LONGVIEW VS MARSHALL
TEAMS
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
FINAL
LONGVIEW
0
0
7
7
14
MARSHALL
0
0
0
0
0
INFORMATION
Maverick Stadium
Marshall, Texas
Friday, October 26th, 1984
District 13-5A
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM
QUARTER
PLAYER
YARDS
TYPE
Longview
3rd
Joe Johnson
1
Run
Longview
4th
Eric Harris
1
Run
GAME STATISTICS
STATISTIC
LONGVIEW
MARSHALL
First Downs
14
11
Rushing Yards
175
144
Passing Yards
-2
37
Passes
1-8-1
5-16-1
Punts
4-33.5
5-32.2
Fumbles/Lost
4-2
3-1
Penalties
3-34
6-49
LONGVIEW CAPTURES WIN OVER MAVERICKS, 14-0
MARSHALL - Weird.

That's the best description for Longview's 14-0 victory over Marshall here Friday night.

Longview was out gained by Marshall; was held to a minus 2 yards passing; fumbled twice deep in Maverick territory and with all their explosive skill on offense, the turning point came on a play by defensive end Huey Blackmon.

Weird.

About the only thing not out of the ordinary was the fact Longview won, continuing its dominance over the Mavericks who haven't beaten the Lobos since 1968. Longview also took an inside track at making the playoffs.

Wins in its final two games against John Tyler and Pine Tree would assure Longview (7-1, 4-1) at least a second place finish in District 13-AAAAA.

However, Longview appeared in deep trouble as the Lobos struggled to a 0-0 halftime deadlock. Thoughts of Longview's 6-0 upset loss to Texas High came to mind as the third quarter began.

The Lobos, though, were thinking differently.

Twice fumbles ended Longview threats.

First, Eric Harris fumbled at the Mavs' 37 after an 11-yard run to one end drive and later Leon Hendrix fumbled at the Marshall 18 after returning John Craig's punt 32 yards.

Two plays later, though, Marshall running back E.G. Roberts lost control of the ball and it popped in the air. Blackmon grabbed it in mid-air at the 32 and the burly lineman returned it to the Mavs' 5-yard line.

"I was just thinking of scoring basically," Blackmon said. "I thought I had it (touchdown) for awhile."

Laughed Longview coach Doug Cox: "I knew he could run that fast. He was kicking it into high gear."

The Lobos scored three plays later when Joe Johnson, who was held to just 62 yards, dived over the line, ala Herschal Walker, into the end zone. Jason Baird's PAT made it 7-0 with 5:21 showing in the third period.

Longview held Marshall on its ensuing possession and took over at the Mavericks' 47-yard line.

From there they mixed running plays between Johnson, Harris and Clifford Powell and moved steadily downfield. The 11-play drive finally climaxed with Harris sneaking over from the 1-yard line. Baird's PAT gave the Lobos a 14-0 cushions with 11:18 left to play.

Hendrix later intercepted a pass and returned it to the Marshall 44, making it look as if Longview was about to put the game away.

But looks can be deceiving and Marshall was in business when it sacked Harris for a 18-yard loss back to midfield on fourth down.

Marshall marched downfield and had a first and goal at the 7 and eventually moved to the 1.

Tommy Taylor blitzed in and threw DeFreeze for a loss on third down, but the Lobos were called for a penalty.

With new life everyone was wondering if Marshall would got for the two point conversion and then try an onside kick.

Everyone except Longview's defense.

DeFreeze was stopped cold on a quarterback sneak and then on fourth down he bobbled the snap and was warmed by the Lobo defensive line to clinch the shutout.

"That was a great goal-line stand," said Cox. "I can't tell you how proud I am of those kids."

The first half was boring. Longview had 94 total yards at intermission, to Marshall's 96.

Longview's best scoring attempt ended when Baird's 43-yard field goal attempt fell short. Marshall's lone threat ended on downs at the Longview 33 when DeFreeze threw two consecutive incompletions.

Perhaps the biggest play in the opening half occurred when a Harris pass was intercepted by Raymond Dunn, who brought it back into Longview territory.

But Joe Johnson knocked the ball loose from Dunn and Joel Johnson recovered at the 34.

Charles Smith followed with a 33-yard run on reverse, but Longview couldn't capitalize.