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| TEXARKANA - Ho hum, same ole Texarkana Tigers. They're just as predictable as a Roy Rogers plot.
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in the Lone Star State of Class AAAA schoolboy by the Associated Press, defeated the Longview Lobos, 25 to 13, for their third straight District 8-AAAA game and their eighth victory of the season. Longview gave the Tigers all they wanted and more here in Grim Stadium. However, the Lobos were just too inexperienced for the Number One gridders. Texarkana and Marshall will battle it out Friday night in Maverick Stadium for the district championship. The Mavericks posted a 20 to 0 victory over the Tyler Lee Red Raiders at Marshall Friday night. Longview will play host to John Tyler's Lion in Lobo Stadium Friday night, Nov. 12. The first score of the night came after Robbie Patman fumbled a Lobo punt on his own 40 yard line. He picked the ball up and ran to the outside where he fell in behind his blocking and went the distance for the score. With 3:07 left, Joe Norwood's kick attempt went astray and the Tigers led 6-0 at the end of the first period. With 7:09 left in the half, Robbie Patman climaxed a 54 yard drive as he slid off right tackle for the final two yards. Norwood attempted a pass for the extra points but it failed to click. Then, with 1:33 left, the Lobos made the scoreboard as James Street tossed a 10-yard pass to Cecil Newton. Keith Parker's kick attempt was good, and the score stood at 12-7. The Tigers took the Lobo kickoff and scored in just five plays, as Joe Norwood connected with Ronnie Mitchell on a three yard pass in the end zone. Mitchell actually caught the ball while lying flat on his back across the goal line. The scoreboard clock indicted just 29 seconds until intermission. The Tigers kickoff was carried back to the Longview 44. from that point, James Street threw a long bomb to tailback Skippy Archer who drove to the Texarkana 20. Before other play could be run though, the clock ran out. At the 10:38 mark of the third period, on a fourth and one situation, Joe Norwood took the ball around left end on a quarterback option. He faked a couple of times to draw the defensive end off guard, and then went over from the one. Norwood's kick attempt was god, and the Tigers led 25-7. The Tigers almost scored on the last play of the third period, but the ball bounced harmlessly off Robbie Patman's shoulder pad as he was moving away from the closest defender. The ball went over to the Lobos, and they finally got into the Texarkana end zone with 3:18 left in the game. On a fourth and five play, James Street threw a pass to end Mike Maberry who went over for the score. In a repeat of the same play, the extra points attempt went incomplete and the score stood at 25-13. Longview wasn't ready to give up in their attempt to overthrow the top-rated Tigers. They tried an onside kick and succeeded in recovering it on the Texarkana 48-yard line. They looked as though they were going to get the ball rolling, but a timely interception by Joe Norwood on the Tiger 34 killed the Lobo drive and their final attempt to score. The Lobos were able to cash in on the absence of Gary Ross from the Tiger defensive secondary. They threw consistently and connected frequently with receivers in that area. Nevertheless, the Tigers were able to hold James street to minus yardage during the first half, and to a mere 31 yards in the game. Fullback Lloyd Field made his first start in the Tiger backfield, and netted 81 yards in 11 tries. Joe Norwood had quite a night in addition to his pass interception late in the game, as he carried the ball 65 yards on 13 attempts. Ronnie Voltz looked like an extra jersey on the back of Street during the Lobos' offensives drives, while dusty Pitting played a noteworthy game in the Lobo defense. The game statistics indicate that the fine passing on the part of James Street kept the Lobos in the game, and gave the Mavs from Marshall an area for concentration in their forth-coming game with the Tigers next Friday night in Marshall. |