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| LONGVIEW - Longview's game plan was simple. Just give the football to tailback Joe Johnson and let him run, run, run.
The 6'1, 190-pound junior made the most of his 31 carries here at Lobo Stadium Friday night, piling up 190 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns as the Lobos crushed Nacogdoches, 25-14. The victory is Longview's third straight over District 13-AAAAA opponents and keeps them in a tie with Pine Tree at the top of the standings. The Dragons fall for the second time in three loop outings. Johnson got the scoring started on the Lobos' opening possession. He took a pitch from quarterback Eric Harris at the Longview 26, broke a tackle at midfield and then broke outside on his way to a 74-yard touchdown. The Dragons came right back and mounted a 72-yard drive to the Lobo 20. But from there John Baker missed a field goal try. Nacogdoches was driving again in the second quarter, but Longview's Tarodney Robertson picked off the first of two Chuck Winfree passes. He brought the ball back 34 yards. The Lobos promptly mounted a 69-yard, eight play drive resulting in Johnson's second touchdown on a 4-yard plunge. Just before the end of the half, Longview began another short touchdown march. This time, senior tight end Marlin Myers made a fingertip catch of a Charles Smith halfback pass, good for 57 yards and a touchdown with 1:06 left. The Dragons failed to connect before halftime, and the Lobos were in command 19-0 at half. In the second half, Winfree began connecting with split end Kenneth Smith. Winfree hit Smith late in the third quarter on a 43-yard touchdown pass, giving the Dragons a bit of life. Winfree had the offense moving again early in the fourth, but Robertson's second interception and 30-yard return qwelled the drive. Once again the turnover led to Lobo points, Longview drove 52 yards in 14 plays. O'Neal Jackson made it 25-7, charging over from the 1. Late-game heroics by Winfree and Smith resulted in another Dragon touchdown as Smith hauled in an 85-yard touchdown with less than a minute left. The highly-touted Winfree took a back seat to Longview's Harris in the first half, as the Nacogdoches signal-caller produced just 31 yards. Harris and Smith produced 92. But the defensive secondary could only slow down the Dragon passing attack for so long. Winfree finished the contest with 189 yards, completing 7 of 19. Longview finished 5 of 5 for 102. Longview's defense sacked Winfree three times. Doing the honors were Enos Brown and Keith combined on one sack, and Michael Buffins and Ronald Cleaver recorded the other two. The Nacogdoches ground game was led by Alfred Christopher, who picked up 80 yards on 13 carries. With Johnson doing most of the work, Longview's ground game ran up 259 yards. Mike Boyd came on late in the game and carried six times for 23. Jackson also ran six times and picked up 12 yards. Carlton Drain contributed 11 and Victor Crane 10. The Lobos put their unbeaten loop record on the line next week at Lufkin. The Dragons are one the road at winless Tyler Lee. |