LONGVIEW VS LAKE TRAVIS
TEAMS
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
FINAL
LONGVIEW
7
0
3
13
23
LAKE TRAVIS
7
21
13
7
48
GAME STATISTICS
STATISTIC
LONGVIEW
LAKE TRAVIS
First Downs
19
27
Rushing Yards
225
148
Passing Yards
123
357
Passes
10-23-0
25-33-1
Punts
5-23.8
2-39.0
Fumbles/Lost
3-0
2-0
Penalties
4-35
6-45
EXPECATIONS ALREADY HIGH FOR '09 LOBOS

WACO - Disappointment was to be expected for Longview's football team after losing to Lake Travis, 48-23, in the Class 4A Division I state championship game on Saturday. Several Lobo players and coaches expressed frustration about coming up short.

Perhaps they shouldn't be so hard on themselves. The Lobos came up short on Saturday, but they are far ahead of the game.

Personally, I expected this team to be state-championship caliber...in 2009.

Coming into this season, I doubted the Lobos would make it to Saturday's figurative end of teh line. I thought they would play until around Thanksgiving, not Christimas, because there were so many underclassmen. The list of players who are juniors or younger is satured with talented. It includes Aaron Johnson, Tyler McCray, Carey Fortson, Bryce Redman, Alonte Darden, Chris Weaver, Bubba Vactor, Jeremiah Farley...it feels like the list oculd fill this column.

As it turned out, the younger players learned quickly because they listened to their own expectations, not those from other people.

"There were doubters, but from the beginning of the season, we expected to be here," said Johnson, who concluded his first season as Longview's starting quaterback on Saturday.

Longview coach John King said his team still had to deal with challenges along the road. He said a 21-0 win over Tyler Lee the week after dropping a 21-7 decision to Allen (which played in the Class 5A Division I state title game Saturday night) was big. He said he will remember the 43-42 overtime win over Waco Midway in the Region II final (so will everybody else who was at that classic).

Now the Lobos have to deal with a new set of expectations.

With that long list coming back, the talk about the 2009 season is already under way. I wouldn't be surprised if Longview is named the preseason No. 1 team in Texas Football magazine or by the Associated Press. At least, they will be way up there in the rankings.

For King however, those expectations are thrown on a stack that has hovered around since he took over as Longview's head coach in 2004.

"In Longview, Texas, there are always high expectations," King said. "It's good and bad."

In addition to those expectations, the returning players won't solve every concern right away. There are questions of replacing players on the offensive line and defensive front seven, with the departure of such standouts as Chris Knihgton, Jazz Reeves, Vinny Portley, Conrad Cooks and Melvin Templeton. Safety LaMarcus Howard is another outstanding player that will be difficult to replace.

Knighton sounds confident in his team's future.

"They just need to keep working hard," Knighton said. "I would tell them don't ever take the foot off the pedal."

A trick will be the role Saturday's loss will play toward the future. Lake Travis coach Chad Morris was victorious on Saturday, but he has been where the Lobos are, losing back-to-back Class 2A state championship games while at Elysian Fields in 1998 and 1999.

"I'm from East Texas and I know how much this hurts," Morris said. "It can also be the fuel to keep youn going so you can come back here."

If it is fuel, it won't be long before the Lobos make a trip to the gas station.

"We'll start on next year," Johnson said. "Maybe not Sunday, but as soon as we get back to school, we're going to work."