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| LONGVIEW - Longview scored on three of its first four possessions and then let its defense take over in a quagmire Friday night, beating Lake Highlands 19-7.
Fred Talley scored twice and Trey Pierce threw a touchdown pass to Jamie Brown as the Lobos did all their scoring in the opening half. Longview was able to mix its running and passing game, despite the persistent rain and wind brought on by Tropical Storm Frances. The victory improved the No. 5-ranked Lobos to 2-0, while Lake Highlands dropped to 0-2. Lake Highlands' only points came in the closing seconds of the opening half after Longview had built a 19-0 advantage. ''I felt good about where we were, although it concerned me a little bit when they took that drive in right before the half,'' said Lobo head coach Robert Bero. ''That gave them a little momentum. They drew on the recent experience that they had last week. They were down 17-0, bounced back and lost in overtime (30-27 to Mesquite). ''But that's the characteristic of a good football program. We knew they were going to be a good challenge. I just thought our team responded.'' Talley finished with 148 yards on 20 carries, picking up 100 on nine rushes in the first half alone. Pierce added 147 yards on 9-of-19 completions; he was 6-of-11 for 131 and a score in the opening half. Brown finished with four receptions for 84 yards. But the first quarter did not start out promising for the Lobos. For the second week in a row, Longview had won the toss and deferred to the second half. But after stopping Lake Highlands on defense, the Lobos fumbled away the ensuing punt giving the Wildcats' a first down at their own 25. William Morrison and Brian Davis then led a defensive surge to stall the drive, and Austin Winstanley's 45-yard field goal attempt was well short of the goal posts. Talley then finished off the Lobos' first true possession with a 10-yard romp up the middle as Longview marched 72 yards in seven plays. The senior carried the ball on the last three plays of the drive, picking up 10 yards on the right side and then streaking for another 21 down the left sideline before strolling untouched into the end zone with 4:44 showing. However, the point-after try failed due to a high snap leaving Longview with a 6-0 advantage. Another good defensive effort by Longview, including a sack by Alan Rodgers, forced the Wildcats into a punting situation. Starting at their own 37, the Lobos traveled 63 yards in six plays before Talley finished the drive with a highlight reel move. Taking the handoff at the Lake Highlands' 36-yard line, he appeared to be stopped by a horde of Wildcat defenders, only to bounce off, cut back to the left and then race down the left sideline for the score. Longview went for a two-point conversion, but came up short as the lead improved to 12-0 at the 11:47 mark of the second quarter. After turning the ball over on downs on their third possession at the Wildcat 17, the Lobos needed just two plays with their fourth series. On second-and-four, Pierce found Jamie Brown alone in the middle of the field for a 53-yard scoring play. Erik Hargrave tacked on the extra point. Lake Highlands finally cracked the end zone with 26 seconds left in the half as Deldrien Needum scored from two yards out. A pair of Peter Ruth passes, 16 yards to Jeremy Boyce and 31 to Needum, set up the 81-yard drive. |