FRISCO – Navigating through the high school football playoffs in Texas is not easy. The Longview Lobos, however, are making it look that way.

Longview scored on its first four possessions, forced four turnovers, and rolled to a 63-17 win over Prosper in their Class 6A Division II area playoff Saturday night at the Ford Center.

The Lobos (12-0) will meet fellow unbeaten Austin Vandegrift (12-0) In the Region II semifinals at 6 p.m. next Saturday from Baylor University’s McLane Stadium in Waco.

Longview, which is 12-0 for the first time since 2004, has outscored its first two postseason opponents, 133-39.

The Lobos raced out to a 28-3 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter, then put up 35 points in a dominant second half in which they allowed Prosper (9-3) just two first downs and 31 yards of offense.

Longview junior quarterback Haynes King passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and added 77 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Kamden Perry caught three passes for 108 yards and a score, while Jessie Anderson led the Lobos’ 289-yard rushing effort with 102 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

“Jessie did a good job of running the ball out of the gun as well as out of the two-back I,” said Longview coach John King. “We felt like we were gonna have to do some of that just because they loaded the box and gave you so many looks. We were gonna run Jessie out of the gun some, and Haynes with some zone-read stuff, and I thought they both did a good job.”

Jaylon Allen had two of Longview’s three sacks, Jacob Johnson and Robert Pierce had an interception apiece, while Laqualon Hale and Jordan Wallace recovered fumbles. Wallace’s occurred in the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

“It starts up front,” Coach King said. “We played all night with three down, and they did a good job of stuffing the run and the linebackers fitting. We had our outside linebackers hanging for all the triple-option zone stuff they do on the perimeter.

“The corners didn’t give up big balls, they did a good job of breaking up balls. And we got good play out of our safeties. The pressure we got up front was good, we got some sacks in key moments, and got a defensive touchdown.”

The best moment of the game for Longview had to be tight end Logan Peters’ 6-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Peters was born with just one hand, but that didn’t matter as his reception gave the Lobos a 49-10 lead.

“I’m surprised that ball didn’t get kicked into the stands,” Coach King said jokingly. “It was something we put in, in the middle of the drive. We were in our goal-line set and they were bringing everybody, we were just gonna try to hit the tight end on the dump route. It couldn’t happen to a better kid. To have his dad and uncle down there on the sidelines to see it, that was a special moment.”

Prosper quarterback Keegan Shoemaker passed for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jostein Clarke. Wayne Anderson ran for 85 yards in the loss.

Longview’s first drive of the night lasted six plays, and ended with a Keilyn Williams 13-yard touchdown run. A long kickoff return from Prosper freshman Tyler Bailey set Prosper up with good field position, and the Eagles got on the board with a 31-yard field goal by LSU commit Cade York.

The Lobos’ next series featured plenty of Anderson and King, who finished the drive with a physical 20-yard touchdown run and 14-3 Longview lead.

Johnson intercepted Shoemaker just across midfield, and on the first play, King faked a handoff and hit a streaking Kyas Moore down the field for a 55-yard touchdown that pushed the Lobos’ lead to 21-3 with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter.

“It was something we put in, in walk-through yesterday,” Coach King said. “It was nothing earth-shattering, just a little personnel change. We felt like we could put the ball to (Moore), get him matched up on somebody and hit him down the middle of the field. There was good protection and Haynes did a good job of selling the run.”

Longview scored six plays into its next possession when King connected with Jhailon Braden for a 22-yard touchdown, which pushed the lead to 28-3 with 10:35 to play in the half.

The Lobos’ final three drives before halftime were empty, while Prosper was able to grab some momentum on Shoemaker’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Clarke.

“We came out and were able to get some scores,” Coach King said. “We got the ball back with some three-and-outs, then got a commanding lead. Then we got stale, we had two red-zone opportunities we blew with penalties or negative plays that cost us points.”

Longview scored on its first two drives of the third quarter with a 2-yard run by King, and Anderson’s powerful 27-yard rumble to the end zone.

No. 4 Longview 63, Prosper 17

Class 6A Division II, Region II Area Playoff
At Ford Center, Frisco

Longview          21      7    14    21    –    63
Prosper              3      7      0      7    –    17

First Quarter
LON—Keilyn Williams 13 run (JK Martin kick), 9:24.
PRO—FG Cade York 31, 5:07.
LON—Haynes King 20 run (Martin kick), 3:24.
LON—Kyas Moore 55 pass from King (Martin kick), 2:35.
Second Quarter
LON—Jhailon Braden 22 pass from King (Martin kick), 10:35.
PRO—Jostein Clarke 22 pass from Keegan Shoemaker (York kick), 8:21.
Third Quarter
LON—King 2 run (Martin kick), 9:15.
LON—Jessie Anderson 27 run (Martin kick), 2:30.
Fourth Quarter
LON—Logan Peters 6 pass from King (Martin kick), 7:38.
LON—Jordan Wallace 0 fumble return (Martin kick), 6:46.
PRO—Clarke 17 pass from Shoemaker (York kick), 4:53.
LON—Kaden Meredith 25 run (Spencer Powell kick), 1:54.

                                    LON                   PRO
First Downs                       22                      14
Total Yards                       496                   212
Rushes-Yards              45-289                27-87
Passing Yards                   207                  125
Comp.-Att.-Int.             8-14-0            11-27-2
Punts-Avg.                   1-60.0              6-43.3
Fumbles-Lost                     0-0                  3-2
Penalties-Yards                 7 -49                 5-39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Longview, Jessie Anderson 11-102, Haynes King 9-77, Keilyn Williams 16-71, Kaden Meredith 5-44, JD Williams 4-(-5). Prosper, Wayne Anderson 17-85, Jostein Clarke 1-11, JT Lane 2-8, Julian Britt 1-(-2), Keegan Shoemaker 6-(-15).
PASSING—Longview, King 8-14-0—207. Prosper, Shoemaker 11-27-2—125.
RECEIVING—Longview, Kamden Perry 3-108, Kyas Moore 1-55, Jhailon Braden 1-22, Williams 1-15, Logan Peters 1-6, Anderson 1-1. Prosper, Buddy Price 3-47, Clarke 3-44, Devoncy Maloy 3-12, Cameron Harpole 1-12, Anderson 1-10.

More From East Texas Sports Network