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| LONGVIEW - The score sometimes doesn't always tell the story. However, that wasn't the case Friday night at Lobo Stadium as Longview completely dominated Texas High, 49-0.
Not only did Longview tally 49 points on the scoreboard, but rolled up a season-high 406 yards offensively, along with 30 first downs. The defense, meanwhile, allowed the Tigers to a combined 86 yards and just seven first downs. Texas High has now been shutout for the last 13 quarters. It has also been outscored 117-0 in the last three games. The Lobos defeated the Tigers 49-6 last season. Longview improves to 3-1 for the year, 2-0 in District 13-5A. Texas High falls to 1-4, 0-2. Texas High only crossed midfield twice an the first penetration didn't come until the 28 second mark of the third quarter. "I definitely think we played better defensively (this week)," noted Longview head coach Robert Bero. "I think we kept our intensity better in the second half. I told them at halftime we needed to learn from week to week and we definitely improved our intensity. "Overall, defensively, we're starting to get more people around the football. That's the key to our success, swarming the ball," Bero continued. "That's the way you're suppose to play the 4-3." Offensively, the Lobos were led by the running of 5'10, 190-pound junior tailback Earnest Hunter, who ground out 134 yards on 26 carries. Hunter, who score twice, on runs of one and two yards, sat out most of the second half. For the second consecutive week, he piled up 104 yards in the first half alone. "I think everybody on our football team deserves a chance to play," Bero said, explaining the absence of Hunter in the second half. "Everybody works hard on this team and we thought it was an excellent opportunity to get other people in." Getting other people into the act was exactly what Longview did. Backup quarterback Selwyn Broughton replaced starter Shawn Lawson to lead the wave of reserves into the contest midday through the third quarter. He began by engineering a 17-yard scoring drive in just four plays on his first series. A 23-yard punt return by Fred Thompson set the drive at the Texas High 17. After two running plays for seven yards, Broughton then called his own number twice, once for nine yards and a first down, followed by a 1-yard dive for the first of his two touchdowns. Broughton's second score came at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter on an 8-yard bootleg. Sandwiched in-between was a 3-yard scamper by backup tailback Deondeau Bennett. It was his touchdown of the year. The Lobos capped off the scoring when second-string fullback Joe Templeton blasted up the middle for two yards with 31 seconds showing on the clock. But, it was Lawson who began the scoring for Longview with a 1-yard keeper in the first quarter. A 70-yard pass to split end Renard Dixon on the Lobos' first play from scrimmage took them from their own 29 to just inside the Tiger one. Lawson then sneaked across with 9:38 left. Hunter scored on a 1-yard run less than minutes later after linebacker Otis Reese picked off a pass by Texas High quarterback Vincent Watson, giving Longview the ball at the Texas High 30. Hunter provided most of the yardage, completing the 5-play series with a 2-yard run. It was his sixth touchdown of the season. Longview travels to Nacogdoches next Friday, while Texas High is on the road against Tyler Lee. |