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| SHREVEPORT - Longview's defense and offense learned painful lessons on Saturday. When they needed to finish their jobs, they just couldn't do it. The difference was a defeat, by about 30 seconds.
Longview controlled most of the second half, but on its last chance, West Monroe rallied, capping its last drive with a six-yard touchdown run by Don Brown with 29.9 seconds left, giving West Monroe a 19-15 victory before 8,500 spectators at Independence Stadium. After holding West Monroe to two yards in its three previous drives, West Monroe marched 81 yards in 6:12 for its winning score. Longview's offense had its chances to score at least 15 points in the second half, driving inside West Monroe's 20-yard line three times. But all the Lobos came away with was a 22-yard field goal by Zach Decker with 3:34 left in the third to give Longview a 15-13 lead. Decker also missed a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Longview's last serious scoring threat ended at the West Monroe 18-yard line, when quarterback D'Marcus Miles was stopped for no gain. "It hurts when you go all that way and can't score," Longview offensive guard-defensive tackle Gordon Booker said. "We had our chances and we couldn't punch it in." Longview (0-1) had a 20-game regular-season winning streak snapped, going back to dropping the 2003 finale to Lufkin. West Monroe (1-0) has won 14 straight games since losing to Longview, 21-0, to open the 2005 season. West Monroe converted two third downs on its last drive and made a fourth-and-two by drawing Longview offside. LaDarius Abrams had 110 yards rushing for the Rebels, 40 on the last drive. Longview had 105 yards in penalties. "What can you say about him (Abrams)," West Monroe coach Don Shows said. "He's a Sophomore in a man's body." West Monroe reserve quarterback Jordan Pleasant rushed for 66 yards and made a key 12-yard pass to Mario Wiley on a third-and-11 on its winning drive. Mark Johnson had 79 yards rushing for Longview, while Jazmon Moon had 57 and Miles 48. "The penalties on our drives in the second half hurt us. We could have done better," Miles said. "It's something that will be worked on in practice." West Monroe had trouble holding on to the ball in the first half, losing three fumbles. Two of the fumbles led to Longview scores. On West Monroe's first drive, Longview's Phillip Rudd forced a fumble by Pleasant. Chris Lacy scooped up the loose ball and ran 50 yards for a touchdown with eight minutes left in the first quarter, giving the Lobos a 6-0 lead after Decker missed the extra point wide right. West Monroe answered on its next drive, needing just three plays to go 71 yards, capped by a 32-yard touchdown run by Abrams. West Monroe drove to the Longview nine-yard line early in the second quarter, but was stopped when Brown fumbled and Sherman Rosborough recovered. This started a 91-yard drive by the Lobos, which was capped by a one-yard touchdown plunge by Moon, giving Longview a 12-7 lead with 7:41 left in the first half, after a two-point conversion attempt failed. But West Monroe countered with its own long drive of 87 yards, ending with a one-yard touchdown run by Brown on a fourth-down play, making it 13-12 with 1:52 left, with a West Monroe two-point conversion failing. Longview hosts Marshall (1-0) on Friday. |