|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
||
|
|
| NACOGDOCHES - The Nacogdoches Dragons kept their championship hopes alive in the District 4-AAA race by coming from behind to nip the Longview Lobos 14-7 here Friday night.
Sparked by tailback Bob Fowler and James Hatton and the fine all-around performance of Glynn Chancellor, a 185-pound end, the Dragons pushed over touchdowns in the second and third quarters to win after Longview had jumped into a 7-0 lead with a touchdown in the first quarter. The victory was the seventh of the season against one loss for the Nacogdoches eleven and their third in the conference race against a single defeat. The loss was Longview's fourth in eight starts and was the second in district competition against two wins. Nacogdoches held a clear edge in every department as the Dragons collected 16 first downs to 12 for Longview and had 256 yards rushing to 179 for the Lobos. The Dragons completed only one pass during the game but it accounted for the winning touchdown and their airtight defense intercepted two Longview aerials that broke up scoring bids by the Lobos. Longview took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter by scoring after recovering a fumble on the Nacogdoches 28 yard stripe. Tony Rothrock scored the touchdown when he took a pitchout and romped 10 yards around left end. Quarterback Bobby Randel converted. Nacogdoches scored early in the second quarter when Hatton took a handoff from Fowler and raced 59 yards for a touchdown. Chancellor kicked the extra point to tie the score. A 40-yard pass play from Clifford Faulkner to Chancellor late in the third quarter gave the Dragons the winning touchdown and Chancellor added the extra point to conclude the scoring. Longview's touchdown came with 4:45 left to play in the first quarter. Jim Reed, a 195-pound Longview tackle, recovered Fowler's fumble on the Nacogodches' 28 yard line to set up the first touchdown of the game. After Reed's recovery, Rothrock skirted left end for nine yards and Randel rammed over center for a first down on the Dragons' 18 yard stripe. Rothrock picked up four yards at right tackle and Roy Taylor added four more at left tackle after which Rothrock took a pitchout from Randel and circled left end from the 10-yard line for the touchdown. Randell's extra point put Longview in front, 7-0. Late in the first quarter, Longview launched another scoring threat that reached the Nacogdoches 19 before the Dragons recovered a fumble to stymie the drive. Taking a punt on their own 34 yard stripe, the Lobos picked up three first downs to barge into Nacodoches territory but Billy Rogers, a 197-pound Nacogdoches tackle, recovered a fumble on his own 19 to break the threat up. Five plays alter Hatton took a handoff from Fowler on his own 41 yard line and smashed over left tackle, broke into the open and raced 59 yards for a touchdown. Chancellor kicked the extra point to tie the score 7-7. The Lobos busted two other mild threats in the closing stages of the second quarter but neither paid off. One of them bogged down when Chancellor intercepted a Longview pass on the Nacogdoches 29 and another failed just before the end of the half when Longview reached the Dragon 38 yard stripe but Randel was thrown for losses of four and 15 yards on pass attempt as the half ended. Longview apparently had another scoring threat going early in the third quarter but once again a fumble broke it up. The Lobos reached the Nacogdoches 36 but Bo Roberts pounced on a loose ball for the Dragons at that point to stop Longview. From their own 36, the Dragons drove 64 yards in five plays for a touchdown. Most of the yardage came on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Faulkner to Chancellor. Faulkner fired a 25 yard heave to Chancellor who took the ball in the clear on Longview's 15 and raced over untouched to score. Chancellor kicked the extra point to put Nacogodches in front 14-7. The Lobos had still another chance late in the third period when Randel kicked to the Nacogdoches 16 and the Dragons were penalized to their own one for clipping after which Fowler kicked out to the Nacogdoches 36. On the first play after that, however, Chancellor once again intercepted Randel's pass and returned it to the Dragons' 40. Nacogodches made a serious threat early in the fourth period without scoring with Fowler, James Smith and Hatton pacing the drive. The Dragons marched to Longview's 14 yard line with a first down but stalled there. Fowler lost two on a fumble and Faulkner was thrown for a 17 yard loss on an attempted pass. Two other passes went incomplete and the Lobos took over on their own 33. Longview had one more scoring gesture up its sleeve but that too fizzled out late in the game when the Lobos reached the Nacogdoches 20 mainly on the fine running of Dub Thomas, but the Drano's held for downs to take over when three Longview passes fell incomplete. After the Dragons gained possession on the 29, they lost no time in putting the game out of Longview's reach by starting a drive deep into Longview territory while time ran out and reached the 27 yard stripe of the Lobos at the final whistle. |