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| LONGVIEW - There will be an additional Longview football game at Lobo Stadium this fall, thanks to a scheduling adjustment.
The Lobos will host Natchitoches (La.) Central on Sept. 11. Central replaces Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill, which backed out of its game against Longview in January, according to Longview ISD director of extracurricular activies Pat Collins. The Longview-Barbers Hill game was to be played at Sptehn. F Austin State University in Nacogdoches. Having Central come to Longview increases the number of games at Lobo Stadium to four. Longview is technically the home team for the Oct. 29 game against Pine Tree, but that game will be played at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler. Longview was 13-3 in 2008, the Class 4A Division I state runner-up and is expected to be a state-title contender this fall. Barbers Hill backing out of the game with Longview means neither game of a two-year arrangement will be played. This past season's game scheduled for Sept. 12 in Nacogdoches was canceled because of travel concerns created by Hurricane Ike. Shreveport (La.) Evangel replaced Barbers Hill as Longview's opponent that week in a game played at Lobo Stadium. "It was important for us to have another home game," Collins said. "Having Barbers Hill back out was a blessing in disguise." Having central as an opponent ends frustration for Longview football coach John King. King said it took two months to find a replacement opponent, posting the game availability on high-school football web sites for Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, as well as Texas. King said he received interest from two other Louisiana schools Longview ha splayed int he past three years - West Monroe and River Ridge John Curtis - but a game couldn't be arranged. "To be honest, I didn't think we would fill it," King said. Central has struggled in recent years. Central was 0-10 in 2008, losing seven of its game by margins of 29 points or more. Central is 7-43 in the last five years. However, King is familiar with Central. In the '80s, King played college football at Northwestern State, which is located in Natchitoches. "If I could go watch a high school game on Fridays, I usually watched Central," King said. "They had real good teams and they always had good athletes." Adding Central to the schedule extends a trend of the Lobos playing at least one Louisiana school every year since 1996. Longview is 16-5 in those games. |