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| LONGVIEW - A refocused Longview team came out and scored the first two times it touched the football as the Lobos rolled to a 35-7 win Friday night over Ruston (La.).
The Lobos are now 2-0 at Lobo Stadium, and 2-2 on the season heading into next week's open date. Similar to the Midland Lee win (33-17) two weeks ago, a solid performance on both sides of the ball paid big dividends. Joel Armstrong threw a pair of touchdowns - one each to Tate Casey and La'Bryan Williams - to finish with 116 yards through the air. Willie Andrews added 99 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, with Artillious Allison coming off the bench to pick up 102 yards and score once. Longview finished with 421 total yards - 305 of which came on the ground, as it added a new twist with a wishbone look on offense. Defensively, the Lobos held Ruston (2-2) to 192 yards. Ironically, the Bearcats had nearly as many yards in return yardage. "Playing at home in front of our crowd certainly helped," said Lobo coach Pat Collins. "They got into it and that certainly helped us. "We got the ball to the players that we needed to - our playmakers - and they were able to make something happen. I have to give credit to our coaching staff, they came up with a great game plan, and then our players were able to execute it. "I also thought our offensive line did a good job. I really was kind of coursed in not he line during the game. They got in their faces (Ruston) enough to give Joel a chance to operate the offense." The Lobos scored twice in the opening quarter, marching 79 yards in eight plays the first time they touched the football. Armstrong mixed the run and pass, getting a 10-yard carry by Andrews, then completing an 18-yard toss to Williams. Fred Hawkins also had a 13-yard run and Armstrong found Casey on route near the left sideline for 23 yards and the Sophomore's first-ever varsity touchdown. After a defensive stop, Longview was not he move again. Starting from their own 6, the Lobos marched 94 yards in eight plays. A 55-yard pass-and-caught to LaRandall McKind set Longview up at the Ruston 16. One play later, Andrews ran off right tackle for the score. The Lobos then went for the two-point conversion after the previous point-after attempt was no good, and converted as Hawkins burst up the middle for a 14-0 lead with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter. Longview added another touchdown with nine seconds to play before half-time. It came after the Bearcats were called for roughing the passer following an interception of an Armstrong pass. The Lobos kept possession and Williams tallied on a short 13-yard reception. Ruston had good field position, because of its special teams. It started the first two series at the Lobo 44 and 47-yard lines, but went three-and-out each time as the Longview defense held. TEH Bearcats turned the ball over on downs twice in the game and fumbled once. Andrews added his second touchdown with 7:45 to play int eh third quarter on a 33-yard run option toss down the right sideline. The drive covered 63 yards in eight plays - all on the ground. The score went to 35-0 as Allison took his first carry of the game 77 yards, outrunning the Ruston defense once he broke into the Bearcat secondary. The Bearcats finally scored with 5:28 to play, following a Lobo fumble. Michael Beard punched in their only touchdown on a 6-yard run. Defensively, James Stephen had 12 tackles. Marvin Byrdsong had eight tackles and an interception. |