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| DENISON - The vaunted speed of the Denison Yellowjackets could never get started in the face of a fierce-charging Longview ford wall but the Lobos were not able to put together a scoring drive of their own and the two teams battled to a 0-0 deadlock here Friday night in the second game of the season.
The Yellowjackets, who pin their hopes for a winning season of a high stepping backfield, couldn't get within shooting distance of the Longview goal line all night. Whenever Denison tried to turn on its heralded speed on end sweeps and off-tackle smashes the Lobos simply came up with speed of their own to match. Longview got some blazing defensive end play from David Tutt, David Duncan and Lee Gresham and bristling performances in the middle of the line from George Hogan, who played with an injured hand that was heavily taped, Jimmie Wallace, Steve Kiergan, Woody Myers and Andy Malone. Gresham, who has never laid claim to being a speed merchant, was a thorn in the side of the Yellowjackets supposedly faster backfield all through the game. The stocky little wingman, who was out all last year as the result of an injury before the season even opened, continually broke through to smear the Jacket ball carries. He frequently nailed them before they could get started, and even when he came up to challenge them in the open their speed never got them by Gresham. The only time Denison made a mild scoring threat was early in the third quarter when the Jackets took the second half kickoff and marched 53 yards in 10 plays to reach Longview's 27-yard stripe. The drive died there, however, when Gresham smeared Melvin for a two-yard loss and Larry shoemaker broke through to toss quarterback Jerry Nelson for a six-yard loss. Gresham stopped Nelson again for no gain and the ball finally went over to the Lobos on their own 30-yard line after Denison wound up with a net loss of three yards for four rushing plays. The Lobos, who collected 13 first downs to 10 for Denison and held a substantial lead in yardage gained on the ground, frequently threatened but just as often ran into a stout defense that refused to yield when the Jackets found their backs to the wall. Longview threatened the very first time the Lobos got the ball on the opening kickoff, only to see the scoring thrust nalted by a fumble. After a pass from quarterback Bill Bolger to end Robert Gillock and two running plays by fullback Eddie Cooper gave the Lobos a first down, Bolger whipped a 23-yard pass to halfback Harry Moore for another first down on Denison's 15-yard line but the Jackets recovered a fumble to stem the tide. Late in the first quarter Longview started another scoring drive that reached all the way to Denison's 11-yard line early in the second period before it bogged down when quarterback Bob Abney was stopped without a gain on a fourth down plunge at center. A 66-yard punt by Gillock that rolled dead at the Denison nine-yard line put the Jackets back in a deep hole later in the first quarter After Gillock's booming punt Denison tried to run the ball out of danger and Malone recovered a fumble for the Lobos on the Jackets' 13-yard line. Billy Coley, Cooper and Moore moved the ball to the Denison one but on fourth down there Melvin tripped Moore from behind on the fourth and the ball went over the Jackets. Longview launched one more mild threat midway through the fourth quarter largely on the strength of some fine running by Sophomore halfback Shoemaker but the march died on the Denison 25 when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. Two of Denison's first downs came on passes and another on a 15-yard penalty for roughing the ball carrier. The Jackets made only four first downs in the first half, when their offense was completely smothered by Longview's dazzling line play. They couldn't do much better in the last half and their heralded speed never was a menace to the hard-charging defense of the Lobos. |