For the first time, the Great American Rivalry Series-alongside the United States Air Force -visited Longview, Texas to provide national prestige as the Longview Lobos and the Marshall Mavericks met for the 99th time in this historic grid iron matchup. With these two teams first butting heads in 1909, Longview-Marshall is the longest running rivalry in East Texas and the third longest in the entire state. Longview holds the lead in the series 52-41-5 and currently enjoys an 8-game winning streak over the Mavericks. Adding to the excitement, this was a big district matchup for both teams.

On a cool East Texas night, the crowd came early and excited. Texas Football Magazine named it the number one rivalry in Texas in an article that said, “No matter which way you slice the bread, the rivalry between Longview and Marshall perfectly typifies Texas football.” The Air Force had exclusive presence in a throng of students & alumni from both schools. Over 10,000 fans gathered for this annual rivalry. Air Force activation included the Air Force Challenge, Orange County Chopper, the pre-game Scholar Athlete presentations and the post game championship awards.

MVP

LaDarius Brooks

Longview

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Branson Rogers

Longview

Branson Rogers is a two-year letterman on the Longview varsity football and a two-year letterman in power lifting. He has a 4.3932 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, and attends Mobberly Baptist Church.

Aaron Wilson

Marshall

Aaron is a three-year letterman on the Marshall varsity football team and was voted Defensive District Newcomer of the year his sophomore year. He is also a three-year letterman in track, qualifying twice for the regionals in the 200 meter dash and as an alternate to the state meet in 2009. He has a 3.52 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to play football at Oklahoma University and pursue a degree in sports medicine.

GAME SUMMARY

In a quarter's worth of time, the Longview Lobo defense played its worst on Friday. In a quarter and change worth of time later, the Lobos more than made up for it. The Lobos forced five turnovers from Marshall in the first 12 minutes and 39 seconds of the second half, and No. 3-ranked Longview took advantage for 24 points to run away with a 47-30 victory. The most exciting of the turnovers was LaDarius Brooks intercepting a deflected Brandon Fitzgerald pass and returning it 32 yards to the Marshall 23-yard line. This set up a two-yard touchdown run by Tyler McCray with 6:31 left in the third quarter. Brooks finished with two interceptions and was named the Great American Rivalry Series game MVP. The win clinches a playoff berth for Longview (7-1, 4-0 in District 13-4A), the ninth straight season Longview has qualified for the postseason. It was also Longview's ninth straight win over Marshall (4-3, 2-1).