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🐺 Longview Lobos football 2023


Lion7000

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The last time Longview had this many players on the roster with at least one D1 offer?


2005


If Bauer returns, you can back that up to 2004....


More to come. '24 and '25 classes were always the two strongest in the program.

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  • 1 month later...
John King will enter his 20th season as the Lobo football coach in 2023. Here's a list of some of his accomplishments:
 
  • Has only lost 1 game at Rose Stadium (not even to a Tyler team)
  • 15 District Titles (next most by a LV coach is 8...King won 8 in a row)
  • 19 playoff appearances (next most is 9)
  • 49 playoff wins (next most is 9)
  • 6 Semi Finals appearances (next most is 2)
  • 3 State Title appearances (only 2 before him)
  • 1 State Title
  • 18-1 record vs Marshall
  • 12-3 record vs Tyler
  • 17-0 record vs Legacy
  • 14-7 record vs Lufkin
 
So when football season approaches, before anyone criticizes King, you better enjoy and appreciate it, it's only a matter of time before his tenure comes to an end.
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17 minutes ago, Lobo97 said:
John King will enter his 20th season as the Lobo football coach in 2023. Here's a list of some of his accomplishments:
 
  • Has only lost 1 game at Rose Stadium (not even to a Tyler team)
  • 15 District Titles (next most by a LV coach is 8...King won 8 in a row)
  • 19 playoff appearances (next most is 9)
  • 49 playoff wins (next most is 9)
  • 6 Semi Finals appearances (next most is 2)
  • 3 State Title appearances (only 2 before him)
  • 1 State Title
  • 18-1 record vs Marshall
  • 12-3 record vs Tyler
  • 17-0 record vs Legacy
  • 14-7 record vs Lufkin
 
So when football season approaches, before anyone criticizes King, you better enjoy and appreciate it, it's only a matter of time before his tenure comes to an end.

Assuming Longview has had generally the same caliber of athlete most years, do you believe most of the coaches who came before King underachieved with the talent Longview possessed or that King has done a superior job in maximizing Longview's talent?  As you insinuated, we know he has some pretty harsh critics who believe Longview has underachieved during parts of his tenure despite the facts you provided.

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37 minutes ago, Sportsjunkiee said:

Assuming Longview has had generally the same caliber of athlete most years, do you believe most of the coaches who came before King underachieved with the talent Longview possessed or that King has done a superior job in maximizing Longview's talent?  As you insinuated, we know he has some pretty harsh critics who believe Longview has underachieved during parts of his tenure despite the facts you provided.

I can’t speak completely to all the coaches and players who came before King, as many of the coaches and players were before my time. 
Here’s what I can say, however. Longview was considered a premier program even before King. We’re not talking about a program that was a bottom feeder for years, and suddenly became a winner. So to accomplish what King has, far superior to any coach before him, says it all. 
Playoff wins alone is incredible. For the second most playoff wins for a Lobo coach to be 9, and he has 49! Wow. 
 

Like I said, we better enjoy and appreciate it. 

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Sometimes, you become a victim of your own success. For several years when I was a kid, Tom Landry couldn’t “win the big one.” The Duncanville HC finally win a state championship this year after losing TWO state games on 500-1 sot last second plays. King is amazing but fans always want more. The problem is Longview doesn’t know what it’s like to lose. Expectations are always out of this world. I hope Longview fans know what they have. 

Edited by Matt
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On 3/28/2023 at 4:54 PM, Lobo97 said:
John King will enter his 20th season as the Lobo football coach in 2023. Here's a list of some of his accomplishments:
 
  • Has only lost 1 game at Rose Stadium (not even to a Tyler team)
  • 15 District Titles (next most by a LV coach is 8...King won 8 in a row)
  • 19 playoff appearances (next most is 9)
  • 49 playoff wins (next most is 9)
  • 6 Semi Finals appearances (next most is 2)
  • 3 State Title appearances (only 2 before him)
  • 1 State Title
  • 18-1 record vs Marshall
  • 12-3 record vs Tyler
  • 17-0 record vs Legacy
  • 14-7 record vs Lufkin
 
So when football season approaches, before anyone criticizes King, you better enjoy and appreciate it, it's only a matter of time before his tenure comes to an end.

Co-sign. 

 

On 3/29/2023 at 9:20 AM, TrumpisDump said:

I wish Coach King the best for his career, but like the saying says "all good things come to an end". When King retires, who would be the next in line? Kind of like Nick Saban at Bama..who would want that pressure???

I hope it's at least later than 2030...

As far as who would be next?  No idea. 

When it comes to replacing a legendary coach, it's never easy to be the guy after the guy. 

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Let's see....

Longview has the 7th, soon to be 6th most wins of any TXHSFB program in the state.

So the program has always won. HOWEVER, not to this degree. He also didn't walk into a winning situation when he arrived at Longview. Longview was headed downward and was frankly saved by Collins/King/Berry and when King was handed the keys....rest is history. We got by far the greatest era of Lobo football ever. I'm pretty sure that even all individual player records (safe for Talley's rushing yards that Vondrell McGee nearly broke in 2004) at Longview are held by John King coached players. On both sides of the ball. A builder...

