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| LONGVIEW - The Marshall Mavericks unleashed a bristling running attack and a passing attack that clicked when it was needed to battle the Longview Lobos to a 7-7 deadlock in the rain here Friday night.
The Mavericks, who lost their conference opener to Lufkin last week, scored in the opening minutes of the first quarter and nearly scored on two other occasions as they led in almost every statistical department. It was Longview's opening game of the District 8-AAAA race and proved a severe jolt to whatever title hopes the Lobos may have entertained. A Longview fumble which was recovered by Phillip Moore for Marshall on the Lobos' 47-yard line set the stage for the Mavericks' touchdown. On the first play after the recovery Gene Tenney passed 37 yards to end Mitchell Myers for a first down on the Longview 10. After Tenney picked up two, Bubba Agnor plowed over left tackle to score from the eight and Tenney plunged across for the extra point. Longview beat the clock to score its touchdown just before the end of the first half as the Lobos blocked a punt and returned it to Marshall's four-yard line, from where halfback Billy Coley flipped a pass to halfback Douglas Bruner, who was all alone in the end zone. Bob Abney, scheduled to leave early Saturday, for the funeral of his brother. Kenneth, who was killed in an Arizona plane crash Tuesday, kicked the extra point from placement to tie the score. Each team made one other serious scoring threat in the fourth quarter. The Lobos reached the Marshall two, only to have a field goal attempt blocked and the Mavericks pushed their way to the Longview one with just over two minutes remaining but were above back to the 13. Longview received the opening kickoff and when three plays lacked one yard of a first down the Lobos gambled on a fourth down running play but fumbled and Moore recovered for the Mavericks on Longview's 47-yard line. On the first play after the recovery Tenney passed to Myers for 37 yards and a first down on the Longview 10. Myers was in the clear when he took the ball but was runs own from behind. Tenney picked up two yards over left guard and then Agnor slanted over left tackle for eight yards and a touchdown. Tenney ran the extra point across to give Marshall a 7-0 lead with 9:38 left in the first quarter. Late in the opening period, the Lobos got a scoring chance when tackle George Hogan recovered a Marshall fumble on the Mavericks' 39-yard stripe but almost immediately Longview fumbled the ball back to to the visitors and tackle Glyn Born recovered for the Mavericks on his own 38-yard line. Early in the second quarter the Lobos marched 73 yards in a sustained drive without scoring. After holding for downs on their own 21-yard line the Lobos smashed their way to the Marshall six, only to be thrown back by the Mavericks who finally took over on their 12. The running of fullback Eddy Cooper and Sophomore Bruner and Larry Shoemaker highlighted the drive but when the Marshall goal line was threatened the Mavericks stiffened their defense to hold for downs. After taking over on their 12 the Mavericks picked up a first down and were shooting for another when guard David Tutt threw Bill Hudson for a six-yard loss at left and the Marshall was forced to punt. However, end Robert Gillock broke through to block Elmer Almond's kick, which Cooper picked up and returned 11 yards to the Marshall four. On the first play after the blocked punt Coley started wide to his right and then flipped a pass to Bruner in the end zone for a touchdown. Abney placed-kicked the extra point to tie the score with 53 seconds left in the half. Neither team threatened in the third quarter, although the Lobos in the latter part of that period started a drive that reached the Marshall two in the early part of the fourth quarter. A fourth down pass from Abney to Bruner on fourth down was good for 13 yards to reach the Marshall seven and keep the drive alive. Shoemaker skipped over right tackle for five but on the next play Bruner, attempted a pass, was hit on the 15 and stopped. However, he threw the pass anyway, and it was intercepted on the Marshall five by Tenney, who raced it back up the sidelines 96 yards but Bruner was ruled down on the Marshall 15 before he threw the pass and Longview retained possession of the ball at that point. Shoemaker hit right tackle for six and from the nine-yard line Mike Clark tried a field goal but it was blocked and the Mavericks recovered on their own 26-yard line. From there, the Mavericks launched a drive that almost got them the winning touchdown before it bogged down. A 13-yard scamper by Tenney and another by Moore for 23 yards moved them to Longview's six. Moore almost got away for a touchdown on his run but was driven out of bounds by Gillock short of pay dirt. Marshall advanced to the Longview one, but was set back to the six by an offside penalty. On fourth down, Gibson backed up in punt formation to attempt an apparent field goal. However, the snap from center came directly to him what looked like a pass attempt but he fumbled the ball momentarily and was smothered by guard David Tutt for a seven-yard loss to the Longview 13, where the Lobos took over. Four plays later the Mavericks recovered a fumble on Longview's 29-yard line and started shooting again for what would have been the winning touchdown. Gibson passed to Tunney for a first down on the Longview 11 and then completed another to the two but the Mavericks had an ineligible receiver downfield and were penalized back to the 26, where they had time to run only one play before the final whistle. |