LUFKIN -- Tre Elliott's 1-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds remaining sent the No. 7 Ennis Lions to a 55-48 victory over Lufkin on Friday night at Abe Martin Stadium in a game that featured two ties and five lead changes.

Ennis (6-2, 4-0 in District 16-5A) began the game-winning drive with less than four minutes remaining after Lufkin (4-4, 2-3) took a 48-47 lead on Steven Sowell's 1-yard scoring run that capped an 18-play, 92-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes in the fourth quarter.

Elliott's game-winning score was his third rushing touchdown of the night. Lions quarterback Devin Smith ran for two and passed for two touchdowns in leading Ennis to its sixth consecutive win.

Sowell had three rushing touchdowns of his own to lead Lufkin. Quarterback Trey Cumbie passed for a two and ran for a pair of touchdowns in the Panthers' loss.

Cumbie's Hail Mary touchdown pass to KeKe Coutee as time expired in the second quarter cut Ennis' lead to 35-28 at halftime, but the Lions quickly regained a two-touchdown lead when Smith hooked up with Dee Wilson for a 20-yard score to push Ennis' lead to 41-28 in the third.

Lufkin then reeled off 14 consecutive points. Cumbie hit Coutee for a 15-yard touchdown, and Cumbie's 4-yard scoring run gave Lufkin a 42-41 lead late in the quarter.

Taylor Thompson answered for Ennis with a 13-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, but the Lions' two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Ennis in front by the score of 47-42.

Each team scored twice in the opening quarter. Sowell's 2-yard run got Lufkin on the board, but it was soon followed by an Elliott 3-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. Cumbie crossed the goal line from a yard out to regain the lead for Lufkin, but Smith's 66-yard scoring run on the ensuing possession tied the game at 14-14.

Ennis continued moving the ball in the second quarter, as Smith scored on a 34-yard run and then fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Donta Thompson for a 28-14 lead.

Sowell's 45-yard touchdown run for Lufkin stopped the bleeding for a moment, but Ennis again found paydirt on an Elliott 2-yard touchdown run, which gave the Lions a 35-21 advantage late in the first half.

Both teams return to action next Friday night. Lufkin plays at Corsicana, while Ennis travels to Lindale.

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