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| RUSTON - No guts, no glory.
Longview, trying to regain some of its lost glory, almost pulled off the upset of the season, but its old nemesis cropped up once again. Going for a two-point conversion and the win, quarterback Cory Hutchings bobbled the snap from center, enabling Louisiana's No. 1 ranked Ruston Bearcats to hold on for a 14-13 triumph in a non-district, intrastate rivalry here Friday night at James Field. The win enabled the Bearcats to avoid the No. 1 - the top team in the state had lost three consecutive weeks - and was the second straight victory over the Lobos. Ruston is 5-0. Longview is 2-3 after consecutive losses. Fumbles have plagued the Lobos in recent weeks and they put the ball on the ground six times here, losing three. None more costly than on the two-point conversion try. Longview, though, spiced by a pair of gutsy fourth-down plays, drove 73 yards in 14 plays, using 6:29, and scored on a three-yard Kevin Miles keeper with 52 seconds left in the game. The big plays to keep the drive alive were a 37-yard run by Hutchings and a 12-yard Miles-to-Chris Butcher screen play, both on fourth downs. The Lobo defense shut down highly-touted Ruston quarterback Bo Meeks, holding him to just eight yards passing on a 3-of-7 night. The 'Cats had also averaged over 42 points per game this season. The 'Cats, however, snapped a first-half tie with a 10-play, 81-yard drive and went out in front with 4:20 left when Marcus Amos scored on a six-yard run. Longview rode the back of Butcher, who had 31 carries for 130 yards. After both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter, they scored scored in the final stages of the second quarter and went to the dressing rooms in a 7-7 deadlock. Longview had just 10 yards in the first quarter and Ruston 50, but 34 of that came in the game's initial drive and ended in a fumble with the Lobos' Cory Hutchings recovering at his own 46-yard line. Meeks hit three of seven passes in the first half, but he had just two yards passing and was sacked three times for 24 yards in losses. Linebacker Victor Anthony, had two sacks and Tony Cox, just off the ineligibility list, had the other, plus one in the second half. The Bearcats' scoring drive came after a Longview fumble at its 24-yard line when Hutchings was rushed hard, sacked and lost control of the ball. Randal Anders recovered for the 'Cats. Four plays later Scotty Rhone sliced through the left side on a fourth-and-two and went 16 yards for the touchdown with 4:17 left. Matt Willis converted the PAT. On the ensuing drive, following a short kickoff, the Lobos drove 62 yards in 10 plays and scored with 29 seconds left when Miles connected with a wide-open Chris Cox in the back of the end zone. Butcher had a 25-yard run on a fourth-and-two in the march, but 15 of it was taken away when he was whistled for a face mask call. Two plays later Miles hit tight end Jason Cabbiness for 12 yards over the middle, and then picked up five yards on a quarterback sneak for a first down at the 15. Butcher had five on first down and Miles then hooked up with Cox. Harris tied the game with his PAT boot. Both teams combined for only 149 yards for the first two quarters, the Lobos holding a 76-73 edge. District play begins next week for both teams as Longview plays host to Ruston in a 13-5A game and Ruston going to Monroe to face Ouachita in a 2-5A contest. |