Second-Ranked John Tyler Rolls To 41-25 Victory Over Longview

LONGVIEW -- Second-ranked John Tyler scored in a variety of ways Friday night en route to an impressive 41-25 road win over rival Longview in front of packed house at Lobo Stadium in the ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Game of the Week.

The Lions (2-0) got their customary big plays on offense and found the end zone on both defense and special teams to record their second consecutive impressive win to begin the season.

"It was a good win against a good opponent," said John Tyler coach Ricklan Holmes. "Longview's always going to play us tough, and we know that. I knew it was going to be a slugfest from the beginning to the end. Mentally, we just had to make sure we took care of what we needed to take care of to win the football game."

John Tyler quarterback Geovari McCollister completed 10 of 13 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and added a team-high 66 yards on seven rushing attempts.

"Offensively, I was just being patient and taking what they were giving us," McCollister said. "If they were giving us the deep ball, I had to just man up and throw the deep ball. If they wanted to give us things underneath, I just had to take what they gave us."

Longview, meanwhile, is 0-2 for the first time since 1963. The Lobos were without injured starting running back JaMycal Hasty, a Baylor commit, for the second consecutive week, and were also playing without several players suspended for Friday's game for disciplinary reasons.

"The only thing that concerns me is the 0-2 start, and our health this year," said Longview coach John King. "I was just so proud of the effort we got out of our young men tonight, a true Lobo effort. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of character, but came up short."

The game turned late in the first half with Longview trailing, 14-10. The Lobos took possession at their own 15 with 2:01 remaining until halftime. Following a 21-yard completion on first down, John Tyler's Damion Miller intercepted Longview quarterback Dezmond Chumley, giving the Lions the ball back at their own 39 with 1:28 on the clock.

McCollister connected with junior receiver Duntayviun Gross for 47 yards on first down, and two plays later, Nick Cain rushed into the end zone from five yards out to give John Tyler a 21-10 lead it carried into halftime.

"I wish I had the pass play back, right before halftime where we threw the pick," King said. "We should've run the clock out and gone (into halftime) down by four. But we were just trying to find ways to get these kids to have some success and keep them believing that we could win this football game. I told them 'we're going to keep firing bullets.' That's one bullet I wish I hadn't have shot."

Despite only seeing the field for 1:31 of the third quarter, John Tyler put up 20 points in the period to effectively put the game out of reach.

John Tyler senior cornerback Isaac Warren scooped up a fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown to put John Tyler up 27-10 with 8:55 showing on the third-quarter clock. Longview's ensuing drive was stalled by back-to-back John Tyler sacks, which brought on a fourth-and-24 situation from the Lobos' 37.

The snap went over Longview punter Andres Perez's head and all the way in the the end zone, where John Tyler junior Bryston Gipson recovered the ball for this third touchdown in two weeks. That put the Lions up 34-10 with 4:01 to play in the third.

"He's doing his assignment the way he's coached to do it, understanding that we all fit the way we need to fit," Holmes said of Gipson, who added another fumble recovery later in the second half. "It just so happens every time he fits, that's where the ball squirts out."

Longview finally got into the end zone on its next drive when fullback Marquies Hunter rumbled 23 yards to paydirt, and then caught a two-point conversion pass from holder Cameron Castleberry that cut the deficit to 34-18.

Hunter finished with a game-high 140 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, sparking a Longview rushing attack that ran 57 times for 253 yards.

"I thought all four running backs did pretty good," King said. "We tried to do things to fit their strengths, but Marquies Hunter had a heck of a game. He played his heart out, he ran the ball well, he protected, he blocked, and I couldn't have asked for a better effort out of the young man."

The JT offense finally saw the field in the second half, and wasted little time putting more points on the board. McCollister's 25-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Bendy capped a five-play, 68-yard drive that pushed John Tyler's lead to 41-18 late in the third quarter.

"We're improving right now," Holmes said. "We're not there yet, but we're getting there, slowly but surely. That comes with practicing hard every day, making sure that everybody's there. And once again, we come out of a game with no injuries."

John Tyler featured eight different ball carriers and six pass catchers -- none of whom had more than two receptions. Jeremy Wilson had 41 yards on eight rushing attempts, Cain caught two passes for 68 yards and a touchdown and rushed twice for 13 yards and another score.

"We were just spreading the ball around," McCollister said. "We've got a lot of playmakers, and when you have all them playmakers on one team, you have to learn how to rotate them in and let everybody get some touches."

Longview ran 30 more plays than John Tyler, and finished with just three fewer total yards. Senior Dezmein Thomas had 89 yards on 15 carries, D'Crayvan Polk ran 12 times for 37 yards and caught two balls for 33 yards. Chumley was 6-of-12 passing for 122 yards, while receiver Anthony Carter had two catches for a team-best 62 yards.

Longview returns to action next Saturday in Shreveport against Monroe Neville as part of the annual Battle on the Border at Independence Stadium. John Tyler faces crosstown rival Tyler Lee next Friday night.

No. 2 John Tyler 41, Longview 25

At Lobo Stadium, Longview

John Tyler              7    14    20     0    --    41
Longview               3      7      8     7     --   25

First Quarter
LON--FG Andres Perez 33, 6:24.
JT--Nick Cain 59 pass from Geovari McCollister (Luis Duran kick), 3:16.
Second Quarter
JT--Cordarion Johnson 1 run (Duran kick), 8:44.
LON--Dezmond Chumley 2 run (Perez kick), 4:04.
JT--Cain 5 run (Duran kick), :59.
Third Quarter
JT--Isaac Warren 56 fumble return (kick failed), 8:55.
JT--Bryston Gipson 0 fumble return (Duran kick), 4:01.
LON--Marquies Hunter 23 run (Hunter pass from Cameron Castleberry), 1:34.
JT--Rodney Bendy 25 pass from McCollister (Duran kick), :03.
Fourth Quarter
LON--Hunter 8 run (Perez kick), 5:16.

                                           JT                   LON
First Downs                         17                      25
Total Yards                        378                    375
Rushes-Yards               31-163              57-253
Passing Yards                    215                   122
Comp.-Att.-Int.             10-13-2              6-17-1
Punts-Avg.                      2-43.0              2-18.5
Fumbles-Lost                       2-1                   3-2
Penalties-Yards                  7-64                 3-13

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--John Tyler, Geovari McCollister 7-66, Jeremy Wilson 8-41, Cordarion Johnson 8-28, Nick Cain 2-13, Bryston Gipson 1-9, Quaylan Brown 2-8, Bryson Smith 2-5, Duntayviun Gross 1-(-7). Longview, Marquies Hunter 13-140, Dezmein Dennis 15-89, D'Crayvan Polk 12-57, Traveian Webster 4-25, Cameron Castleberry 1-10, Dezmond Chumley 11-(-31), Team 1-(-37).
PASSING--John Tyler, McCollister 10-13-2--215. Longview, Chumley 6-12-1--122, Webster 0-2-0--0, Castleberry 0-3-0--0.
RECEIVING--John Tyler, Cain 2-68, Gross 2-52, Rodney Bendy 2-31, Wilson 2-3, Smith 1-32, Brown 1-29. Longview, Antonio Carter 2-62, Polk 2-33, Webster 1-24, Jon Sorey 1-3.