Tuesday, October 28, 1997

Cooper ranked No. 5; Sweetwater No. 2

By JAIME ARON

Associated Press

DALLAS - The No. 1 team in Class 5A still comes from District 12. Only this week, it's Longview and not Tyler John Tyler.

JT's season-long reign ended Monday in the wake of a 34-24 loss to Lufkin. Longview, which had been tied at No. 2 with defending 5A Division II champion Austin Westlake, moved up a notch by the slimmest of margins.

Longview, which beat Nacogdoches 42-3 Friday night, was No. 1 on eight of 20 ballots from sportswriters and broadcasters across the state and garnered 183 of a possible 200 points. The Lobos were no lower than third on any ballot.

Westlake, which beat Austin Bowie 57-20 last weekend, topped 10 ballots, but finished with 181 points. The Chaparrals came in as low as eighth on one ballot.

The other two first-place votes went to No. 3 Killeen Ellison.

Cooper moved up one notch to No. 5 in Class 5A.

Sweetwater remains No. 2 in Class 4A, while Brownwood fell out of the 4A poll after losing to Stephenville. Breckenridge remains No. 4 in Class 3A and Cross Plains No. 6 in Class A.

Longview doesn't have much time to celebrate its first No. 1 ranking since 1984. The Lobos return to the field Friday night against John Tyler, which slid into a tie for sixth with North Mesquite.

"This is going to bring out the best in everybody we play," Longview coach Robert Bero said of being No. 1. "The first team we have to play is the team that held the No. 1 ranking all year long. I know they're going to be hungry."

Lufkin's slaying of John Tyler earned the Panthers a return to the poll at No. 10 following a two-week absence. Having three teams from one district in the poll at the same time - especially this late in the year - is rare, if not unprecedented.

"This is just a great district," Bero said. "That was proven again last week with Tyler Lee (beating defending district champion Marshall) and Lufkin winning.

"Anyone can beat anyone on a given night. I know we keep saying that every week, but it keeps coming true."

Lufkin was one of two poll newcomers this week, although both were returnees. Humble, which fell out after a Week Five loss to current No. 4 Aldine Eisenhower, is back at No. 9.

The bottom two spots in the 5A ranking opened when Houston Madison lost to Houston Lamar and New Braunfels fell to San Antonio MacArthur. Madison and New Braunfels lasted just one week.