|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
||
|
|
| LONGVIEW - As late as midway through the fourth quarter, cross-town rivals Longview and Pine Tree had settled nothing. Nothing but hard knocks and exciting football.
But, then Longview's offense executed two big plays and in between the Mean Green defense was doing its thing as the Lobos won the first-ever city championship, 26-12. Quarterback Victor McGee threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another. Chuck Tomberlain kicked a 29-yard field goal and Thomas Brown blocked a punt adding a safety to the Lobo scoring cause. But the big plays were a 62-yard pass from McGee to Melvin Lewis which broke a 12-12 standoff with 4:55 left to play and a 53-yard rushing burst by freshmen Clifford Ward, making his first varsity assignment a little more exciting, which set up McGee's two-yard keeper with only 18 seconds remaining. The first-ever meeting between the two Longview schools was filled with exciting plays for both teams and a paid crowd of 6,880. The victory gives the Lobos a 5-4-1 season record, lifts them to 3-4 in the 14-AAAA race and ends the bad-luck green pants saga. The players elected to wear the green for only the second time since the heartbreaking 1975 state semifinal loss against Odessa Permian. The defeat finishes Pine Tree's first try in AAAA at 4-5-1. The Bucs drop to 2-5 in 14-AAAA. This is only the second losing football season in the last 20 years for Pine Tree. The Pirates scored first in the contest following a Rex Owens fumble and a recovery by Phillip Mann on the first play of the game. Bobby Evans, who aded a 30-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the half, booted a 36-yard field goal to put the Bucs ahead, 3-0. Longview came back to put its first points on the board with 10:38 remaining in the half when McGee capped a 72-yard, 11-play march with an eight-yard scoring strike to Mack Faggett. Tomberlain added the extra point giving the Lobos a 7-3 edge. Evans booted his second field goal of the contest right before the half when a 71-yard, 16-play drive bogged down. Tomberlain hit his three pointer with 4:11 in the third quarter to give the Lobos a four-point cushion, 10-6. Pine Tree's fourth quarter touchdown was a result of a little trickery as Stan Spencer scooted 40 yards on a short punt snap to Scott Smith, who handed to his blocking mate. Spencer got the jump on the fake and outran the pursuing Lobos for the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed. Pine Tree led 12-10. On Pine Tree's next punt Thomas Brown, coming from the right side, was untouched and blocked Larry Reynold's punt at the 22, knocking the ball out of the end zone for a safety with 5:02 left in the game. Longview's offense got the first of the two big plays on the first down play following the kickoff as McGee raised up and hit Lewis, who was wide open. Lewis turned the pass into a 62-yard touchdown. After Pine Tree's ensuing drive was stopped when Faggett sacked quarterback David McMullen for a nine-yard loss moments later, Longview took the ball at the 40. On the second play, Ward went over right tackle for 33 yards setting up the final touchdown minutes later as McGee's sweep right. |