The Early Longhorns and Bangs Dragons are both coming off postseason appearances in 2020 and are looking for repeat performances this fall. Each team will attempt to build positive momentum toward a potential playoff berth as the Brown County rivals kick off the season against each other at 7:30 p.m. at Longhorn Stadium in Early.

Early is coming off a 5-6 campaign and first playoff berth since 2008. Meanwhile, Bangs posted a 9-2 record and advanced to the postseason for the second year in a row. But the Dragons return just 11 of 25 lettermen – including four offensive and three defensive starters – from last year’s squad, while the Longhorns welcome back 17 of 26 lettermen, including eight starters on each side of the ball.

“The expectation is to make the playoffs again and the goal is to win a gold football,” Early second-year head coach Daniel Price said in the preseason. “In order to do that we’re going to have to play well and we like where we’re at right now. So far it’s been a good start.”

Bangs fourth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield offered the following outlook for his squad during preseason action.

“We think we’re on schedule, but it’s one of the most inexperienced teams I’ve coached in a while,” Maxfield said. “They come to work everyday and they’re getting better, but the biggest thing is they need snaps. Once we get some snaps under our belts hopefully we’ll continue to improve. The effort’s there, the kids are being coachable, all the elements are there to have a successful season, it’s just a matter of getting reps.”

Early took part in scrimmages against Goldthwaite and Eastland during the preseason, and Price liked the development he saw from his squad.

“We were consistent, we moved the ball well, we scored a couple of touchdowns,” Price said of the Longhorns’ performance against Eastland. “Defensively we had a couple of interceptions. I felt like with our boys, all the nerves were gone, it just felt like we were playing football and it was good to see. We are right where we want to be and we are still ahead of where we were at this time last year, obviously with two scrimmages. We’re excited with where we’re at, excited to see Bangs Friday night and see what we look like.”

Bangs battled San Saba and Menard in preseason scrimmages, and the Dragons gained valuable on-field experience, according to Maxfield.

“We got more consistency with our base stuff,” Maxfield said of the Dragons’ effort versus Menard. “We got a lot of reps on both sides of the ball which we needed since we’re so inexperienced. That was the biggest thing that jumped out. We talked as a staff and we feel like we’re on schedule. It’s always a little nerve racking going into the first game any year, but especially this year with as young as we are. We think we’re on track, but Early is probably ahead of schedule, but we’ll find out Friday night.”

Among the key returnees for the Longhorns are quarterback Jaxyn Price (1,141 passing yards, 9 TDs; 273 rushing yards, 4 TDs), running back Tre Beam (504 rushing yards, 7 TDs; 16-238, 1 TD receiving), receivers John-Stewart Gordon (8-137, 3 TDs) and Jeremy Brown (5-62), linemen Chris Crawford, Bradly Roman, Chris Fernandez, and Casey Moseley, linebackers Caleb McCullough (48 tackles, 1 for loss; 19-153, TD receiving) and Franky Villarreal (42 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack), and safety Tucker Hale (42 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery). A newcomer to watch is Vic Cooper at receiver.

Other players expected to figure heavily into the mix are WR/DB Rylie Hill (9-112, 2 TDs receiving), RB/LB Kaleb Ozuna, WR/DB Ki Houston, OL/DL Korbin Hall (43 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), WR/DB Jake Simpson, and WR/DL Caydon Laird.

“They run really well to the ball on defense,” Maxfield said of Early. “They don’t take any plays off and they get to the ball. Offensively they seem really balanced. Coach Price has put together a really good staff and they look pretty impressive.”

Players to keep an eye on for Bangs are OL/DL Warren Theriaque, RB/LB Damien Santillanes (15-142, TD receiving; 208 rushing yards, 1 TD; 80.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 INT, 1 FR), RB/LB Guy Powell (15-295, 4 TDs; 170 rushing yards, 1 TD; 16 tackles, 1 INT), RB/LB Keygan Pitts, OL/DL Donovan Ruiz, RB/LB Ian Cortez, OL/DL Azreal Escobedo, OL/DL Hunter Bernal, TE/DL Braxton Melling, WR/DB Guy Funk, OL/DL Luke Duncan, QB Kade Minshew, QB Zack Ferguson, OL/DL David Herrera, and OL/DL Noah Pin.

“They’re big up front,” Price said of Bangs. “Their defensive line played really well in the scrimmages we saw. They have a running back that’s really fast, Guy Powell can go a little bit, so being able to control him and keeping him from getting long runs, and blocking their defensive line are two of the big keys for us. We’re going to have to focus in on that this week in order to be ready to go when they show up here Friday.”

As for additional keys to an Early win, Price said, “I want to see us continue to get more physical, continue to see us compete and start to get into better shape conditioning wise. You could tell with the heat on Thursday with the scrimmage with Eastland that we were still dragging a little bit. Hopefully we’ll be better with that on Friday. I want to see us execute, do what we’re coached to do and see how we can go from here and go from Bangs and continue throughout the year.”

Maxfield is hopeful the nerves of a youthful Dragon squad are settled early Friday night.

“We’re going to have to play a lot of kids. It’ll be their first Friday night under the lights,” Maxfield said. “We have to stay the course, remember the coaching points that they’ve heard since day one, trust the process and get after it. Play from our toes, not from our heels.”

Regarding the importance of opening the season with a victory, Price said, “It’s really important when you change expectations. Last year we were coming off a 3-7 record the year before, we had high expectations but it’s hard to have those when you’ve not had success. Once we’ve had success from last year, starting on the right foot and going out there and competing and getting a win would do wonders for our program and where we want to go this year, and validate some of that success we had last year. Hopefully we show up and perform well on Friday and get that first win.”

Maxfield added, “It’s always big to get that first one, but especially where we’re at. After the first two scrimmages, it would be big. We’ve gained some confidence in the scrimmages, but we’re fixing to compete against a whole new level. You worry about the game speed getting to them and I talked about playing on their heels, we just don’t want them out there thinking too much, but that’s easier said than done when you have a lot of inexperience.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 15-point favorite.