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| LUFKIN - Longview faced a small deficit as the second quarter of Friday's regional semifinal began, but the Lobos stormed back to earn a dominant 51-7 win against Port Arthur Memorial at Lufkin's Abe Martin Stadium.
The 13-0, and No. 1 ranked Lobos will participate in their deepest playoff round since 2018 when they play the 13-0 Mansfield Timberview Wolves in next Friday's 7 p.m. Class 5A Division I Region II championship at Mesquite Memorial Stadium. Port Arthur Memorial finished the year's campaign with an 11-2 mark. "It feels great," Longview athletic director and head football coach John King said of his program's first regional final appearance since 2018. "We are in the fourth round. That's all we're guaranteed, so we need to make the most of it." Port Arthur Memorial struck first during the opening drive of the game, so it took the early 7-0 lead. Davion Wilson completed his first six passes, and ultimately found Caleb Goodie on a 34-yard touchdown pass at the 8:48 mark of the first quarter. It took some time for Longview's offense to find its stride, but the Lobos' defensive unit forced three first half turnovers to keep its team in the game. Jeremiah Rougely intercepted a Wilson pass with 36 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and recovered a Wilson fumble at the 8:11 mark of the second period. Kaden Brooks continued the trend when he recovered a fumble with 2:47 left in the first half. Longview finally got on the board when Michael Fields kicked a 24-yard field goal attempt through the uprights with 10:58 left in the second quarter. The Lobos then took their first lead of the night during Taylor Tatum's 30-yard touchdown run. That made it a 10-7 score at the 7:25 mark of the period. Jordan Allen started to heat up, so Longview turned to the passing game to wrap up its first half scoring. He connected with Jalen Hale on a 48-yard touchdown pass with 3:02 left in the first half, but the lead remained at 16-7 after a mishandled extra point snap. Allen completed all six of his first half passes, and eight of his nine attempts in the game. That earned him 191 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Hale was the target on four of those pass plays, and finished with 139 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Allen then added a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tatum to make it a 23-7 score with 12 seconds remaining until halftime. Tatum finished the game with the touchdown reception, as well as 15 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown. Longview received the second half kickoff, and quickly moved down the field. Alijah Johnson found the necessary space on a 17-yard touchdown carry, so the score changed to 30-7 at the 8:21 mark of the third quarter. The Longview defense produced a quick three-and-out on Port Arthur's first possession of the half, and the Lobo offensive unit immediately went to work again. Allen launched a 53-yard pass to Hale to grow Longview's advantage to 37-7 with 5:08 left in the period. The score remained the same until the fourth quarter, so Longview turned to its run game to earn its 13th straight victory. Johnson earned a one-yard touchdown on the ground at the 11:11 mark of the final period. Kelvin Washington went to work late, and finished the night with six carries for 31 yards. He topped off his performance with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:41 remaining in the game. |