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| BRYAN - Don't provide a winless team with any kind of momentum.
Longview nearly found out the hard way Friday night before rallying with a 22 fourth-quarter points to capture a 29-21 win over Bryan. The 2-1 Lobos came into Viking Stadium to face an 0-3 Bryan team, but three fumbles, an interception, and the collapse of the special teams came close to serving up the win for the Vikings and their first-year coach Matty Coswell. Longview used a pair of short passes, an 81-yard screen pass from Chris Judy to Eric Andrews and then a flare to Chad Daniels that went for 47 yards to overcome a 21-7 deficit in the final 6:46 of the game. Judy then found Brent Goerner wide open in the left corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion and a 22-21 Lobo lead with 3:37 left to play. Alton McAlister added the final points on a 1-yard drive up the middle as the clock showed only 36 seconds. Still, barely enough breathing room. They's the thing that scares you," Lobo coach Robert Bero said. "They're 0-3 and their football team is learning how to win under a new coach. They got some momentum going, and they got hungry. THey could see a victory and they played exceptionally hard." Longview also needed a couple of strong defensive stands down the stretch, plus some key Viking penalties - 13 for 79 - to escape with the win. "We just didn't play well," said Bero. "We were flat, and we tried all week to talk to our football team about getting consistent. Being able to play two games in a row if we're going to win this district." The Lobos, defending 15-5A champions, close out the non-district schedule next Friday when they travel across the Louisiana state line to meet Ruston. District play opens on Oct. 9 at Lobo Stadium against Lufkin. Longview's third fumble of the game led to a six-play, 26-yard scoring drive at the 8:02 mark of the final quarter, as fullback Jeremy Gooch scored his second touchdown of the contest. Bryan led at that point, 21-7. The Lobos had taken the opening kickoff of the second half and driven 81 yards on 15 plays to cut a 14-0 halftime deficit in half. Amond Hutchings, who finished with a hard earned 158 yards on 25 carries scored his first touchdown of the year on a 4-yard run. The Lobos and Judy turned to the air in their comeback as the senior quarterback completed 5 of 10 for 165 yards. Daniels improved his team-leading receptions to 11 with two catches for 55 years. Goerner also caught his eighth and ninth passes of the season, including a clutch 15-yarder, that also drew a late hit on Bryan, setting up Hutchings' score. Bryan used a pair of short drives to take a 14-0 halftime advantage. The first touchdown was set up by an interception as the Lobos committed three first-half turnovers. Robert Debose tipped Judy's pass attempt to Daniels on a second and 12 at the Vikings' 22 yard-line, which Tracy Bradford pulled to down Daniels, however, ran down Bradford, who had no one between him and the end zone at the Longview 38. Seven plays later, T.J. Grays, who gained 76 yards on 11 plays at the opening half, scored from a yard-out. The PAT was wide right. |