Strong Third Quarter Ignites Longview’s 27-10 Area-Round Defeat of McKinney Boyd

DALLAS -- Longview coach John King said it best: "The third quarter was good to us."

The Lobos erased a three-point halftime deficit with three touchdowns in a span of less than three minutes and forced four second-half turnovers in a 27-10 victory over McKinney Boyd in their Class 5A Division II Region II area-round playoff Saturday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

Longview (11-1) punched its ticket to the third round of the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year and will face A&M Consolidated (9-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Midlothian in a regional semifinal.

Lobos junior quarterback Dezmond Chumley threw two touchdowns and caught another on a halfback pass from junior JaMycal Hasty, who finished with 167 yards on 34 rushing attempts. Safety Travin Howard continued his impressive senior season, returning a fumble for his fourth defensive touchdown of the year while adding his eighth interception in 12 games.

Longview trailed 10-7 at halftime, but McKinney Boyd's Dedrick Scrivens muffed the second half's opening kick and was tackled at his own 1-yard line after choosing to bring the ball out of the end zone instead of taking a knee for the touchback.

"Big break for us, pinning them deep," King said. "And that started the second-half roll we got on."

Boyd was forced into a three-and-out, and Howard's ensuing punt return set Longview up at the Broncos' 36. On second-and-goal, Chumley rolled to his left and connected with tight end Jordan Whitaker for a 7-yard touchdown, which gave the Lobos a 13-10 lead after a missed extra point.

Laurent Johnson picked up a Scrivens fumble at the Boyd 30 on the Broncos' ensuing drive, and Longview turned it into points when Hasty took the pitch from Chumley and darted to his right before throwing across the field to a wide-open Chumley for a 10-yard touchdown and 20-10 lead at the 6:02 mark of the third.

Scrivens' miserable third quarter continued on the first play of Boyd's next possession when he fumbled and the ball was scooped up by Howard and returned 25 yards to the end zone for a 27-10 Lobos lead just 17 seconds later.

"We didn't push the panic button (at halftime), we just went out there and played football and cleaned up our mistakes," King said. "We were our own worst enemy in the first half. Of course in the second half, we were fortunate enough to get some turnovers and made some plays when we needed them."

Omar French's second sack of the night on third down forced a Boyd punt on its next drive, and the Broncos' final two possessions of the game both ended with interceptions -- by Jakoriyan Walker and Howard.

In addition to forcing four turnovers, Longview's defense allowed Boyd just 10 second-half rushing yards after the Broncos went for 110 in the first two quarters. Scrivens led Boyd with 74 rushing yards -- 64 in the first half -- and a touchdown on 21 attempts. Quarterback Curtis Ladd was 10 of 24 passing for 175 yards, while running 12 times for 40 yards.

Longview, meanwhile, ran for 146 yards in the second half after being held to 101 in the first 24 minutes. Hasty had 113 second-half yards on 22 carries.

"They've got a really good defense, they've played real well all year long," King said of Boyd. "We knew it would be difficult, but we were able to crease a few of them and make some throws when we needed to."

Chumley completed 7 of 13 passes for 121 yards, but ran seven times for 67 yards, helping the Lobos extend drives with his feet.

"It was big," King said of Chumley. "We had some long-yardage situations and they had us covered in the routes, and he did a good job of tucking the ball and getting us a first down or getting us a manageable down-and-distance. It's just those hidden-yardage plays you get throughout the course of the game … they may not be the way you draw them up, but it helps your football team move the sticks and score points."

Longview came away empty-headed on its first two offensive possessions of the game, but after a DeRodrick Alexander sack of Ladd on fourth down, the Lobos took over at their own 43 and scored six plays later when Chumley connected with Dorian Leonard across the middle for a 13-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

Boyd responded with a 17-play, 79-yard drive that chewed 7:29 off the clock. Scrivens took Ladd's option pitch five yards to the end zone on third-and-goal, which evened the game at 7-7.

Longview drove deep into Boyd territory on the ensuing drive, but Broncos linebacker Adam Brown recovered a Hasty fumble at the 14 with 2:47 remaining in the half. Boyd proceeded to march 78 yards in 13 plays, taking a 10-7 lead on Cameron Powell's 25-yard field goal with four seconds until halftime.

"I thought it was important for us to get a stop coming out to start the third quarter," King said. "I felt like we had played decent in the first half; missed a block here, missed a block there, missed a throw. We had some opportunities defensively, but we didn't get off the field. We just felt like if we could get a stop and go punch one in we could get back control of the ballgame."

And it didn't take Longview to regain control with its 20-point third quarter, which propelled the Lobos into next week's matchup with A&M Consolidated, a 41-16 winner over Austin Westlake -- the team that ended the Lobos' season a year ago in the third round.

"It doesn't get any easier," King said. "We've got A&M Consolidated, who's scoring a ton of points and they're on a roll, too. They had a big win over Westlake and they're playing with a lot of confidence now. It'll be another difficult task, and hopefully we can get ready this week."

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Class 5A Division II Region II Area Playoff

Longview 27, McKinney Boyd 10

Wildcat-Ram Stadium, Dallas

Longview                  7     0   20    0    --   27
McKinney Boyd         0   10     0    0    --   10
First Quarter
LON--Dorian Leonard 13 pass from Dezmond Chumley (Andres Perez), :32.
Second Quarter
MB--Dedrick Scrivens 5 run (Cameron Powell kick), 5:03.
MB--FG Powell 25, :04.
Third Quarter
LON--Jordan Whitaker 7 pass from Chumley (kick failed), 8:10.
LON--Chumley 10 pass from JaMycal Hasty (Perez kick), 6:02.
LON--Travin Howard 25 fumble return (Perez kick), 5:45.

                                         LON                MB
First Downs                            21                 14
Total Yards                           378                295
Rushes-Yards                   49-247          35-120
Passing Yards                       131                175
Comp.-Att.-Int.                  8-15-1          10-24-2
Punts-Avg.                        1-31.0            3-32.3
Fumbles-Lost                          1-1               3-2
Penalties-Yards                     6-40                1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Longview, JaMycal Hasty 34-167, Dezmond Chumley 7-67, Marquies Hunter 2-6, Jeremy Powell 2-5, Stephon Anthony 1-2, L'darrius Peterson 3-0. McKinney Boyd, Dedrick Scrivens 21-74, Curtis Ladd 12-40, Mahlieke Boseman 2-6.
PASSING--Longview, Chumley 7-13-0--121, Hasty 1-2-1--10. McKinney Boyd, Ladd 10-24-2--175.
RECEIVING--Longview, Dorian Leonard 2-28, Jordan Whitaker 2-21, Chris Pellum 1-39, Hasty 1-21, Anthony 1-12, Chumley 1-10. McKinney Boyd, Slater Brown 4-78, Robert Noren 3-64, Brandon Bowling 1-24, Scrivens 1-5, Boseman 1-4.