Coaching stability? We all love stability and King has had every opportunity to take other ventures and yes, that includes next level. But Longview holds a special place in his heart. The man didnt even leave when his children graduated like you often see coaches do. He calls Longview the best job in Texas. You can call it hyperbolic....whatever. I call it being loyal to some tough A Longview kids and to a fan base who at times, some say don't entirely deserve it.

Here's what doesnt get talked about enough....the coaching success of those who coached under King. Look at what coaches like Casey Pierce (Brackenridge), John Berry (Gladewater) and Jerrod Baugh (Gladewater and Ruston) have done in HC role. Ruston was in the state title game in Louisiana last season. King is not only breeding good talent, but good coaches.

Does he get in his own way at times? Sure. Best thing about him that many other coaches have too much pride to do is admit their shortcomings, and King has never had a problem doing that even after wins.

That's my HC.

 

Edited by ANTI
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On 3/28/2023 at 4:54 PM, Lobo97 said:
John King will enter his 20th season as the Lobo football coach in 2023. Here's a list of some of his accomplishments:
 
  • Has only lost 1 game at Rose Stadium (not even to a Tyler team)
  • 15 District Titles (next most by a LV coach is 8...King won 8 in a row)
  • 19 playoff appearances (next most is 9)
  • 49 playoff wins (next most is 9)
  • 6 Semi Finals appearances (next most is 2)
  • 3 State Title appearances (only 2 before him)
  • 1 State Title
  • 18-1 record vs Marshall
  • 12-3 record vs Tyler
  • 17-0 record vs Legacy
  • 14-7 record vs Lufkin
 
So when football season approaches, before anyone criticizes King, you better enjoy and appreciate it, it's only a matter of time before his tenure comes to an end.

Only people that criticize King are “fans” of programs that don’t utilize home grown talent. They have to go to different zip codes to have success 

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2 hours ago, Eagleborn said:

Only people that criticize King are “fans” of programs that don’t utilize home grown talent. They have to go to different zip codes to have success 

lol.

On the real though, they just picked up '27 stud RB Kaidon Graves out of Longview (Judson). 

We'll be fine though. More where that came from.

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On 3/29/2023 at 11:07 PM, ANTI said:

lol.

On the real though, they just picked up '27 stud RB Kaidon Graves out of Longview (Judson). 

We'll be fine though. More where that came from.

Kaidon’s father is from Carthage and played RB at Carthage in the early 2000’s. All of his family is in Carthage. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. He was always gonna be a Bulldog.

Lucky they didn’t want Tatum to be a Bulldog. But that’s a different situation since his dad didn’t play FB and wasn’t close to the program. 

On 3/29/2023 at 8:52 PM, Eagleborn said:

Only people that criticize King are “fans” of programs that don’t utilize home grown talent. They have to go to different zip codes to have success 

People I see critiquing King the most are Longview “fans”. 

It is obvious King is the best Longview has ever had and is a future HOF’er. His 49 playoff wins and overall record speaks for itself. Plus the amount of guys they have put at the next level speaks volumes about the program. Lucky to have a coach the caliber of King representing ETX at he higher level. We have a couple at the lower classes with a lot of success, but in the higher classes King and Longview are it.

On 3/29/2023 at 8:52 PM, Eagleborn said:

Only people that criticize King are “fans” of programs that don’t utilize home grown talent. They have to go to different zip codes to have success 

Depends what you consider “home grown”. 

Edited by SmoakyBandito
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37 minutes ago, SmoakyBandito said:

Kaidon’s father is from Carthage and played RB at Carthage in the early 2000’s. All of his family is in Carthage. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. He was always gonna be a Bulldog.

Lucky they didn’t want Tatum to be a Bulldog. But that’s a different situation since his dad didn’t play FB and wasn’t close to the program. 

Longview is also pretty deep in the backfield in those lower groups. We always knew that we would lose one of those backs in that '25-'27 bunch.

Tatum played little league on the Southside for the Mustangs, there was little doubt about him being a Lobo...even with pops having Carthage ties. At least with Graves, he started playing football in Carthage.

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1 hour ago, ANTI said:

Longview is also pretty deep in the backfield in those lower groups. We always knew that we would lose one of those backs in that '25-'27 bunch.

Tatum played little league on the Southside for the Mustangs, there was little doubt about him being a Lobo...even with pops having Carthage ties. At least with Graves, he started playing football in Carthage.

For sure. TT is a much different situation than Kaidon. TT was always a Longview kid even though his Dad graduated from Carthage. I doubt he has ever lived in Carthage. I was really just poking a little fun with you mentioning Tatum. But like I said Graves was always going to be a Bulldog.

Graves will be an excellent addition to the incoming Freshman class next year at Carthage. Graves will team up with another son of a former Carthage RB, KJ Edwards who will only be a sophomore next year. Those 2 will be fun to watch once they get on Varsity together.

Both Longview and Carthage always seem to have a stud RB and another one coming behind that one!

