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| LONGVIEW - Hamstrung by narrow defeats in the first two District 4-3A games, the Longview Lobos went on their biggest scoring spree of the season to batter the Nacogdoches Dragons in a conference engagement here Friday night, 40-7. It was the third consecutive district loss for the Dragons and the sixth defeat they have suffered this season.
No more than six players contributed to the Longview scoring machine with five different backs chalking up a touchdown each for the Lobos and an end scored the other as Longview romped to a convincing victory while co-captain Tony Rothroth speedy halfback and the leading scorer for the consecutive seasons, saw no offensive plays at all because of illness. Rothrock did make a token appearance in the game just briefly after he entered the line up long enough to hold the ball for Marvel Byrd when the longview tackle and co-captain booted one of four extra points for the Lobos. Three sophomores, fullback Pete Burks, quarterback Bill Bolger and halfback Harry Moore, accounted for half of Longview's six touchdowns while the other three were scored by halfbacks Boots Cashell and George Stone and end Curtis Lemmonds. The touchdown by Lemmonds was his third in the two games, all of them from the hands of quarterback Jerry Crawford. The Lobos rolled up a 27-0 lead when Nacogodches scored its lone touchdown on the final play of the half and then methodically pushed across a touchdown in each of the last two quarters to pull away. Coach Catfish Smith started bringing in his Longview reserves in the second quarter and used every play in uniform during the contest after the Lobos obviously had clinched the decision with two touchdowns in each of the first two periods. Cashell, who started at left half back in place of ailing Rothrock, had the longest scoring run of the night when he faced 47 yards for Longview's second touchdown in the first quarter after seeing up the first one a few minutes earlier with a 42-yard jaunt. The slender speed merchant also intercepted two Nacogdoches passes and batted away three others during the course of the evening. The Lobos held just as wide a margin in the statistics as they did in the score. The Longview eleven rolled up 22 first downs to nine for Nacogdoches and had a total net yardage of 402 to 210 for Nacogdoches. The Longview defense was sharped than in possibly nay other game this season as the Lobos limited the Dragons to a net gain of only 75 yards on the ground, although the losers managed to pick up another 135 through the air. Longview's rushing attack was tremendous as the winners rolled up 357 net yards on the ground and added only 45 yards through the air as they threw no more than six passes and completed half of them. After kicking off to Nacogdoches to open the game, the Lobos got a scorpion opportunity on the first play from scrimmage when Cashell intercepted quarterback Loworn Posky's pass and returned it to the Nacogdoches 33-yard line. On Longview's first play from scrimmage, however, Nacogodches recovered a fumble as the ball changed hands twice on the opening two plays. The next time the Lobos gained possession, however, they blasted their way 65 yards for a touchdown in six plays. Most of the yardage was reeled off by Cashell when he took a pitchout from quarterback Jerry Crawford and raced 42 yards around right end to the Nacogdoches 10-yard line before he was forced out fo bounds by Tommy Shephard. On the next play Burks took a handoff from Crawford and slammed over right tackle standing up for the first touchdown of the game with six minutes and 49 seconds left to play in the first quarter. Byrd place-kicked the extra point to put Longview in front, 7-0. Longview scored again the next time the Lobos got the ball after Shephard's short punt traveled only 12 yards and went out of bounds on Longview's 48. Two plays later Cashell took another pitchout from Crawford and went 47 yards around right end for another score. Cashell got beautiful blocking on the play and when one Nacogdoches tackler slipped through to grab him, Cashell twisted away, cut back toward the middle of the field and went the remainder of the way untouched. Byrd again kicked the extra point to hike Longview's lead to 14-0 when the first quarter ended two minutes and 53 seconds later. Just as the opening period ended Cashell set the stage for Longview's third touchdown early in the second quarter when he intercepted another Nacogodches pass and scampered back 21 yards to the Dragons' 30. In three plays the Lobos drove to the Nacogdoches 12 but on the next three tries they were driven back to the 19. On fourth down Crawford dropped back and fired a pass to Lemmonds, who took the ball over his shoulder on the five and dragged one tackler into the end zone with him to score. Billy Holloway blocked Byrd's kick on the try for extra point. Longview struck for its fourth touchdown late in the second quarter. Back to punt for Nacogdoches on fourth down, Terry Raspberry decided instead to try to run but was dropped by guard Jerry Hawley and the Lobos took over the ball on their own 46. Stone reeled off 21 yards around right end and then Moore, Crawford, Stone and Burks collaborated in driving on down to the Nacogdoches one, from where Stone jumped over right tackle to score with only 36 seconds remaining in the half. Byrd kicked the extra point to boost Longview's lead to 27-0. In the remaining 36 seconds, however, the Dragons quickly drove for their only touchdown of the game as they marched 66 yards on three quick pass plays. Posky fired an 18-yard pass to Holloway and then connected with fullback Tommy Luna for 30 more to the Longview 18. Then on the final play fo the half Posky passed 18 yards to Lune for the score just as time ran out. Luna was injured on the play and was removed to Gregg Hospital in an ambulance. Examination at the hospital revealed that the Nacogdoches player suffered a pulled ligament in his right leg. End Monroe Brewer kicked the extra point for the Dragons to cut Longview's lead to 27-7 at the half. Midway through the third period the Lobos apparently were headed for another touchdown as Burks blazed 34 yards over left tackle to the Nacogdoches 16 and then Stone slammed through to the three but Shephard recovered a fumble at the point for the Dragons. The respite was only temporary for Nacogodches, however, as three plays later Burks and sophomore tackle Gene Pierce pounced on a Dragon fumble on the Nacogdoches 15-yard line and the Lobos scored in six plays with Bolger ripping over center from the one for the touchdown with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Byrd booted the extra point from placement for a 34-7 lead for Longview. Nacogdoches threatened early in the fourth period when the Dragons, with the aid of a 30-yard pass from Troy Burch to Raspberry and another from Shephard to Burch for 14 yards, reached Longview's 13. Guard Jerome Waits recovered a fumble for the Lobos there and the losers were never able to muster a sustained drive after. Following Waits' recovered on the Longview 13, the Lobos put on a sustained march of their own that went all the way to the Dragons' 12-yard line before finally bogging down when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. The drive was highlighted by a gamble that paid off on fourth down. With Longview holding the ball on the Nacogdoches 40-yard stripe and needing 22 yards on fourth down, the Lobos did not punt and instead sent fullback Dub Thomas blasting over right tackle for 23 yards to pick up the needed yardage for a first down. Sophomore tackle Woody Myers intercepted a Nacogdoches pass to set up Longview's sixth and final touchdown in the waning seconds of the game. Myers pulled down Burch's pass on the Nacogdoches 25 and five plays later Moore piled over right guard from the one to score with only 29 seconds remaining on the clock. Byrd's placement not he try for extra point sailed wide of the uprights. |