Albert Einstein was once quoted as saying, ""Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".
HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF....AGAIN
While his theory in madness is nearly 100 years old, the Longview-Marshall rivalry is living its reality.
The long storied rivalry completed its 113th year this past season.
With the 48-7 Lobo victory, Longview increased its lead in the overall series to 66-42-5. No team in Longview's long history has beaten the Lobos more than the Marshall Mavericks.
But don't be fooled.... most of those 42 Marshall wins were long before any of you were born.
Since dropping a classification in 2002, the Mavericks are (1-21) against the Lobos.
Prior to the 1988 season Longview had raddled off 19 consecutive wins from 1969-1987.
Since 1968 Marshall is (10-46) against Longview.
In the last 60 years.....from 1963-2023.... the Mavs are (12-49).
Longview has had winning streaks of 19, 14, and currently 8. Marshall's longest streak has been three and that was nearly 25 years ago. The Mavs haven't had a streak of four or more since 1948-1953.
But it's not just the win/loss record, it's the lack of competitiveness.
Since 2002 most of the games have been blowout losses. The Lobos have outscored Marshall 919-260. That's an average score of 41-11.
2002: lost 42-13
2003: lost 49-16
2004: lost 40-15
2005: lost 28-16
2006: lost 38-35
2007: lost 41-7
2008: lost 50-21
2009: lost 47-30
2010: lost 31-9
2011: lost 30-0
2012: lost 48-0
2013: lost 26-14
2014: lost 56-13
2015: won 28-25
2016: lost 56-7
2017: lost 41-7
2018: lost 60-14
2019: lost 53-0
2020: lost 48-7
2021: lost 14-0
2022: lost 48-11
2023: lost 48-7
Since the 2015 game Longview has outscored Marshall 368-53.
So the argument becomes....does this game make Marshall better? Everyone agrees that playing a tough schedule in non-district makes you better when the district race starts and thusly the playoffs after.
But do you reach a point where it DOESN'T help?
No one wants a cupcake schedule. That's not what anyone is suggesting. Instead it's about a schedule that balances playing teams better than you....and teams on your level.
What teaches a team more about winning? A 50-7 loss to Longview..... or a hard fought 38-36 OT loss to Tyler?
In reality.....both games would be losses... but does a CLOSE BATTLE that you came up a bit short in teach more than getting stomped and a second half of benchwarmers teach more?
Would a 24-21 game....win or lose game to Lufkin be more valuable than a 49-0 loss to Longview?
A tough battle to the end....win or lose is infinitely more valuable to a team than a useless blowout loss.
Losing by 40-50 points doesn't test you. It doesn't make you better.
Having to battle for 48 mins to get a tough win.....THAT..... that makes you better.
SIZE MATTERS
This coming winter the UIL is expected to realign Longview to class 6A. Marshall is expected to remain in 5A Div II, two full football classifications below the Lobos.
Longview is reporting nearly 2,300 students for the next alignment. Marshall is reporting 1,500. That's huge. You would be hard pressed to find any 1,500 Vs. 2,300 match-ups across the state. It just doesn't happen.
Schools size is so important to the University Interscholastic league that they go through the tremendous effort of conducting realignment EVERY TWO YEARS.
Why? Why do they go through so much trouble so frequently?
Competitive fairness. Plain and simple. Everyone wants a level playing field.
The UIL wants to group schools together that have similar enrollments. There's a reason Longview isn't the same district with Spring Hill. There's a reason Marshall isn't in the same district with Elysian Fields. Or Carthage with Beckville. Etc...etc....etc....
Obviously they can't control all the factors that contribute to competitive balance. But the most common denominator is enrollment.
Who else in class 5A Division II is signing up to play Longview? Not. A. Soul.
Texas High? NOPE. Hallsville? NO. Pine Tree? NADA. Mount Pleasant? NO WAY. Nacogdoches? NOT IN 20+ years. Whitehouse? GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.
To be fair though.....Longview has dominated everyone in East Texas...no matter what classification they have been.
Longview is (22-2) Vs. Marshall since 2000
Longview is (18-3) Vs. Tyler since 2001 and has won 7 in a row. Longview is (20-4) Vs. Tyler Legacy since 2000 and has won 19 in a row Longview is (15-4) Vs. Lufkin since 2007 and has won 7 in a row and 13 of the last 15
Toss in Hallsville, Pine Tree, Nacogdoches, Jacksonville, Whitehouse, Mount Pleasant, Greenville, and Sulphur Springs into the former ETX district/playoff rival pile since 2000 and you get an overall record of (22-0). Not a single loss out of a group of EIGHT teams since 2000.
In fact....since 2000 Longview is (97-24) Vs East Texas 5A/6A. 14 of those 24 losses were to Lufkin. Everyone else has combined for only 10 wins against the Lobos in 24 seasons. But Lufkin hasn't beaten Longview in back to back seasons since 2009/2010.
All this to say: Longview is elite. Very elite. Their domination of Marshall isn't special. They are dominating everyone else in East Texas too. Marshall, Lufkin, Tyler , Tyler Legacy, Texas High, MP, etc, etc, etc....
And those game have mostly been blowouts too....just like the Marshall game has.
Longview is simply better than everyone else in East Texas. And it's not even close.
MONEY MATTERS
There is no way to sugar-coat this. But the Marshall-Longview game is a cash-cow for Longview ISD and Marshall ISD.
Most would venture to say it's the largest home crowd either has every other season they get to host.
Who brings a bigger crowd to Maverick Stadium than Longview? No one.
