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DALLAS - Longview quickly erased a first quarter deficit, and never looked back in a dominant 52-14 area round football playoff win against Frisco Reedy at Mesquite Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The Lobos improved their season record to 11-1, and advanced to play Lancaster in next week's Class 5A Division I Region II semifinal. The two teams last met when Longview topped the Tigers 52-35 in District 7-5A Division I play at Beverly D. Humphrey Tiger Stadium on Sept. 22. Frisco Reedy, meanwhile, wrapped up its 2023 season with a 10-2 mark. The Lions quickly moved down the field on the opening drive of the game because Jake Ferner completed three passes for 51 yards, and Kahlil Smith's goal line touchdown run resulted in a 7-0 Lion lead at the 7:55 mark of the first quarter. But, Longview stormed back with three touchdowns between the 4:57 and 2:16 marks of the period to build up a 21-7 lead. Taylor Tatum started the surge with a four-yard touchdown run, Jamayis Morrow recovered a Frisco Reedy fumble 11 seconds later in the end zone on the kickoff, and Andrew Tutt connected with a Kelvin Washington on a 66-yard touchdown pass. Kelvin Washington led Longview's charge with 14 carries for 141 yards and two rushing touchdowns, Tatum carried the ball 17 times for 136 and two scores, and Mason Washington added six runs for 79 yards and a touchdown. "That's what flipped the game," Longview athletic director and head football coach John King said of the stretch that set the tone for the rest of the game. "A big [run] play, we turned around kicked it off, stripped [the ball] and got a score, and then hit another big one [on a pass]. We played well." The Lobos continued to strike in the first half because Tatum's second four-yard touchdown run made it a 28-7 advantage at the 7:52 mark of the second quarter. Frisco Reedy looked to finally bounce back when it drove into Longview territory late in the half, but Willie Nelson intercepted Ferner's pass at the 2:38 mark of the second quarter. Longview quickly flipped the field, and Tatum's 37-yard carry with three seconds remaining in the period set up John Monsivais' successful 22-yard field goal on the next play to wrap up a 31-7 halftime lead. The Lobos continued to lean on their ground game after the mid-game break when Mason Washington struck green and gold on a 64-yard touchdown run at the six-minute mark of the third quarter, and Kelvin Washington followed with a six-yard rushing score at the 2:50 mark of the period. Ferner temporarily suspended Longview's scoring spree during his seven-yard touchdown pass to Mason Easley at the 6:10 mark of the fourth quarter, but Kelvin Washington's 17-yard touchdown run with 3:40 to play in the game put the cherry on top of Longview's second round playoff victory. Ferner completed nine of his 18 pass attempts for 99 yards and one touchdown in Frisco Reedy's loss. |