Longview + Marshall Enter 106th Rivalry Game Hungry For First Win

Longview Lobos (0-1)

vs.

Marshall Mavericks (0-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Maverick Stadium, Marshall

Coaches

• Longview: John King
• Marshall: Clint Harper

Last week

• Longview: lost to Lufkin, 35-24
• Marshall: lost to Tyler Lee, 34-7

Next week

• Longview: vs. Dallas South Oak Cliff, Sept. 9
• Marshall: at Monroe (La.) Ouachita Parish, Sept. 9

Playmakers

Longview

• DB Traveion Webster, Sr., 6-0, 215
• OL Kendall Starling, Sr., 6-3, 300
• QB Gaylon Wiley, Sr., 6-4, 185
• RB D’Crayvan Polk, Sr., 5-9, 180
• RB/LB Kendravian White, Sr., 5-9, 215
• LB Ja’Quavion Faggans, Sr., 5-9, 185
• TE Jaylin Brown, Jr., 6-4, 225
• WR Eric Timberlake, Jr., 5-10, 165

Marshall

• ATH Cam Haller, Sr., 5-10, 205
• OL Chasen Hines, Jr., 6-3, 332
• DL Marje Smith, Jr., 6-6, 215
• WR/DB Corteze Hurd, Jr., 6-1, 170
• WR/DB Tre Macon, Jr., 5-11, 190
• OL Kameron King, Jr., 6-3, 272
• QB Hunter Herrington, Jr., 5-11, 190
• DL Greg Hood, Sr., 5-11, 260

Just the facts

• Friday's game is the 106th installment of the Longview-Marshall rivalry.
• The Lobos lead the series, 58-42-5.
• Marshall earned its first win against Longview since 2000 last season, a 28-25 home victory in district competition.
• Longview was promoted to Class 6A during realignment while Marshall stayed in Class 5A.
• Both teams are coming off losses, but a young Lobos team had the better Week 1. It fell to an experienced Lufkin team by 11 points while Tyler Lee held Marshall to 83 total yards in a 27-point win.
• Longview began the season ranked fourth in the ETSN.fm Class 6A/5A poll and is still fourth ahead of Week 2.
• Marshall was ranked third in the same poll and fell to the seventh spot.
• Longview will travel 26 miles one-way for the game at the 9,580-seat Maverick Stadium.

Key matchup: Longview's defense versus Marshall's passing game.

While the Mavericks' runners struggled for 49 yards on 20 carries last week against Tyler Lee, the passing game was far less efficient. Marshall completed 5-of-16 passes for 34 yards in a thorough 34-7 loss.

Longview put together a much better body of work despite its own loss to Lufkin. It was a somewhat pleasant surprise that a team with four returning starters could hang with Lufkin's complete team for most of the game toward a 35-24 defeat.

The Lobos slowed down what might be remembered as East Texas' most powerful offense by the end of the season. One of Lufkin's touchdowns came on a kickoff return.

Longview's defensive task seems simpler this week. It is facing a Marshall team trying to overcome the loss of a four-year starting quarterback Justin Hart and knows running back Cam Haller is still the guy that put up 1,815 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns through 13 games a season ago as a running back and then as a quarterback after Hart went down with a season-ending injury.

If the Lobos creep their defense up and load the box, it's going to be hard for Haller and the rest of the Marshall backs to do much damage without breaking tackles. And Longview can initially afford to do just that because the opposing passing game has no vital signs.

This is a big second game for Mavericks junior quarterback Hunter Herrington. He can ruin Longview's preliminary defensive game plan with a handful of good throws early.

Marshall can free its running game to the best of its ability once it forces the Lobos to respect the pass.

Don't be surprised if: Friday's game is another memorable event in the rivalry. One bad offensive game doesn't make a season, and good quarterbacks quickly get up to speed. Marshall expects Hunter Herrington to be a good one under center.

More than anything, this is a real rivalry game. It's not contrived.

There's enough adrenaline in the environment of a Longview-Marshall game for either team to gain an upper hand early and ride it to victory.