Longview Looks to Keep Rival Lufkin Reeling Friday Night at Lobo Stadium

Lufkin Panthers (1-2)

vs.

Longview Lobos (2-1)

7:30 p.m Friday

Lobo Stadium, Longview

Coaches

• Lufkin: Todd Quick
• Longview: John King

Last week

• Lufkin: lost 28-24 at Nacogdoches
• Longview: won 27-26 vs. Olive Branch, Miss. (in Shreveport)

Next week

• Lufkin: vs. College Station A&M Consolidated
• Longview: vs. Mesquite

Playmakers

Lufkin

• QB Trey Cumbie, Jr., 6-1, 189
• WR KeKe Coutee, Jr., 5-10, 160 (committed to Texas)
• WR Jamal Jeffery, Sr., 5-10, 165 (committed to Texas A&M)
• DT D.J. Williams, Sr., 6-4, 293
• FS Michael Farley, Sr., 6-0, 180
• OT Erik McCoy, Jr., 6-4, 282
• C Wacey Hartman, Sr.
• LB D'Angelo Hightower, Sr.
• RB Steven Sowell, Jr.

Longview

• RB JaMycal Hasty, Jr., 5-9, 181 (69 carries, 509 yards, 3 TDs; 5 catches, 124 yards, 2 TDs)
• DT Omar French, Jr., 6-0, 202 (18 tackles, 8 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble)
• S Travin Howard, Sr., 6-0, 179 (19 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 2 PBUs, 1 punt block)
• S Stephan Maxey, Sr., 5-11, 186 (22 tackles, 1 recovery, 1 def. TD)
• S Lauren Johnson, Sr., 5-8, 160 (26 tackles, 1 INT)
• QB Dezmond Chumley, Jr., 6-0, 188 (28 of 62, 467 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs)
• WR Dorian Leonard, Sr., 6-4, 200 (committed to Texas; 11 catches, 172 yards, 2 TDs)
• TE Jordan Whitaker, Sr., 6-4, 190 (8 catches, 136 yards, 1 TD)
• DE Decord Flanagan, Sr., 5-10, 200 (15 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble)
• DT DeRodrick Alexander, Sr., 6-1, 240 (14 tackles, 5 for loss, 4 sacks)

Just the facts

• Lufkin has a one-win advantage in the all-time series with Longview with a 35-34-4 edge.
• Longview won last year's meeting 45-14 at Abe Martin Stadium, marking the Lobos' first win in Lufkin since 1997.
• Lufkin won nine consecutive matchups vs. Longview form 1999-2007 after the Lobos went 14-3-2 vs. the Panthers from 1980-98.
• Fifteen of the last 17 meetings were decided by two touchdowns or less.
• Friday's game is part of the Great American Rivalry Series, which features some of the nation's longest-standing high school football rivalries. The GARS will cover 38 states and 68 cities during the 2013 high school football season.
• Former Longview quarterback Steve Judy will be inducted into the Great American Rivalry Series Hall of Fame at Friday's game, according to lobosfootball.com. Judy, who played at TCU, started for Longview in 1966-67.
• Lufkin senior defensive tackle D.J. Williams holds offers from Houston, Miami, Missouri, North Texas, and Oklahoma.
• Lufkin junior KeKe Coutee is committed to Texas and holds additional offers from Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
• Lufkin junior offensive lineman Erik McCoy and junior receiver Terry Mark each have a Houston offer.
• Longview senior defensive tackle Zaycoven Henderson, who holds more than a dozen offers, is out with a foot fracture. His return is expected in the next few weeks.
• Longview junior tailback JaMycal Hasty has six offers: Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
• Lufkin's 28-24 loss at Nacogdoches last week marked the Dragons' first win against the Panthers since 1992.
• Lufkin averages 35.3 points per game and allows 32.7.
• Longview averages 25.7 points per game and allows 24.0.

Key matchup: Lufkin defensive front vs. Longview rushing attack. It's no secret that Longview's offensive success usually hinges on the Lobos' ability or inability to run the ball effectively.

Lufkin definitely discovered that last year. Longview's Tory White, now at Lamar, rushed for 232 yards to spearhead the Lobos' 31-point rout of the Panthers, which marked Longview's first win at Abe Martin Stadium in 15 years.

Friday's game once again features a strong Longview rushing attack led by junior standout JaMycal Hasty, who enters the contest averaging 169.7 rushing yards per game and 211.0 yards from scrimmage. The Lobos are better equipped to throw the ball than they were last season, when Dezmond Chumley, now a junior, was forced into the starting role following a season-ending knee injury to Bivins Caraway. But Longview remains a run-first team that is at its best when Hasty and the offensive line are controlling the tempo.

Lufkin counters with a defensive line featuring future college player D.J. Williams and a veteran back seven. The Panthers have been banged up in spots defensively to start the season, which has likely contributed to the inconsistent play (16 sacks vs. John Tyler, then yielding 300-plus rushing yards to Tyler Lee and almost 200 to Nacogdoches). Lufkin needs its best performance of the season so far from its front seven if the Panthers are to prevent Longview from dictating the pace like the Lobos achieved a year ago at Abe Martin Stadium.

Don't be surprised if: Lufkin bounces back from last week's disappointing loss to put up a serious fight against a favored Longview team. The rivalry aspect of Friday's contest certainly makes it an even more intriguing matchup, in addition to the numerous college-caliber players who fans get to see on the Lobo Stadium turf.

Lufkin needs third-down stops to get Longview's rushing attack off the field. That will get junior quarterback Trey Cumbie more opportunities to find Lufkin's receivers, which are perhaps the Panthers' greatest strength with KeKe Coutee, Jamal Jeffery, and Terry Mark. But they face a Longview defense that features three talented safeties in Travin Howard, Lauren Johnson, and Travin Howard, plus a Lobo defensive line that has terrorized quarterbacks so far this season.

We expect a closer game than last year's 45-14 result, but Longview is the clear favorite.