Who brings a bigger crowd to Lobo Stadium than Marshall? No one.
This is big money. Ticket money. Merchandise money. Concession money.
Some suspect that money is the driving force behind keeping this series alive in spite of the domination. It's a promise of a sellout....or near-sellout more often than not.
Marshall fans show up in the hopes of a miracle like we saw in 2015. You never know when history may be made.
Longview wants a big crowd for homecoming. Or Green Out. Media attention.
But money shouldn't be the driving force.
FOOTBALL LIFE GOES ON
Longview and Marshall have been tangling for 113 seasons. There is no denying it's a historical rivalry. Letting is go away will be strange. It'll be sad....and no doubt nostalgic. But one things is certain...... the Marshall Mavericks and the Longview Lobos will be fine.
Football life will continue. Fans will still show up to games. Bands will still march and play. The lights will still blaze.
Maybe Marshall Vs. Tyler takes its place.
Maybe Marshall Vs. Lufkin becomes the new rivalry
or Pine Tree....or Kilgore.... all candidates
Old rivalries have gone away before (Lufkin, Tyler, Lee).
We were fine then....we'll be fine again.
ROMANTICIZING THE PAST
Arguments have been made that "back in the day" the Mavericks built a name for themselves by scheduling teams like Odessa Permian, Monroe Wossman, Monroe Neville, Ouachita, Dallas Carter, Evangel, Killeen Ellison and others. All were top 10 teams at the time.
That's a fact. Those games existed.
But so did Shreveport Southwood, Houston Smiley, Kilgore, Paris, Benton (Ark), Fort Worth Dunbar, Shreveport Huntington. All were relatively bad teams at the time.
That's a fact. Those games existed.
Dennis Parker and Bill Harper perfected the non-district schedule with TOUGH games that Marshall was likely favored to lose...with games they were most certain to win. The Mavs were never expected to beat Odessa Permian.....but everyone expected Marshall to boatrace Southwood. Both on the same schedule.
Bill Haper pulled together an impressive line up of Oauchita and Dallas Carter....but balanced it with Fort Worth Dunbar and Southwood. in 1998 he had #1 Evangel and #1 Killeen Ellison along with a ranked Ouachita. But again tossed in Southwood.
Anyone remember how terrible Shreveport Huntington was? Marshall played them for almost a decade. Games were never close.
Coach Southern followed suit with games like Lukfin and Ouachita.....but also had Atlanta and Southwood.
Harris had Kilgore and Neville.....each state ranked. But also had Jacksonville and Huntington.
Mav fans tend to remember those big September Saturday Upsets of Odessa Permian, Dallas Carter, Killeen Ellison, Neville......
But they tend to forget those yawner games Vs. Southwood, Huntington, Dunbar, and Yates
WHO CAN FILL THOSE RIVALRY SHOES?
Replacing a 113 year rivalry simply isn't possible, so there's no since in trying.
HOWEVER... there are plenty of programs Marshall has a long and rich history with...some of them just waiting to be picked up again.
Lufkin, Tyler Legacy, Tyler, Kilgore.... these are all former district rivals that could make some outstanding non-district games.
Tyler and Marshall share more than 100 years of history just like with Longview....that series was brought back to life in 2022 after being long dormant. The 2023 game went 5 overtimes. Tyler is one of up and coming programs of 5A Division I. A perfect fit for a non-district game. An easy one to schedule every year.
Lufkin and Marshall have 80+ years of history between them. The Panthers have struggled since moving up to 5A Division I....but would be a force to be reckoned with in division II. The Mavs could seize this annual contest and make it a mainstay non-district game.
There are several top-notch Shreveport schools to look at: Byrd, Bossire Parkway, Airline. Renewing old rivals from Monroe could be advantageous with Ouachita or Neville for long, tough road games.
Marshall and Kilgore were fierce rivals from 2002-2012 before the Bulldogs dropped classification. Kilgore is still at the top of the 4A Division I game....making them an attractive match-up in September.
Pine Tree and Marshall have been district rivals since 2002....but the Pirates are headed to 4A in 2024. This opens the door for a perfect rivalry game. Close proximity, lots of history between them. Even more bad blood. Perfect recipe for a rivalry game. This could grow into a BIG game if both parts play their roles correctly.
LEAP OF FAITH
Ending the Longview rivalry will be praised by many and bemoaned by others.
Change is tough. Like ripping off a bandaid.
Just do it. It'll hurt....for a second. But then you'll move on to the next big thing.
Longview wants to schedule power 6A programs for non-district. Let them. They say it will make them better.
Marshall can schedule some barnburners with many teams that won't be blowouts. It will make the Mavericks better.
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Marshall and Tyler had almost 100 years of history between them when the series ended after the 2001 season. We recently picked that rivalry up again and we were treated with a 5-OT barnburner.
The Lufkin series ended in 2004 after 80-plus seasons of rivalry. It very well could come back to life in the near future.
There could very well come a time that Marshall and Longview could revive the rivalry. Perhaps in the future the Mavericks will become one of the elite in 5A Div II....and could challenge the 6A Lobos. Maybe the Lobos will return to Earth at some point.
Five years from now....ten years down the road. Might be 20 years like it was with Tyler....but Marshall Vs. Longview could once again become the spectacular rivalry we saw "back in the day".
But until that day comes....instead of looking back at the "good ole days"..... let's look ahead because the best is yet to come.
Rip off the band-aid. Just do it. You'll be glad in the end.
GO MAVS GO!!!!
Mavchamp