Longview Lobos prepare to re-enter the 6A ranks

LONGVIEW, Texas ( KETK ) — Last year’s Longview Lobos football team went undefeated in district play and won 11 games, but ultimately fell short of their third state title.

The Lobos lost a heartbreaker 27-24 to Lancaster in the third round of the playoffs last year.

It’s a game most, if not all the returning Lobos feel they should have won but they’re using it as motivation to make this season one to remember.

Longview, which is moving back up to 6A, began fall practice this week.

“We got a saying around here that one day don’t make you and one day’s not gonna break you. It’s the body of work that you put forth and that’s what I told ’em. Let’s just be better than we were yesterday. And that’s what our focus is gonna be every day,” Longview head coach John King said.

Lobos head coach John King knows there’s no time to waste as Longview prepares to face longtime rival Lufkin in their house week one.

“That’s a good judgment for you, a measuring stick for you when you open up the season with Lufkin at Lufkin. I know they’re gonna be better. A team that’s gonna be hungry to get back in the playoffs. And they got a lot of kids back from last year’s varsity football team. Kind of the opposite of what we have so it’ll be a tough challenge having to go there and play will even make it worse,” King said.

King told his players after the first practice that there is no depth chart at this point. He’s hoping the competition for more open positions than normal will make the Lobos better on the field.

“Like I told the guys, there ain’t no starters right now. There’s not a varsity and a JV. We’re playing football. We’re getting reps. Everybody’s an All-American in their shorts. When we put them pads on is what I’m gonna be ready to see,” King said.

King said two areas where there’s a lot of inexperience is in the secondary and on special teams, specifically when it comes to a starting kicker and punter.

One Lobo who’s sure to see plenty of playing time is senior running back Kelvin Washington.

He said former Longview backfield mate and current Oklahoma Sooner, Taylor Tatum, gave him some advice heading into this season.

“Really just being that guy, taking control of the game, really just he told me to play my game so that’s what I’ll do,” Washington said.

The expectations are always sky-high in Longview and despite the talent that was lost after last season, King feels this group could be special.

“We’re just gonna trust the process. We’re gonna build and we’re gonna stack good days on top of good days and we’re gonna come out the backside of this thing being a good football team,” King said.

The Lobos open the 2024 season at Lufkin on Friday, August 30. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin.

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