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| TEXARKANA - It took a red hot Texarkana eleven with a frightening two-point lead to finally thaw Longview's frost-bitten Lobos in the final period of a crucial District 8-AAAA game here Friday night, but the Lobos came through the winning gate like a locomotive when the going was rough.
A 14-8 victory sent Lobo stock soaring in district with two wins and no losses so far. It sunk the Tigers into a three loss, no win hole difficult to see out of. Longview grabbed an early 6-0 lead but seemed to be content with stopping Tiger offensives through-out the first half and during the third period. The Tigers set the stage for a fired-up brand of ball early in the final period when they blasted downfield for a touchdown and a point-after to snatch the lead with a 8-6 margin. But as if aroused from deep slumber the Lobo gang followed up with four straight first downs from kickoff and seized a final 14-8 tally. Halfback Douglas Bruner went one yard to get the first touchdown, and a halfback Ray Chancelor proved his worth with a 17-yard scamper for the second score. Fullback Larry Shoemaker and quarterback Kim Flint helped provide the offensive difference that put the Tigers out of running this season. And guard Jerry Earnhardt's three years experience came in mighty handy on defense when the chips were down. Bruner, likewise, probably saved the game when he leaped and knocked down a third period Tiger pass in the end zone. During the first half Texarkana's forward wall crumbled under terrific pounding by Mobbs, Bruner and Shoemaker just one time. But, it held tight to allow the Lobos to move but stopping short all attempts at scoring. The lone first-half touchdown came the first time Longview got the ball, ending a hard-driving 74-yard series. Mobbs and Bruner took turns on short slabs to drive 24 yards. Mobbs pulled a switch into quarterbacking with a seven-yard toss o end Mike DeLatin, and Bruner took his turn at the aerial controls with a pass to Mobbs for 28 more yards. Shoemaker and Bruner took handoffs to pick up another first down on two plays and set play on the Tiger three. Bruner hit center for two yards and then blasted across for the final three feet. The scoring play came 10 minutes deep in the first quarter. On a pass try for points Flint missed Shoemaker. Coach Jim Gray's boys punched downfield on two other goal-bound drives during the first period but both fizzled, one on a fumble by Shoemaker on the Tiger 34 and the other came to a screeching halt on the Tiger 30. In the third period the Lobos pushed to the Tiger 21 before stalling here. It was during the drive that Bruner went around left end for a 21-yard sparkler that made him look like an All-American in high school logs. The Lobos tried their first field goal, with quarterback Don Petty getting his toe into pigskin but the ball failed sadly far to the left. Texarkana started its touchdown drive just before the third quarter ended and kept punching until the clock had ticked off four mites into the fourth quarter. Tiger halfback Gary Moss, fullback Bobby Cox and quarterback Raymond Van took turns at the controls to smash 73 yards downfield on nine plays. They stayed on the ground all the way. Van skipped through the line on a keeper fro nine yards out to pick up the six points and stayed in the limelight with a pass to halfback Jim Sanders for the two points. That put the Tigers out in front 8-6. The hot Tiger offensive thawed the Lobo crew as if a blowtorch had been touched to their seat. Chancelor started his new spirited teammates on glory road with a 17-yard run from the kickoff. Flint hit Mobbs for eight yards, and Bruner and Shoemaker picked up 19 on linebacking dashes. Mobbs upped the gain 10 more yards on a twisting, charging run to finally set play on the Tiger 17. Chancelor drew the long straw during the huddle and flashed over a broken field 17 yards to cross the goal stripe standing up. The winning touchdown series covered 85 yards in just three minutes. Shoemaker made the Tiger wound sting with a two-point gaining run. But the ballgame didn't end until after the Tigers had scared the living daylights out of Longview's eleven with a blast of steam fired by a Longview fumble and Texarkana recovery. About two minutes remaining in play. that fumble was made by Flint when he started a handoff play on the Longview 17. Luckily, though, the nippy air had gotten to the Tiger fingers as well and Earnhardt hit Van so hard he turned loose the pigskin and Bruner pounced on it. The Lobos played safe on five plays, picking up a first down, and Flint was looking at the clock from huddle when the timepiece clicked to a stop. |