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| MARSHALL - Longview's hopes to avoid a third straight sideline seat for the playoffs dissipated in turnovers and the hot hand of Marshall quarterback David Bayless as the Mavericks kept their postseason hopes alive with a 38-28 victory Friday night at Maverick Stadium.
The Lobos drop to 2-6 on the season and 0-3 in District 12-5A. The Mavericks improved to 5-3 and 1-2. Three fourth quarter turnovers resulted in three Marshall touchdowns. Trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Lobos had closed to within three on LaRandall McKind's second touchdown of the game with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter. Longview then put up a defensive stand, but fumbled the ensuing punt and the Mavs recovered the ball at the Lobo 37. Bayless needed just one play to find Nate Foster alone on the right sideline for a 35-yard scoring play. Bayless was 14 of 21 for 258 yards passing and four touchdowns. He and Foster connected for a pair, with Leonard Berryman and Lonnie McGlothlin each on the receiving end of a Bayless touchdown toss as well. Foster led the Maverick receivers with five receptions for 93 yards. Victor Bennett added 64 yards on four catches. "We don't know how to play defensive football," said Lobo coach Pat Collins, who was visibly upset by the defensive performance. "I take full responsibility. It was an atrocious performance. "We didn't give ourselves a chance to win the football game. It was a ragtag game from the very beginning. We really have to do some hard, hard work. Obviously, I didn't get this football team ready to play." Longview committed five turnovers overall. Berryman and Foster twice got behind the Lobo secondary and were easy targets for Bayless. On both touchdown throws to Foster, Bayless escaped defensive pressure and was able to pull up and make the play. Both touchdowns came 48 seconds a pat after Longview fumble at its own 30. The Lobos did put together a 58-yard, five-play drive, which followed a 40-yard kickoff return by Willie Andrews. Still, it took a fourth down play before Joel Armstrong connected with Donald Kenney for a 28-yard scoring strike. However, the Mavs put the game away on their next series as Longview's onside kick attempt actually went for a 2-yard loss. Marshall took over at the Lobo 38 and on the second play got a 31-yard scoring run by Jason Roberts. Twice, Roberts appeared trapped in the backfield only to escape and then elude several more would-be tackles before breaking clear. For the second straight game, Longview allowed over 400 yards total offense. The Mavericks finished with 427. Ntuna Ekuri added 93 yards on the ground. Longview was led by Armstrong, who completed 8 of 17 for 128 yards passing and one touchdown, plus gained 119 yards on the ground. However, Armstrong was also intercepted twice. Gerald Alexander picked off Armstrong in the end zone for the Lobos' opening drive of the game. It was the Maverick cornerback's fifth of the season. Bayless was also picked off once, and Marshall fumbled twice. The first two coming as the Mavericks were driving inside Longview's end of the field. The third miscue results in Kenney's 81-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the contest. Longview did lead briefly at 7-3 as McKind scored on a 12-yard run with 3:36 to play in the second quarter. A 45-yard Adam Williams field goal at the 6:35 mark had given Marshall a 3-0 advantage. But the Mavs regained the lead prior to halftime as Berryman out leaped two Longview defenders in the end zone to pull down a 40-yard touchdown pass from Bayless. Andrews paced Longview receivers with three catches for 72, while Kenney pulled in two for 42. McKind picked up 43 yards on the ground. Longview travels to Nacogdoches next Friday, while Marshall is at John Tyler. |