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29 minutes ago, SmoakyBandito said:

For sure. TT is a much different situation than Kaidon. TT was always a Longview kid even though his Dad graduated from Carthage. I doubt he has ever lived in Carthage. I was really just poking a little fun with you mentioning Tatum. But like I said Graves was always going to be a Bulldog.

Graves will be an excellent addition to the incoming Freshman class next year at Carthage. Graves will team up with another son of a former Carthage RB, KJ Edwards who will only be a sophomore next year. Those 2 will be fun to watch once they get on Varsity together.

Both Longview and Carthage always seem to have a stud RB and another one coming behind that one!

Yeah, Longview has another Talley coming up in '27 too out of Foster. 

Graves didn't play much last season because of injury...so people also got to see Henry Johnigan carry the rock for Judson. There aren't very many out there faster than Graves, but Johnigan is by a hair.

Mason Washington in '26, Boosie Washington in '25, Taylor Tatum in '24....

And that's just the big names.

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On 3/29/2023 at 5:11 PM, ANTI said:

pretty sure that even all individual player records (safe for Talley's rushing yards that Vondrell McGee nearly broke in 2004) at Longview are held by John King coached players

Vondrell came close in 13 games to what Talley did in 15 games. Sad we couldn't make it happen for him. 

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On 3/30/2023 at 4:03 AM, SmoakyBandito said:

Both Longview and Carthage always seem to have a stud RB and another one coming behind that one!

I'm not sure about Carthage, but I do think a lot of the success of Longview's RBs is owed to Coach King's background as an offensive lineman and OL coach. Yes, I'm biased as a lineman that blocked for Vondrell McGee and Chris Ivory. And yes, Longview has had some absolutely incredible athletes at the RB position over the years (it makes me a little sad for Williams and Anderson in 2018 that they were overshadowed by the insane season Haynes and Perry had). But Longview, under King, has always executed at the offensive line position. He coaches that unit very hard.

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1 hour ago, JohnnyFootball said:

I'm not sure about Carthage, but I do think a lot of the success of Longview's RBs is owed to Coach King's background as an offensive lineman and OL coach. Yes, I'm biased as a lineman that blocked for Vondrell McGee and Chris Ivory. And yes, Longview has had some absolutely incredible athletes at the RB position over the years (it makes me a little sad for Williams and Anderson in 2018 that they were overshadowed by the insane season Haynes and Perry had). But Longview, under King, has always executed at the offensive line position. He coaches that unit very hard.

Playing OL or DL at Longview is some of the toughest training that any player would endure.

You had better be thick skinned and able to take constructive criticism, because King and Berry are going to push you beyond limits.

Forget college, King has put multiple trench guys in the league. 

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On 3/30/2023 at 2:29 AM, SmoakyBandito said:

People I see critiquing King the most are Longview “fans”. 

Longview “fans” as you say definitely critique King.

But a lot of the people out in East Texas see what Carthage has done on the lower level, and just expect that type of repeated success because we’re Longview. Just doesn’t happen in rural big schools. Literally almost never now a days.

Getting that title in 2018 might’ve been the biggest accomplishment in 6A/5A football, East Texas wise, that has happened in 20 years. Easily could be the biggest in the following 20 as well, unless a once in a generational team comes through any other 6A/5A school. 

The question and statement will always be Longview should have more titles. Do I believe should’ve finished the job more? Yes. This past year was an extremely good example of him having more than enough talent to win state and just coming not being able to get out of his own way. 2010, 2011. Both prime examples as well. 

But as stated above, he’s taken out already great program and moved us to the next level. No doubt our talent has slipped here and there but we’ve never come close to missing the post season, outside of maybe 2010. And even then, in his 19 seasons, we’ve finished third just twice.

Overall though, our program has just had consistent consistency. We have had 6 head coaches since 1967. There’s several schools around here that have had that many in the last decade alone. Do I think our winning ways are coming to an end even after King leaves? History shows us that’s not happening. Will we see some sort of a down slide instead of expecting to compete for state every year? Who knows. We’ll find out when the time comes. But our program’s culture is just so expectation driven, we expect to beat and win every team we come up against 97% of the time. Even if it’s against the Aledo’s, Denton Ryan’s, Lake Travis’s of the world. 

I’m thankful for John King, for getting us to this point, for giving us three title games, for giving us a state title. But I’m also excited, when the time comes…hopefully not too soon, to see where the next guy is able to take this program. We will have a plethora of coaching options the way King has continued to groom his former players into the coaches we have all around him now.

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On 3/30/2023 at 4:45 AM, ANTI said:

.........And that's just the big names.

Yeah, and that's not even considering the kids who come outta nowhere due to growth or development. 

IMO, Alijah was a decent back in middle school, but has worked himself into being one of the best RBs in the region. It's an absurd luxury for us to have him at fullback. 

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31 minutes ago, GoodOleBoy73 said:

I think there are a few East Texas coaches that Longview could target once Coach King decides to hang up the whistle. If I were Longview Admin...I'd ask him who to target. He obviously has plenty of connections.

I think it'll be internal when it does happen tbh. And that will be due to King.

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