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| NACOGDOCHES - Thank you, Fred Talley.
The Longview senior tailback put the exclamation mark on a sterling career with a school-record 387 yards in the regular season finale against Nacogdoches. With the Lobos already eliminated from the playoffs, Talley gave fans in attendance at Dragon Stadium one final highlight reel as he scored all four touchdowns in a 27-0 shutout. ''They (teammates) were more concerned about the record than I was,'' said Talley, who also celebrated his 18th birthday Friday. ''They kind of lifted me up - it was almost like I had to do it for them. For our offensive line that was the best output all season, it's sad it had to end like this. ''They never did give up. They believed in me and I believed in them. They did a tremendous job.'' Talley's record-setting yardage, which came on 22 carries, broke the old record of 323 set by Earnest Hunter in 1989 in a bi-district playoff against Killeen Ellison. He also went over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight year. ''We heard somewhere in the fourth quarter that he had a chance probably to break the school record,'' said Longview head coach Robert Bero. ''He deserved an opportunity. He's done an awful lot for our program - he's a hard worker. He deserved an opportunity to try to break the record and that's why we left him in there.'' Talley's record-breaker ironically came on his final high school carry as he broke right and outran the Nacogdoches defense up the visitor's side of the field for a 90-yard touchdown. His other touchdowns came on runs of 64, 87 and 16 yards. Talley had 201 yards on just 12 carries in the first half alone. He opened the scoring from 16 yards as Longview (6-3, 2-3) marched 80 yards in eight plays on its second possession, scoring with 1:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Erik Hargrave added the extra point for a 7-0 advantage. After a Dragon punt pinned the Lobos at their own 12-yard line, Talley sprinted 87 yards down the left sideline on a third-and-nine draw play. Hargrave's point-after pushed the Lobos' lead to 14-0 at the 9:58 mark of the second quarter. Both teams then played keep away in the second half until Talley broke loose with his 64-yarder on second-and-one from his own 36. Hargrave's PAT increased the Longview margin to 21-0. One series later, Talley put the finishing touches on a three-year career which saw him set another school mark with 4,812 yards and 51 touchdowns. Longview's defense also made a couple of stands down the stretch as they denied the Dragons on consecutive first-and-goal situations. Nacogdoches (2-8, 0-5) twice reached the Lobo four-yard line. A holding penalty moved it back to the 14. Frank Cox then registered a sack of quarterback Rico Harris, before the Dragons turned the ball over on downs at the nine. On Nacogdoches' subsequent series it again reached first-and-goal at the Longview four. A two-yard offside call against the Lobos advanced the football to the two. However, the Dragons could only reach the one on fourth down. Harris, who was the second-leading rusher in the district behind Talley, was held to 37 yards on 20 carries. |