Longview vs Plano - at Texas Stadium - November 21st, 1975 - via Dallas Morning News
Lobos pummel Wildcats, 26-0
Longview's team motto "Keep Your Thumbs Up" was just the half of it. The No. 1 ranked Lobos not only did that, but kept their toes up, their elbows up, their heads up, and the score up. Plano lost its first game of the year, 26-0, to end the Wildcats for the year.
For Doug Cox's strong legions it was a game of ball control, and oh how the clock work for Longview in the third quarter. Plano only trailed, 6-0, at the half in the Texas Stadium game.
When the intermission ended, Longview took the kickoff and consumed seven minutes and 47 seconds in an 83-yard drive. Leo McCoy, who rushed for 98 yards on the night, squirmed in from three yards to make it 12-0 and Plano was stymied with only six offensive plays in the entire period.
By the time the Wildcats had the ball again, with just 8:40 left in the contest, the strong Lobos had a 19-0 margin and Plano quarterback Sammy Bickham was saddled with an impossible situation.
The tall, lanky southpaw signal caller for the Wildcats moved them 40 yards on a pass interference call and a 20-yard pass to Brocks Wallace, but on second-and-eight at the Lobo 35, Thomas Cook played the pass perfect, intercepted and raced 77 yards down the sideline for the final score.
the Wildcats, ending another playoff year at 10-1, watched a strong Lobo rushing attack, engineered by quarterback Lew Fambles, who was the leading rusher in the game with 103, take the opening kickoff and move 65 yards in 11 plays. Fambles ran 11 for the score at 4:53, another time-consuming drive, but Keith Clayton clocked the extra point try.
The Longview defense was everything it was cracked up to be. It only allowed the Wildcats 55 yards on the ground and had it not been for Hickman and his aerial circus to Brooks Wallace things could been downright embarrassing for the Wildcats. Wallace snared seven passes for 94 yards.
Plano's most serious threat of the evening came with time running out in the first half. After a Wes Hansen interception, Bickham directed the Wildcats on the ground, surprisingly from the Plano 45 to the Lobo 10, before Longview stiffened.
With a fourth-and-seven from the 10, Bickham dropped to pass, was swarmed and only could loft an interception to Jeff Stone with 37 seconds left in the half.
Fambles' only pass completion of the night was one to remember. After a fourth quarter drive to the Plano 9, kept alive on a crucial fourth-and-two situation by a deliberate forward fumble which resulted in another Longview first down, Fambles passed nine yards to Bobby Hunt for the second. Mark Bolton kicked his first of two extras.
Only minutes later Cook rambled for his interception touchdown and Longview sent in the second team.
Bickham only managed 22 yards rushing, but did a credible job passing when he had protection. Kevin Pier had 24 rushing and John Gaddis 18.
Longview has only yielded one touchdown on the ground this year and has limited all but two of its opposition rushing yardage below 100. Plano was no exception and thus, the Lobos defeated the Wildcats for the first time. Plano had beaten them two times in the past three years. It was the first shutout for Plano since John Tyler dumped them, 34-0, two seasons ago in bi-district.
Scoring
1st - Longview (6-0) - Lew Fambles (11 yard run)
3rd - Longview (12-0) - Leo McCoy (3 yard run)
4th - Longview (19-0) - Bobby Hunt (9 yard pass from Lew Fambles)
4th - Longview (26-0) - Thomas Cook (interception return)
Statistics
First Downs: Plano-13 Longview-20
Rushing Yards: Plano-55 Longview-301
Passing Yards: Plano-112 Longview-9
Passes: Plano-8-22-2 Longview-1-2-1
Punts: Plano-4-39.1 Longview-1-32.0
Fumbles Lost: Plano-0 Longview-1
Penalties: Plano-2 for 10 Longview-3 for 36
