The Early Longhorns were unable to upend No. 5 Jim Ned in the District 3-3A Division I opener last week, but the next three outings against Breckenridge, Clyde and San Angelo TLCA could very well determine the Longhorns’ postseason fate under first-year head coach Daniel Price as Early targets its first playoff berth since 2008.

First up are the Breckenridge Buckaroos (0-5, 0-1), who the Longhorns (3-3, 0-1) visit at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“We started talking with the boys during our open week about the next five,” Price said. “We told them in order to get in, to get a guaranteed sixth game and get in the playoffs, we have to win two of them. We knew the first was Jim Ned and it would be a battle, but I’m proud of the way we played. These next three here are the ones where you look at it and say ‘let’s see if we can get two of these and get in,’ so it’s going to be a big night for us on that front. We talked earlier about the one victory that changes the face of the program and we have an opportunity Friday night to go do that.”

Early is coming off a 46-14 home loss to Jim Ned which snapped the Longhorns’ two-game win streak.

“It’s always disappointing to lose, I’m never happy about that, but I was really proud of the way we played,” Price said. “I don’t think a lot of people were looking at us and saying it would be 19-0 with Jim Ned at halftime. I think a lot of people around the area figured it’d be 35-0 or 42-0 at halftime and it end up being a 60-7 type football game. I was proud of the boys and the way we competed. It was a good night with our level of competition as far as where I think we can go now.”

Breckenridge opened district play with a 38-21 loss to Clyde last week. The Buckaroos both scored and allowed the most points of the season. Breckenridge began the year with three straight shutout losses to Jacksboro (13-0), Ballinger (13-0), and Cisco (14-0), then fell to Holliday (35-12) in the pre-district finale.

The Buckaroos average just 7 points and 171 yards – 100 rushing and 71 passing – per game on average.

Quarterback Henry Johnson has passed for 369 yards with three interceptions, while leading rushers include Jerry Lawson (221 yards, 4 TDs) and Anson Rodgers (132 yards, 1 TD). Top receivers are Jonas Arrellano (8-118) and Rodgers (7-40).

“Breckenridge will be in an I and play power football and come right downhill at you and try and wear you out,” Price said. “They have a big running back and full back that go downhill. They try to run it right down your throat, right up the middle. They have some big kids up front that are physical. It will be another big time battle up front, so who can control the line of scrimmage is the one that will come out victorious.”

Early counters with a defense that allows 26 points and 295 yards – 166 rushing and 129 passing – per outing.

Defensive standouts include Tre Beam (62 tackles, 11 for loss, 5 sacks), Marcus Morelan (45 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks), Bradon Schwartz (34 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks), Caleb McCullough (32 tackles), Korbin Hall (26 tackles, 1 for loss), Tucker Hale (25 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FR), Tyson Tyler (22 tackles, 1 INT), Franky Villarreal (20 tackles), John-Stewart Gordon (14 tackles, 1 INT), Wade Kennedy (13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FR), and Rylie Hill (12 tackles, 2 INTs).

“Defensively, we played really well against a good football team last week, now we have to prove it wasn’t just a one-night deal and that we can do it again,” Price said.

On the flip side of the ball, Breckenridge’s defense is yielding 23 points per game, but has surrendered 73 points the last two games after allowing just 40 the first three outings.

The Buckaroos are led by Alias Maya (45 tackles, 4 for loss), Lawson (38 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 sacks), Rodgers (35 tackles, 1 for loss), Julian Eutimio (33 tackles, 2 for loss), and Zeke Castillo (31 tackles, 5 for loss) and have forced just two takeaways and recorded five sacks.

The Longhorns produce 22 points and 280 yards – 173 rushing and 107 rushing – per contest.

Quarterback Jaxyn Price has completed 47 of 110 passes for 587 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the ground, Alex Jacobs leads the way with 524 yards and five touchdowns followed by Beam with 248 yards and three scores. Leading receivers include McCullough (12-75, TD), Beam (9-181, TD), Tyler (8-113), Jacobs (8-90, TD), Hayden Schroeder (5-82, TD), and Gordon (3-74, TD).

“Offensively, we still haven’t gotten to the consistency level I think we need to be at in order to compete in this district,” Price said. “With the strides we made Friday night, I hope to see more of that this Friday. I would like to see us run the ball a little better than we did against Jim Ned. Seeing us be better and learning from that situation offensively is what we hope to see Friday.”

On the injury front, the Longhorns are perhaps as hampered as they have been all season.

“We got beat up Friday night and we’ll possibly lose a couple guys this week,” Price said. “We’re waiting to hear from some doctors on some stuff, but we got pretty beat up. It’s disheartening but it’s a physical district and those things happen. We’ve got guys ready to step up and have their opportunity to play and hopefully they come through for us.”

Among the keys to the game, according to Price, “We can’t turn the ball over three times like we did last week. I can live with some turnovers, but it’s the ones in big spots where you can feel some momentum shift, we have to seize those spots. We also have to play well up front defensively against another big front Friday night.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 7-point underdog.

Early Longhorns 2020 Football Stats

Through 6 Games (3-3, 0-1)

TEAM OFFENSE
21.5 points per game (129)

279.8 yards per game (1,679)
172.8 rushing yards per game (1,037)
107.0 passing yards per game (642)

PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
47 of 110 for 587 yards, 4 TDs, 6 INTs

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 of 3 for 55 yards

RUSHING
‒ Alex Jacobs
524 yards on 93 carries, 5 TDs

‒ Tre Beam
248 yards on 45 carries, 3 TDs

‒ Jaxyn Price
207 yards on 69 carries, 2 TDs

‒ Wade Kennedy
27 yards on 4 carries

‒ Tucker Hale
23 yards on 5 carries, 1 TD

‒ Rylie Hill
4 yards on 1 carry

‒ Franky Villarreal
4 yards on 1 carry

‒ Caleb McCullough
0 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING
‒ Caleb McCullough
12 catches for 75 yards, 1 TD

‒ Tre Beam
9 catches for 181 yards, 1 TD

‒ Tyson Tyler
8 catches for 113 yards

‒ Alex Jacobs
8 catches for 90 yards, TD

‒ Hayden Schroeder
5 catches for 82 yards, 1 TD

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 catches for 74 yards, 1 TD

‒ Rylie Hill
3 catches for 18 yards

‒ Jake Simpson
1 catch for 10 yards

‒ Jeremy Brown
1 catch for 5 yards

TEAM DEFENSE
25.7 points per game (154)
295.3 yards per game (1,772)

166.0 rushing yards per game (996)
129.3 passing yards per game (776)

TACKLES

‒ Tre Beam
62 tackles, 11 for loss, 5 sacks

‒ Marcus Morelan
45 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks

‒ Bradon Schwartz
34 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks

‒ Caleb McCullough
32 tackles

‒ Korbin Hall
26 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Tucker Hale
25 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FR

‒ Tyson Tyler
22 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Franky Villarreal
20 tackles

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
14 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Wade Kennedy
13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FR

‒ Rylie Hill
12 tackles, 2 INTs

‒ Casey Moseley
11 tackles

‒ Jeremy Brown

10 tackles, 2 INTs

‒ Dowton Taylor
10 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Adan Aleman
6 tackles

‒ Dillon Miller
5 tackles

‒ Jaxyn Price
4 tackles

‒ Chris Fernandez
2 tackles

‒ Caydon Laird
2 tackles

‒ Alex Jacobs
1.5 tackles

‒ Bradly Roman
.5 tackle

‒ Ryan Parisi
.5 tackle