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MCKINNEY - Longview opened its fourth straight football season in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex when it traveled to McKinney ISD Stadium for Thursday night's matchup against McKinney, but its comeback attempt fell short in a 23-21 road loss.
Cole Dauper booted a 27-yard field goal with 1:26 remaining in the contest to give McKinney the win. The Lobos will bring an 0-1 season record to a 7:30 p.m. rivalry road renewal against Marshall at Maverick Stadium on Sept.1, while the Lions will carry a 1-0 mark to a 7 p.m. non-district battle against Richardson Berkner at Dallas' Wildcat-Ram Stadium the same night. Longview was slow out of the gate on Thursday because its first drive concluded with a punt snap that soared 39 yards in the wrong direction, and McKinney's defense was ready to swarm punter John Monsivais when he ultimately picked up the ball at his team's six-yard line. The Lions made the most of their red zone start, and took an early 7-0 lead when Khali Best scored on a quick nine-yard touchdown run with 9:20 remaining in the first quarter. McKinney eventually grew their lead to 14-0 when Godspower Nwawuihe called his own number on a 19-yard quarterback draw at the 5:50 mark of the second quarter. Nwawuihe finished with 13 McKinney carries for 47 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and added a two-for-three passing performance for 15 yards. Jeremiah Daoud completed six of his 10 McKinney passes for 50 yards and ran three times for 18 yards, while Best ran four times for 12 yards and caught one ball for four yards. Longview finally answered with some trickery when tailback Taylor Tatum threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Dakaylen Reese to make it a 14-7 score with 3:22 remaining until the halftime break. McKinney made the most of another Lobo mistake when it picked up a loose ball during Tatum's early third quarter fumble. The Lions turned to their run game again and Nwawuihe's four-yard touchdown carry made it a 20-7 lead at the 5:23 mark of the third quarter, but Cole Dauper's extra point attempt bounced off the left upright to halt the scoring. Tatum rebounded when he carried the ball 64 yards to the house and cut the gap to 20-14 at the 4:27 mark of the period. He ultimately finished the contest with 17 carries for 127 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Reese caught five passes for 159 yards and a pair of scores. Longview eventually took its only lead of the night at 21-20 when quarterback Andrew Tutt connected with Reese on a 74-yard touchdown pass. Tutt completed seven of his 15 passes for 157 yards in the outing, but his team's advantage wouldn't last because McKinney drove the field late, and set up Dauper's 27-yard field goal to take the lead for good with 1:26 to play. |