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| TEXARKANA - It happened!
You wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't seen it. Coach Tommy Hudspeth's Lobo saw it, and they would just as soon forget it. Texarkana's Watty Myers saw it and loved every minute of it. It was that kind of night in this Twin City. Coach Myers had his Tigers so fired up Saturday night that they thumped Longview's Lobos 14-7 in a District 13-AAAA contest. That's right! it is not a typographical error, but the actual score. You can say one good thing, Tommy, the Lobos are going to have to be a better ball club after having played Texarkana. The Lobos, who are ranked No. 7 and 9 in several of the grid polls, have nothing to be ashamed of. They gave a good account of themselves. They tried, and that is all you can ask of them. This is the first regular season defeat for the Lobos in 15 games. No need playing this one again, Lobos. They won, fairly, squarely, manfuly, more skillfully. The Tigers had it all the way. Texarkana is the only undefeated team left in District 13-AAAA with a 3-0-0 record. The Lobos are second with a 3-1-0 mark. This was the first victory over Longview since 1965 here in Grim Stadium when the Tigers posted a 25-13 victory. The Lobos beat at Longview in Lobo Stadium in 1966, 28-13, and last year the Lobos came through with a 42-0 win in the Twin City. Texarkana proved Saturday night that a stubborn defense combined with an explosive offense earns nothing but gridiron victories. Coach Myers' Tigers were hit and tackle hard by the Lobos. Coach Myers can't say "an old dirty Tiger scored the Lobos." The Lobos put the leather to the Tigers. But the Tigers gained more breaks in the game than the Lobos. However, breaks were made by the Tigers. They just wanted the victory a little more. Texarkana is by far the best club the Lobos have faced in the 1968 season. They have a well balanced offense and one of the better quarterbacks in the league in Mike Stevens. He is a winner. Speaking of Stevens, 176 pound senior, this lad gave the Tigers something to yell about. The Lobos won the toss of the coin and elected to receive. Bill Tate kicked for the Tigers. Billy Price took the ball on the 15 and returned to the 19 before the Tigers nailed him to the turf. Quarterback Roland Whitehurst pulled his Lobos to order. Fullback Ray Wright who carried the ball 18 times for 105 yards, carried to the 26 and then carried to the 47 of Longview for a gain of 21 and a first down. From the 47, the Lobos didn't do so well. Price was stopped in his tracks. Then Wright went off tackle to the 48 of the Tigers and Whitehurst, on a keeper went to the 46 for two. It was fourth down and Whitehurst punted the ball down field. Ricky Sandlin took the ball at the 14 and was pushed back to the 13. Quarterback Stevens too the snap from center Johnny Green like he was going to pass. He went to his left and then cut down the sideline for an 87-yard run and a touchdown. This nearly shocked the Tiger fans out of the stadiums. The Lobo fans were speechless. Bill Tate added the extra point, and the Tigers had a 7-0 lead with 9:25 waiting on the clock in the first quarter. With 5:54 left before halftime, the Tigers became robbers. Defensive lineman Reuben Atkin of Texarkana reached his big Tiger hand into the side of tailback PRice and stole the ball at the 30-yard line of Longview and turned on the speed and scored Texarkana's second touchdown of the night. Tate's kick was good and the Tigers had a 14-0 lead. Tate kicked off and Billy Price took the ball on the 15 and returned to the 33. The Lobos marched 67 yards (30 of those yards were against the Tigers in penalties) for their lone touchdown of the night. Tailback Alton Coley went off right tackle from four yards out for the touchdown with 1:31 before half-time. Ralph Blount's kick was good and the Lobos were in the game 14-7. With 10:24 left in the game, the Lobos took over on their own 22-yard line. Quarterback Whitehurst and the Lobos looked like they were going to score for sure, however, the drive died on fourth down at the 20-yard line and the Tigers took over. Then with 1:37 left to go, the Lobos started another drive at the 43 of the Lobos. As the buzzer sounded to end the game, the Lobos were at the 16 of Texarkana. The Lobos are far from being out of the race for the district championship. The Lobos will be back. |