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| MARSHALL - A religious philosopher once said, "If the Lord answered all the prayers offered on the night of a football game, there would be a lot of ties."
Maybe so, but that doesn't keep Longview's Jimmy Hill from his own prayer each time he goes into a game. Mr. Hill, 180-pound senior, was called into action with only 19 seconds remaining in the contest to kick 34-yard field goal that beat the Marshall Mavericks, 17 to 16, here in Maverick Stadium before a homecoming crowd of around 4,500. Only a few Lobo fans were on hand for this thrilling contest. It was by far the best football game of the season played by these two great high schools. Hill, who started the season at fullback for the Lobos, was the big hero of the night. His name will be remembered for months to come by the Mavs, who were counting on a big victory over the Lobos. If you recall, the Mavs defeated the Lobos here in 1966 and again in 1968 at Longview. The victory gives the Lobos a 3-3 season mark and a 2-3 District 13-AAAA record. Marshall is now 3-3 for the year and 2-2 for the season. The Lobos and Mavericks are out of the race for the district crown this year. Both were picked in the pre-season polls to win the championship. The Lobo Marching Band and lovely Lobo Viewettes must be given a standing ovation for the grand half time show here Friday night. It was the greatest. The Lobo Band is still No. 1 in East Texas by a good country mile. Hill kicked two extra points and the three pointer that was the big difference in the contest. His mother should feed him the biggest steak in town. The Lobos started a new field general here by the name of Ronnie F. Davis, 171-pound junior. He is going to be a dandy. Davis carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards and attempted 8 passes and completed five for 64 yards and scored one touchdown in the early minutes of the first quarter to give Longview a 6-0 lead. The Lobos played more like a team Friday night than they have shown all season. Longview next Friday night will take on Dallas Bishop Lynch in Longview starting at 7:30. Lynch is 3-1-0 for the season. The Lobos won the toss of the game for the first time this season. The co-captains were Bobby Bobo and Robert Collier. However, Bobo did not suit out for the game. He is nursing an injured left arm and may be out for the remainder of the season. The Longview Lobo defense must be given a big pat on the back for a great job. Linebacker Corwyn Bush was most likely the biggest standout among the boys. He is truly a great ball player. Longview's first touchdown was set up when Alan Lyles recovered a fumble by quarterback James Phelps at the Lobos 34-yard line. With 4:14 left in the first quarter, the Lobos took over and couldn't be stopped. In 15 plays and 66 yards, quarterback Ronnie Davis plowed over the two yard line with 10 minutes and 23 seconds left in the second quarter. Hill's extra point was good, 7-0. Tailback Alton Coley carried twice on two and two to the 38 and then wingback Timmy McDermott took a pitchout from quarterback Davis to the 49 for a gain of 11. Fullback Cox then carried to the 49 of Marshall and wingback Mike Northcutt turned on the speed and went to the 41 for the first down. Quartebrack Davis went around his right side to the 34 and Coley carried twice more on tries of 2 and 3 to the 29. Fullback Cox went off left tackle to the 20 and then Davis caught the Mav defense asleep and went to the 10. Fullback Cox plowed his way through the line to the two and then Davis carried the ball into the end zone for the touchdown. Marshall started its drive for a touchdown with 6:19 left in the second quarter after taking a Lobo punt at the 19. In 14 plays and 81 yards tailback Mike Jenkins went into the end zone from two yards out for the touchdown. Lonnie Sibley kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7. With 40 seconds left in the half, the game was tied. The big gainer in the drive was a pass from quarterback Phelps to wingback Jay Lawrence from the Lobo 40 to the 17 for a gain of 23 yards. Marshall took the kickoff at the start of the third quarter and started their drive from the Marshall 41 yard line. In seven plays and a 15 yard penalty against the Lobos, the Mavs were at the Lobos 10 yard line. So on fourth down and nine needed for the touchdown the Mavs elected to go for a field goal. Lonnie Sibley kicked a 31-yarder that gave Marshall a 10-7 lead. With 10 minutes and 10 seconds left in the third quarter the Mavs had taken the lead. Sibley kicked off to the Lobos and Joseph Rattler took the ball on the 21 an returned to the 36. In 13 plays the Lobos scored when fullback Rodney Cox went into the end zone with 4:43 left in the third quarter. Hill's kick was good and the Lobos led, 14-10. Fullback Cox carried twice on five and five yards to the 46 to get the Lobos started in the drive. Three plays later quarterback Davis passed to end Joe Jordan for 10 yards to the 41. Davis then passed to end Bill Gibson to the 30 for a 11 harder. At the 30, Cox carried to the 23 and again to the 21 before Coley toted the ball to the 5 for a 16 yard gain. Coley carried three more times against a tough Maverick defense to the 1. On fourth down and one needed for the touchdown, Cox took the hand off from quarterback Davis and jumped over the defense into the end zone for a touchdown. Marshall took over again after the kickoff at their own 43 yard line. In 13 plays the Mavs were at the Lobo 4 yard line. THe Lobo defense went to work and held the Mavs at the one yard line twice. But on fourth down, quarterback Phelps went into the end zone for the touchdown with 9 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game. Sibley's kick for extra point failed. However, Marshall had the lead 16-14. Longview took over after the kickoff at the 20 yard line. On the ninth play, tailback Coley sailed around his left side of the field from the Marshall 46 to the 38 and fumbled the ball and Marshall recovered at the 36 to stop the Lobo drive with 6:02 left in the game. The Lobo defense again went to work and held the Mavs at the 39. So on fourth and seven needed, Randy Hooten punted the ball down field. Don Peek took the ball at the 11 and return to the 14. With 4:10 left in the game the Lobos were trailing, 16-14. Quarterback Davis showed great leadership in this drive. He didn't let the boys give up. A mark of a great champion. Cox and Coley carried to the 20 and then Davis passed to end Jimmy Griffin to the 42 for a gain of 22. Davis passed to wingback Northcutt to the 50 yard line for a gain of eight with 2:23 on the clock. Cox carried to the Marshall 47 for the first down. Davis passed to end Joe Jordan to the 34 for a gainer of 13 yards. Another first down. Cox carried to the 29 and then Davis went up the middle to the 24 for a first down. From the 24 Cox carried to the 20 and then on the next play Davis was caught for a loss of two back to the 22. Davis on the next play went to the 17 for a gain of 5. So Coach Hudspeth elected to go for the field goal. The Ball was placed at the 24 yard line and Jimme Hill was called into action. Hill's kick was perfect and the Lobos had a 17 to 16 victory. With 19 seconds, the Lobos posted a district win over Cousin Marshall. |