School students and teachers were, however, able to lend their support to the team. After completing semester tests, they lined the streets surrounding the campus as the procession began its journey. Rachel Maxwell's daughter is a Longview varsity cheer land. Twenty-seven year-old Tenisha Greenwood is a 1999 LHS graduate. Both ladies said a win today would expand pine and bragging rights for the football program and Longview community. "We've come up short for a while (in the playoffs)," Maxwell said, "and it's time to bring (the state title) home." Added Greenwood, "(A win) would be something tot all about years down the line." Arliss Mallory, 77, rested against an electrical pole beneath the Brookwood Village Shopping Center sign waiting for his wife and grandson to arrive. He said Friday's send-off lets the Lobos - all teenagers - know they have the community's support. "It's psychological. That's all it is," Mallory said. "You just want to know you've got the backing of the city. They want you to win, perform and excel."
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