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| TYLER - Wake the town and tell the people!
That which has been denied Robert E. Lee for so long has finally been granted. After several years of frustration in District 8-AAAA football, the Rebels have finally earned that first district win. It came Friday night at Rose Stadium when the Rebels just plain and simply outplayed Longview for a 27-6 victory. Now that the Rebels have at last snapped that jinx which stuck like glue, they must be considered a serious challenger. But before they get too many title ideas, the Rebels must encounter four other district foes, all of whom are expected to be much tougher than Friday night's opponent. Four Rebs got into the scoring act - Jimmy Graham, Reese Brown, Eric Wilcox and Donnie Gibbs - as Lee scored once in the first, twice in the second and wrapped it up with a fourth quarter touchdown. Longview's lone score came in the third period. Lee will carry an enviable 6-0 record into its battle against John Tyler next Friday night when the two square off in Rose Stadium. But records mean very little when these two Tyler opponents meet. After John Tyler, the Rebels face Lufkin, also at Rose Stadium, before closing out regular season play against Texarkana the following week. Lee's first score came late in the opening quarter when fleet-footed Graham raced over from the three. Gibbs kicked his first of three conversion from placement. Then, early in the second period, Lee exploded for its second score. This time, Gibbs, who passed 10 times and completed eight, found mercury-heeled Brown open on the 33. Brown pulled in the toss and raced the rest of the way for the score. Once more, Gibbs' toe was accurate. Later in the quarter, the Rebs drove 63 yards and hard-running Wilcox capped the drove by plowing over from the one. Gibbs added his third conversion and the Rebels had a 21-0 halftime margin. Longview got its scored with 41 seconds left in the third stanza. Little sophomore James Street went over from the five to cap a 45-yard drive. Street tried to pass for the two-pointer, but his receiver, Harold Bridges, dropped the perfectly thrown pass. Lee mounted a 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter with Gibbs bringing it to a climax on a quarterback sneak from the one. On the conversion try, Mike Rowan bobbled the ball, killing the try. Lee dominated the statistics, rushing for 195 yards and passing for another 137 to total 332. Longview, now the owner of a 1-5 record, totaled 210 yards, rushing for 116 and passing for 94. Graham paced Lee's attack with 75 yards on 20 tries. Wilcox following with 59 and wingback Robert Griswald had 34. |