Longview win shootout to claim first title since 1937
Facing third and goal from the West Brook 11-yard line with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth, Longview quarterback Haynes King had a man wide open in the end zone. But King's pass sailed over the head of Jhailon Braden and fell incomplete, forcing the Lobos to settle for a field goal in the Class 6A Division II state championship game.
J.K. Martin’s 28-yard kick made it 34-29 West Brook with 8:17 to go, and King trotted to the sideline with the game now in the hands of the Longview defense. The Lobos forced a quick three and out and gave their junior gun-slinger a chance to redeem himself in front of 48,421 people.
Lobos end an 81-year state championship drought for a passionate community
In the week leading up to Saturday’s Class 6A Division II state championship game, Longview’s longtime coach John King was paid a visit from an old friend.
Robert Bero, who was the head coach of the Lobos from 1988-1999, had a memento to pass along to King, hoping perhaps it’d be more of a good luck charm for King than it was for him.
A leather football lapel with a “37” on it that had been worn by a Longview fan, possibly a cheerleader, to the 1937 championship game was given to Bero before the 1997 state title game. It was one of many reminders that the Lobos’ last state championship came in 1937 — 81 years ago.
King was too nervous to put the keepsake in his pocket before Saturday’s game, so he pinned it to his bag and left it in his locker at AT&T Stadium. He was happily displaying it after Longview pulled off a comeback one-point victory to end the drought for one of Texas’ most talent-rich programs.
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