|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
||
|
|
| LONGVIEW - A dramatic rally in the fading moments of the ball game enabled a sluggish Longview Lobo eleven to break what appeared to be a disheartening tie with the Tyler Lions and eventually win their important District 9-AA contest by an 18-6 margin. An estimated 2,000 fans witnessed the thriller here Friday night.
A couple of game youngsters who had been sidelined on doctor's orders for more than a week, crawled out of sick beds a few hours before the game and teamed with the significant Sonny ones to provide the offensive spark which made victory possible. They were John Linney, who again demonstrated he was the loop's top passing threat, and the determined Ronnie Lemmons. With the score tied at 6-6 and second less than five minutes remaining, Linney and Lemmons got together on a spine tingling pass play that covered 54 yards and accounted for the tie breaking touchdown. Yet, if one lad had to be singled out, it would have to be the stout-hearted Jones. The Sunshine Special refused to be derailed despite the fact that the going was a lot tougher than most Lobos bargained for Friday night. He account for the Green Wave's initial touchdown early in the third period after Tyler's brilliant Eddie Hennig, Jr., had put the Rose City invaders six points in front with a nifty touchdown heave in the first quarter. The apparently over-confident Green Waves appeared unusually sluggish during the first six minutes of the opening period, and co-captain Billy Helms of the visitors intercepted a Longview pas late in the stanza to set up the Lions' one touchdown. Helms grabbed a Jones aerial intended for Earl Williams on the Lobo 36 and ran it back to the 30. Helms took a hand-off from Hennig and picked up four yards. Johnny Gilley added two off tackles, then with third down coming up and four needed, Hennig faded for a pass and nailed Rex Templeton on the two. The slim Templeton shook off two Lobo defenders and fell across the goal line for the score. Henna's try for the point was wide of the mark. Linney, who had been sitting on the bench, begged to get into the game and Coach Maco Stewart turned him loose with less than a minute left in the second quarter. He immediately completed two passes - one to Jud McRee for 12 yards and another to Billy Shaw which ate up 24 before time ran out with Longview deep in Tyler's territory. Although they didn't tie things up at the halfway mark, he hand-writing was clearly evident on the wall: "the Lobos would snap out of it in the second half." The long-awaited break came on the third play of the second half when Jones punted 46 yards from his own 12. The ball hit on the midfield stripe where safety man John Gilley attempted to picket up. It squired out of his grip and rolled back to the Tyler 45 where Jud McRee attempted to haul it in. It slipped away from McRee but guard Tommy Bufkin finally nailed on the 41. Linney immediately shot a flat pass to Jones on the 38 and Sonny zig-zagged his way to the Tyler 24 before he was hauled in. An offside penalty agains the Lions gave Longview first down on the visitors' 19. Jones skirted wide around end na picked up his best blocking of the night and bulled his way down to the two-yard stripe before he was bounced out of bounds. Two cracks at the line by the Sunshine Special enabled the Lobos to tie the score. Ernie Elliott blocked his ry for the point and the score stood at 6-6. And that's the way it was with slightly less than five minutes remaining in the final quarter. But at that point, the Lobos bro out in a rash of touchdown which carried them to victory. After Linney and Jones had combined to carry the ball from their own 24 to the Longview 49, a bad pass from center set them back 16 yards to the 33. Many fans figured the Lobos had blown their last chance to win and the rush for the exits was on. When Linney flipped to McRee and got back 14 of the 16 yards lost, the pace of outgoing spectators slackened. They came to a complete halt and started back to their seats on the next play. It was a beauty and here's what happened: Taking the ball on his own 46, Linney dropped back and spotted Lemmons who was in the clear far downfield. Johnny uncorked a heave which trailed 38 yards in the air. It appeared to most observers that the pass would overshoot Lemmons who was galloping madly after the flying football. At the last possible moment, Ronnie stretched out his hands and the ball plopped cozily into them on the 15. Lemons stumbled and the Tyler secondary started to catch up, but he regained his balance on the seven and sped over untouched. The tie had been broken and the general consensus in the grand stand was that the Lobos could coast to victory. The clock was running out. But Jones isn't the type of boy who enjoys coasting. He plays hard and plays to win every minute he's in the ball game. After Tommy Rae had luged the ball to the Tyler 43, Sonny smacked the right side of his line. The Tyler forwards were there to meet him and they bounced him back two yards. In doing so, no one grabbed the elusive Lobo who spun completely around and engineered his way down the sidelines 43 precious yards for the insurance marker. The triumph enabled Longview to hang on to second place in the district standings and set the stage for their next Friday battle with league-leading Marshall. Tickets for that one go on sale here Tuesday morning. After getting off to an unimpressive start, the Lobo forward wall buckled down and held Tyler to a lone first down in the entire second half. Once https://lobohistory.com, it was Tom "Spike" Bufkin - the 150-pound Watch-charm guard - who led the raid up front. Jus McRee turned in his best performance to date on the right wing and big Charley Malone flashed brilliantly on occasion. Elsewhere along the line, Darrell Cox, Carlos Griffin, Lemmons and rangy Bill Shaw turned in commendable jobs. |