Longview Cruises to 70-22 Rout of Copperas Cove in Bi-District

LONGVIEW – It may not be possible for a team to execute any better than the Longview Lobos did during the first quarter Friday night.

Whether it was offense, defense, or specials teams, Longview was flawless.

The fourth-ranked Lobos made quick work of Copperas Cove, 70-22, behind a 35-point first quarter in their Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff.

“It was pretty impressive, almost shocking how well we played in the first quarter both offensively and defensively,” Longview coach John King said.

Longview (11-0) will play Prosper (9-2) in the area round. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. next Saturday from the Ford Center in Frisco.

The Lobos scored four touchdowns on their first 13 offensive plays, returned a punt for a touchdown, forced and recovered a fumble, and limited Copperas Cove (7-4) to three yards in the first quarter.

“It’s gotta give you confidence to come out against an uncommon opponent to have a dominant performance like that in the first half,” King said. “There were just so many unknowns: the physicality, the speed, all those things. We wanted to be ready for the speed of the game in what they did.”

Longview junior quarterback Haynes King threw four touchdown passes, and Keilyn Williams totaled 190 yards of offense and scored four times. He had seven carries for 90 yards, including a 20-yard scoring run, and caught three touchdowns covering 24, 48, and 34 yards.

The Lobos rolled to a 56-0 lead by halftime, then substituted most of its starters in the third and fourth quarters.

“I think Copperas Cove definitely jumped off the tape at you, watching what they did offensively and the style of defense that they played in that district,” King said. “They’re a good football team. We just got on them early and got them down, and made them do some things they really didn’t want to do.”

Longview marched 60 yards in seven plays on its opening drive of the night, scoring on a Jessie Anderson 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Following a Copperas Cove three-and-out, Jephaniah Lister returned a punt 41 yards to the Bulldawgs’ 19-yard line. And on third-and-17, Haynes King connected with Kamden Perry on a 26-yard touchdown, giving the Lobos a 14-0 lead.

“The kicking game was huge for us,” King said. “We pinned them deep on a lot of kickoffs, and they shanked a few punts. I think a key play for us was Kamden’s touchdown on third down after a big punt return. We kinda stalled a drive out, and he caught a big pass play.”

Jaylon Allen forced and recovered a fumble at the Copperas Cove 25 on the ensuing series, and Williams’ 24-yard touchdown reception pushed the Lobos’ lead to three scores.

Another Copperas Cove three-and-out and a 19-yard punt set Longview up the Bulldawgs’ 20, and Williams’ 20-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive gave the Lobos a 28-0 lead with 3:23 to play in the first quarter.

Lister’s 43-yard punt return for a score made it 35-0 with 1:35 showing on the first-quarter clock.

“That couldn’t happen to a better kid, I’m so fired up for him to get a touchdown,” Coach King said of Lister. “He’s definitely a team favorite of a lot of kids and coaches.”

Williams caught two more touchdowns in the second quarter and Anderson added another 2-yard scoring run before the half. Kaden Meredith and Shannon Jackson ran for Longview touchdowns in the second half.

Copperas Cove quarterback Easton Simpson passed for 145 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Trevor Troy. The Bulldawgs, which came into Friday averaging 265 rushing yards per game, was limited to 145 on 29 attempts.

The Lobos’ defense also came away with four sacks.

“They did a good job of getting penetration but not running up the field,” Coach King said of his defensive line. “That could get us gashed with traps and buck-sweep stuff, so they did a good job of penetration but being disciplined with it.

"I thought our linebackers did an excellent job of fitting, and our safeties, I thought Jephaniah Lister and Jacob Johnson did an excellent job of fitting the run.”

No. 4 Longview 70, Copperas Cove 22

Class 6A Division II, Region II Bi-District Playoff
At Lobo Stadium, Longview

Copperas Cove 0 0 14 8 – 22
Longview 35 21 7 7 – 70

First Quarter
LON—Jessie Anderson 2 run (J.K. Martin kick), 9:11.
LON—Kamden Perry 26 pass from Haynes King (Martin kick), 6:24.
LON—Keilyn Williams 24 pass from King (Martin kick), 5:04.
LON—Williams 20 run (Martin kick), 3:23.
LON—Jephaniah Lister 43 punt return (Martin kick), 1:35.
Second Quarter
LON—Williams 48 pass from King (Martin kick), 8:42.
LON—Anderson 2 run (Martin kick), 3:01.
LON—Williams 34 pass from King (Martin kick), :47.
Third Quarter
CC—Trevor Troy 36 pass from Easton Simpson (Cameron Ryan kick), 8:59.
LON—Kaden Meredith 10 run (Spencer Powell kick), 5:08.
CC—Troy 15 pass from Simpson (Ryan kick), 1:50.
Fourth Quarter
LON—Shannon Jackson 2 run (Powell kick), 6:57.
CC—Jahmeel Rice 45 pass from Simpson (Micah Cox run), 4:00.

CC LON
First Downs 12 17
Total Yards 306 444
Rushes-Yards 29-145 36-253
Passing Yards 161 191
Comp.-Att.-Int. 11-25-0 9-13-0
Punts-Avg. 5-29.6 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-61 5-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Copperas Cove, Micah Cox 7-84, Shontez Simmons 12-43, Quinton Lewis 2-21, Kameron Spruill 1-15, Brandon Ortega 1-5, Russell Cochran 1-2, Easton Simpson 5-(-25). Longview, Keilyn Williams 7-90, Kaden Meredith 9-74, Jessie Anderson 7-37, Shannon Jackson 5-32, JD Williams 4-15, Haynes King 1-3, Harvey Boyd 1-2, Corey Evans 1-2, Team 1-(-2).
PASSING—Copperas Cove, Simpson 11-24-0—161, Lewis 0-1-0—0. Longview, King 9-13-0—191.
RECEIVING—Copperas Cove, Jahmeel Rice 4-74, Trevor Troy 3-53, Jaylin Smith 2-21, Lewis 1-8, Cox 1-5. Longview, Kamden Perry 5-75, Keilyn Williams 3-106, Kyas Moore 1-10.