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| LONGVIEW - PERFECT, again.
Following a week of hype, Longview turned Friday night's District 12-5A showdown with John Tyler into a one-sided contest as the Lobos wrapped up their second straight title with a 42-13 victory before a record crowd of 14,500 at Lobo Stadium. Longview improves to 10-0, winning their 20th consecutive regular season game. The Lobos, 6-0 in district, will take on South Garland next Saturday (2 p.m.) in a Class 5A Division II bi-district game at Mesquite Memorial Stadium. John Tyler falls to 8-2 (5-1) and will enter the playoffs as the district's No. 2 seed in Division II. The Lions will take on Garland. Mesquite wrapped up the Division I berth with the 20-19 win over Rockwall, while Mesquite Horn fell to Tyler Lee 42-31. After a two-game drought, Longview returned to what it does best with a hard-hitting defense and a quick-strike offense. On defense, the Lobos forced six turnovers, three interceptions and three fumbles, while the holding JT to just 192 yards total offense. Meanwhile, led by the running of Vondrell McGee and the arm of Carlin Freeman, Longview's offense piled up 325 yards. McGee, who was held out of the end zone for the first time season in last week's win over North Mesquite, finished with 105 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown before retiring to the bench to start the fourth quarter. Freeman continued to put up good pass numbers as he completed 5 of 7 passes for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His totals put him over 1,000 yards for the season. David Robinson caught four passes for 132 yards and two scores. Chris Ivory also ran for a touchdown and Freeman scored twice on the ground. Longview built a 28-0 halftime advantage, then added two more scores on their first two possessions of the second half. The Lobos enjoyed good field possession all night, thanks to their spirited defense as five of their six scoring drives all started on the plus-side of the field, the JT 47-, 31-, 46-, 46- and 42-yard lines, while the other began at their own 44. John Tyler's multi-faceted quarterback Kerry Maddox was also held to just 47 yards on the ground and 62 through the air. The most consuming drive for Longview resulted in their final points as they took 11 plays before Freeman ran for his second touchdown of the game on a fourth-and-goal at the JT 1. The Lobos led 42-0 with 4:18 showing in the third quarter following Zach Decker's sixth extra point. John Tyler's only points came in the fourth quarter as Andrew Jaimez picked off a D'Marcus Miles pass while the Lobo backup quarterback was scrambling in his own end zone, returning it 10 yards to paydirt. Lion backup quarterback Derrell Allen then added a 4-yard scoring run with under three minutes to play. The Lobos got interceptions from Jarvis Pippins, Adrian Reese and Laderrick Satterwhite. It was Satterwhite's team-leading fourth pick of the season. Longview has 16 interceptions as a team. McGee returned the opening kickoff 36 yards, and on the second play from scrimmage took the pitch down the right sideline for a 39-yard gain and a first-and-goal at the JT 4. Two plays later, Freeman called his own number on a bootleg into the end zone. The score would remain 7-0 until the opening minutes of the second quarter, which followed a defensive stand by the Lobos that pinned JT deep in its own end of the field. Punting out of their end zone, the Lions were only able to get the ball to their own 31. On first down, Freeman pitched to the ball to McGee, who rambled 31 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 11:39 showing on the clock. Longview's defense kept the pressure on, forcing another JT punt deep in its end of the field. Starting again in Lion territory, the Lobos marched 46 yards in eight plays with Ivory scoring from a yard out. After struggling of late on fourth down plays, McGee made sure the yard markers moved as he gaining three yards on fourth-and-one. Freeman also connected with Robinson on the right side as he threw a fade route for a first down to the 10. Ivory carried on three straight plays, the third time taking him into the end zone. John Tyler finally got untracked, with Leland Malina picking up a 44-yard gain to the Longview 33. After moving the ball to the Lobo 26, Adrian Reese, playing both ways at defensive end and tight end, picked off a Maddox pass and had an apparent 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. However, the Lobos were flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the return, negating the score. Taking over near midfield, Freeman again found Robinson, who was wide open at the 20, for a 48-yard strike and a commanding 28-0 lead with 5:02 left until halftime. |