You know I had been told for years that Lyle did not play against Brokesmith at Brookesmith in 1999. Then one day I managed to get a copy of the game and was astonished to see Lyle play most of the first half. You could see he was either sick or injured by his play and body language.
An impressive side-note was the play of the Maverick runningback Jordan Hicks. He ran tough and scored several touchdowns. Had some nice plays on defense, also.
Gordon looked weak with and without Campbell. For me the game pointed out vividly the mediocrity of the Longhorns without a healthy Lyle. If I recall accurately, another top player was also missing for most of the game for Gordon. It was either Chance Kite or Bo Johnson. For proper perspective remember that Panther creek beat up Gordon in a scrimmage by six or eight scores. What the Longhorns overcame to win state is and will always be one of the most amazing examples of football destiny. God was a Longhorn fan that year. Remember the PC play in their playoff game in Clyde where the RB was cruising in for a game winning TD (they led at the time) and mysteriously tripped just four or five yards from the goal line. Then they fumbled the next play...I think. Gordon went down and scored, then Lyle intercepted a pass to put it away.
Lyle was incredible and fun to watch. They are not made like him anymore. Coach Campbell was the most dangerous coach to play against in that era. How I wish Tyler could have competed against Lyle. What a titanic struggle that would have been...Godzilla vs King Kong.