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| LONGVIEW - It was, at best, a futile effort.
When it was all over, two costly mistakes gave Lufkin a 14-0 victory over Longview here Friday night. The Panther win marked the first time the Lobos have ever lost in the new Lobo Stadium, snapping a 16-game home winning streak. It also knocks Longview out of the District 14-AAAA race, as the Lobos are now 0-2 in league play and 2-2-1 on the season. Lufkin is 1-1 and 3-2. If it had not been for two Longview offensive miscues, backed up by one colossal defensive lapse, the game more than likely would have been a very boring 0-0 affair. As it was, it was a boring 14-0 Lufkin. Longview wasted no time in showing how it planned to play as Ed Johnson fumbled the opening kickoff and Lufkin's Tim Adams fell on the ball at the Lobo 34. Eight plays later, tailback Robert Edwards crashed in from the one fro the touchdown. After Lee Alexander added the extra point, Lufkin led, 7-0, with only 3:23 gone in the game. From that point until near the end of the first half, both teams were content to run three plays and punt. It was then that Longview decided to play giveaway again. With a first down at its own 28 and 20 seconds remaining in the first half, quarterback Victor McGee went back to pass and lofted a high lob toward the center of the field that was perfectly thrown into the arms of Lufkin defensive back Albert Lynch, who returned the ball to the Lobo 34. Lufkin quarterback Ronnie Blake, who was held to only 28 yards on 22 carries, took the snap from center and rolled to his left uncontested by a Lobo pass rush. It was only fitting, however, since the Longview secondary was asleep also. Blake found David Hennessey wide open in the first left corner of the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Alexander again added the PAT, and that closed out the scoring for the night. Longview's offense did perk up at times in the second half, although it took the running of an injured back to provide the spark. Sammy Lanier, who did not start at tailback due to a bruised shoulder, finished as the game's leading rusher with 88 yards on 17 carries. Actually, Lanier broke a 56-yard run on Longview's second possession that would've given the Lobos a first down at the 20, but a lineman was detected clipping at the Panther 40 to put the ball back on the Lobo 45 and hold Lanier to a 17-yard gian. The Lobo offense was sporadic, as the Lufkin defense poured in past the line of scrimmage on nearly every down. McGee finished only three of nine passing, with two interceptions. |