LONGVIEW VS PALESTINE
TEAMS
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
FINAL
LONGVIEW
7
0
7
6
20
PALESTINE
7
12
0
21
40
INFORMATION
Luckett-Kolstad Field
Palestine, Texas
Friday, October 8th, 1954
Non-District
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM
QUARTER
PLAYER
YARDS
TYPE
Longview
1st
Roy Taylor
1
Run
Palestine
1st
Carl Ward
1
Run
Palestine
2nd
Robert Reed
1
Run (Miss PAT)
Palestine
2nd
John Ousley
28
Pass (Miss PAT)
Longview
3rd
Chuck Brown
22
Pass
Palestine
4th
Glen Woods
17
Pass
Longview
4th
Roy Taylor
37
Pass (Miss PAT)
Palestine
4th
Alfred Weir
8
Run
Palestine
4th
Glen Woods
27
Fumble Return
GAME STATISTICS
STATISTIC
LONGVIEW
PALESTINE
First Downs
19
25
Rushing Yards
114
186
Passing Yards
167
217
Passes
13-23-1
12-16-0
Punts
1-/
Fumbles/Lost
/-1
/-3
Penalties
5-55
4-50
PALESTINE WILDCATS TROUNCE LOBOS, 40-20
PALESTINE - Combining the brilliant passing of quarterback Alfred Weir with the pile driving smashes of fullback Carl Ward and halfback Robert Reed, the versatile Palestine Wildcats fought off the stubborn Longview Lobos for three quarters and then went on a there-touchdown scoring spree in the final period to capture a wild 40-20 victory before an overflow crowd of 5,000 here Friday night.

It was still anybody's game at the three quarter mark with the Wildcats holding an insecure 19-14 lead at the fourth period began, but the Palestine eleven turned an intercepted pass into one touchdown, scored another on a rare stolen ball play by end Glen Woods and took to the air for another to wrap up the decision.

It was Palestine third straight victory after a tie and one defeat to open the season while the loss was the second for the Lobos who had won their last two in a row.

The Lobos scored the first time they got het ball when halfback Tony Rothrock recovered a fumble on Longview's 46 yard line on the opening kickoff return by the Wildcats. The Longview eleven need just 11 plays to go 54 yards for a touchdown with halfback Roy Taylor plunging over center from the one just four minutes and 36 seconds deep into the quarter. Quarterback Bobby Randel converted from placement to give the Lobos a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats registered their first touchdown with two minutes left in the first quarter by driving 72 yards with the aid of a 15 yard roughing penalty against Longview which gave Palestine a fist down on the Lobos' one. Ward hit tackle for the touchdown and Tony Dressell converted to tie the score 7-7 at the end of the quarter.

Taking a punt on their own 13 the home club marched 87 yards to score again early in the second period. A 45 yard jaunt over tackle by Ward highlighted the drive with Reed plowing over from the one for the touchdown. Dressell's attempted placement ton the try for extra point was blocked by Danny Woodward.

Palestine's third touchdown came with only nine seconds remaining in the half to climax a 75 yard drive. Longview had threatened when Pat Sisk recovered a fumble on Palestine's 39 and the Lobos pushed down to the 19 before the Wildcats shoved them back to their 25 and took over to launch a passing attack in a successful effort to beat the clock.

This time Palestine used only four plays to hit pay dirt once again with the aid of a 15 yard penalty against Longview, this time for illegal use of the hands. Two passes from Weir to John Ousley ate up 62 yards of the distance, the second good for 28 yards and a touchdown. Dressell failed to convert and Palestine led at the half, 19-7.

The Lobos held Palestine scoreless in the third quarter, in which the Wildcats punted for their first and only time during the game. Just before the end of the period, longview hit for its second touchdown after Woodard recovered a fumble on Palestine's 36 yard stripe. A 22 yard pass from Randel to end Chuck Brown accounted for the score after which Randel converted again to whittle Palestine's lead to 19-14 as the fourth quarter opened.

The Wildcats however were not through by any means and Weir took to the air to strike quickly for their fourth touchdown. A pass from Weir to Ward was good for 31 yards and three plays later Weird whipped a 17 yard pass to Woods for the score. Dressell kicked the extra point to stretch Palestine's margin to 26-14.

A daring gamble paid off for Longview a few minutes later to help the Lobos chalk up their third touchdown. With the ball deep in Longview territory on fourth down 15 yards to go, Randel caught Palestine's defense napping and whipped a 28 yard pass to Brown for a first down on the Wildcats' 37 yard stripe. On the next play Randel passed to Taylor for the remaining distance two minutes and 44 seconds deep in the final quarter. Randel's kick on the extra point was wide.

Palestine launched another scoring threat that reached Longview's 17 yard line before the Lobos held for downs. Trying to strike quickly, Randel went to the air but Reed intercepted the pass and returned it to Longview's 18. A pass interference gave the Wildcats a first down on the seven with Weird going over center from the six two plays later to score. Dressell converted to put Palestine ahead 33-20.

Following the succeeding kickoff Randel passed to Taylor for a first down but on the next play when Randel tried to pass again Woods stole the ball on Longview's 27 yard line and raced into the end zone untouched. Dressell again converted to end the scoring.

Actually, Woods didn't snatch the ball from Randel's hand, but it amounted to almost the same thing. When the Longview quarterback faded to pass, a charging Palestine lineman hit his arm to shake the ball from his grasp and Woods grabbed it just as it was jostled from Randel's hand.

Woods' unusual touchdown, however, was strictly anti-climatic, since the Wildcats clinched the decision a few minutes earlier when Weird scored their fifth touchdown after Reed's pass interception. Incidentally, it was the only pass interception by either team in the contest.

Until the interception, which came with less than three minutes remaining in the game, the Lobos still had a chance to pull the contest out of the fire. They had just put up a rousing defensive stand to turn back a Palestine scoring threat that had gone 73 yards in nine plays to reach Longview's eight. But there the Longview eleven those to the occasion when Ousley was thrown for a nine-yard loss on an attempted sweep of left end and three passes fell incomplete to give the Lobos the ball on their own 17.

Faced with the necessity of trying to score before time ran out, the Lobos exercised their only alternative by going to the air only to be stymied by Reed's interception. That lone interception put the game beyond reach of the visitors when the Wildcats turned it into a touchdown.

Palestine held a clear statistical edge in all departments, gaining 186 net yards rushing to 114 for Longview, and added 217 yards through the air to 167 for the Lobos. The Wildcats led in first downs, 25 to 19 and piled up a total net gain of 403 yards to 281 for Longview, marking the first time this season a team has outgunned the Lobos.