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| LONGVIEW - Patience is what Longview head coach Robert Bero has been preaching to his Lobo football team. In the team's 1996 home opener, the new-look offense got a great individual effort from Dexter Daniels to post a 14-0 shutout over Killeen Friday night at Lobo Stadium.
Tajuan Stoker finished off an 85-yard pass completion and a punt return 36 yards by Daniels to score twice as the Lobos improved to 2-0. A quick toss from quarterback Lee Nix to Daniels over the middle moved Longview from its own 10-yard line to the Killeen five. It would set up Stoker's first touchdown with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter. Daniel broke a tackle at his own 30 and then streak down field before Kangaroo safety Corey Jones drove him out of bounds, temporarily preventing the inevitable. "I thought Dexter Daniels showed great individual effort," said Bero. "They left him uncovered and the quarterback gave him a chance to be an athlete. In the open field, he showed what kind of athlete he is." Stoker's second touchdown, similar to his score a week ago against Waco High, was aided by Daniels punt return up the right sideline. Starting at their own 10-yard line again, Jay Hurst called his own number twice and Stoker picked up a couple of yards before going untouched into the end zone with 5:41 left to play. Longview needed a fourth down call, their third of the game, but unlike the previous two, this one was successful. "That's two he (Daniels) has returned on punts in the last two weeks to give us great field position," said Bero. The Lobos were helped out by two Killeen fumbles and one interception, picked off by cornerback Lee Jackson in the first half, that stymied the Kangaroos. Overall, the Longview's defense bent, but it didn't break. Killeen's best drive of the second half reached the Lobo 27-yard line to start the third quarter before the Kangaroos turned the ball over with a fumble. Killeen's offense continued to chug along behind the pounding of De'Andre Pettus, who ran for 130 yards on 28 carries to lead all rushers. Combined, the Kangaroos (1-1) mustered 202 yards on the ground. Longview, meanwhile, picked up 86 hard-earned yards from Stoker. But they finished with just 118 total. Nix, who played in the second half behind Hurst, was 2-for-3 for 85 yards - the long pass play to Daniels and a completion for no gain. Longview twice crossed midfield, reaching the Kangaroos' 30- and 17-yard lines. However, the Lobos turned the ball over on downs and also fumbled. In both possessions, they were facing fourth down, but couldn't sustain the drives. Killeen, however, had they only scoring opportunity. But Ben Bralley's 38-yard field goal attempt fell well short of the crossbar. The Kangaroos had started their series at their own 17-yard line after Hurst pinned them deep with a 52-yard punt. Quarterback Joshua McCann kept the drive alive for Killeen with a four-yard bootleg run on fourth-and-two at his own 46-yard line. He also completed a clutch 16-yard pass to Che' Bain on a rollout to the right sideline. Longview continues its home stand next Friday as the Lobo play host to Lake Highlands at 8 p.m. |