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| ABILENE - The opportunities were there for the taking, but always just out of reach for Longview here Friday night as a fired up Abilene bunch held off Class AAAAA's 10th ranked team to grab a 20-15 upset victory.
Abilene trailed twice in the game, after the opening kickoff when Longview's Henry Shaw scampered 85 yards on the return and after the Lobos grabbed a 15-14 lead on a 27-yard field goal with 10 minutes left to play. And every minute in between, the Eagles found themselves up against a wall trying to hold onto slim advantages. Although the Lobos trailed most of the time, it seemed as though they would break it open at any moment after driving within a half-foot of the Abilene goal line on one occasion, later down to the 19, the 14 and the 10-yard line again, only to be turned back time and again. Despite seeing these gifts taken away by an Abilene defense that seemed to rise to the occasion when needed, it looked like Longview would pull out a win anyway when line backer Pat Collier hit Eagles tailback Ron Lewis at the Abilene 13, forcing a fumble that was recovered by John Northcutt. The carry by Lewis, by the way, was the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter and gave him an even 100 yards rushing for the night. Trailing at that point, 14-13, Longview went up the middle twice for 3 yards net and Shaw overthrew Michael Govan in the end zone on third-and-seven to set up Longview's second field goal attempt of the night. The first field goal attempt was disaster as Wes McWhorter never got a shot at the ball after the snap from enter was off target and never reached the tee. That came with 9:43 to go in the first half and Abilene in front 7-6. So when McWhorter lined up a 27-yarder with the Lobos down by two, 14-12, there was some doubt as to whether or not the junior could get a chance at becoming the game's hero. The snap was true, and so was McWhorter's kick. However, as they had done after Shaw's opening kickoff return where Abilene commenced to mount a drive down to the Longview 7 only to have a 30-yard field goal attempt blocked by Donnie Centers, the Lobo defense paused to soak up the glory following McWhorter's field goal. The Eagles took the ensuing kickoff and drove 74 yards in 12 plays, with quarterback Steve Stacy providing the margin of victory with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Russell Christian on third-and-goal with five minutes to play. The win avenged a 21-13 Longview victory over Abilene last year and gave both teams 2-1 predistrict worksheets, with both teams opening district play in two weeks. No matter what they tried, the Lobos seemed doomed throughout the game. Even after returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, the effort was almost negated when Lewis carried the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to midfield. Then, after Centers blocked Abilene's field goal attempt, Longview saw its third muffed punt snap of the year go over McWhorter's head for a 41-yard loss back to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Stacy drove over from a yard out and then kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead. Longview then stormed back, driving 62 yards in 13 plays. |