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| LONGVIEW - Longview turned the ball over three times in the first half, and was ultimately outscored 14-0 in the second half of a 21-10 non-district home defeat against Ruston, Louisiana at Lobo Stadium on Friday night.
The Lobos dropped their season record to 2-2, and suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time since the 2000 season. They will work hard during their upcoming bye week to try and snap their current two-game losing streak during their 7:30 p.m. District 10-6A opener against Rockwall at the same site on Oct. 4. The Bearcats, meanwhile, will bring a perfect 3-0 year mark to their 2 p.m. matchup with Midland Legacy at Arlington's Choctaw Stadium on Sept. 28. They will then return to Longview's Lobo Stadium for a 2 p.m. game against Stephenville on Oct. 5. "A little bit of everything," Longview athletic director and head football coach John King said of what his program will address during the bye week. "Blocking, tacking, holding on to the football, [and] penalties. [We're] not a very disciplined and polished football team." Ruston jumped ahead on the opening drive of the game because Josh Brantley ran the ball three times for 35 yards before he attempted and completed his first pass on a 19-yard touchdown strike to Ahmad Hudson to make it a 7-0 lead against Longview at the 7:12 mark of the first quarter. Longview then received the ball for the first time in the outing, but Kelvin Washington gave it right back to Ruston when he lost control and fumbled on a two-yard run at the 5:51 mark of the period. The Lobos eventually bounced back because Maverick Rowe connected with Jayden Washington on a seven-yard touchdown pass to tie Ruston 7-7 at the 11:53 mark of the second quarter. Longview moved into Ruston's side of the field during its next drive, but it didn't finish the possession because Rowe threw an interception to the Bearcats' Jayden Anding with 7:40 remaining in the period. The Lobos continued to struggle because Rowe threw a second interception to Anding with 1:44 remaining in the first half. Rowe ultimately finished the game with an 8-for-19 passing performance for 101 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Longview finally broke through again when it set up Alexandre Mitchell's 24-yard field goal attempt and took a 10-7 halftime lead as time expired in the first half. Ruston responded early in the second half because Jordan Hayes broke through for a 59-yard touchdown run. That gave the Bearcats their second lead of the game at 14-10 with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Bearcats' offense then moved down the field in the fourth quarter, and put the game out of reach during Brantley's one-yard touchdown run. That made it a 21-10 score with 2:41 to play in the outing. Brantley led the road team to victory with a five-for-eight passing performance for 51 yards and one touchdown, and added 16 carries for 70 yards and one score on the ground. |