EARLY – The Early Longhorns began the season with a resounding 48-12 victory over the rival Bangs Dragons, and look to keep their undefeated record intact as they visit the Tolar Rattlers at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Reflecting on the opening win, Early (1-0) second-year head coach Daniel Price said, “I was very pleased with our performance on Friday. We were physical, we played well up front on both sides. We answered some questions defensively. Up front was one of the big things we were wondering, could we replace those guys and they played really well. I’m excited with the way we started and looking forward to the season.”

Against Bangs, the Longhorns produced 499 yards of total offense – 300 passing with six scoring tosses and 199 rushing – and did not commit a turnover.

“We did a really good job of throwing and catching,” Price said. “We were 18 of 21, that’s 85.71 percent, so we’re excited about the completions and how dialed in we were from the get go. We threw three incomplete passes on the first drive and that was it. We completed everything else after that, so it was a good night.”

Jaxyn Price completed 17 of 20 passes for 231 yards with five touchdowns, while Tucker Hale hurled a 69-yard touchdown. Leading receivers included Jeremy Brown (6-55), John-Stewart Gordon (3-100, TD), Tre Beam (3-52, TD), Cedrick Morelan (2-45, 2 TDs), Caleb McCullough (2-32, TD), and Ki Houston (1-15, TD).

On the ground, Beam rushed for 101 yards while Michael Morales chipped in 57 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Longhorns surrendered a pair of touchdowns and 261 yards – 193 on the ground and 68 through the air – with one takeaway.

Standouts included Korbin Hall (9 tackles, 1 for loss), Franky Villarreal (7.5 tackles), McCullough (6.5 tackles), Brown (6.5 tackles, 1 INT), Kaleb Ozuna (6.5 tackles), Beam (5.5 tackles), Vic Cooper (5 tackles), Chris Fernandez (5 tackles), and Hale (3.5 tackles).

“We ran to the football, there was a lot of gang tackling,” Price said. “We knew we’d have to control Guy Powell on the ground and we didn’t let him get loose until late in the game. I’m very proud of how they ran to the football, they tackled well and were able to come up with some good fourth down stops.”

Tolar (1-0) is coming off a 48-0 opening-night victory over Class 2A Division I state runner-up Post.

“Tolar’s a really good football team,” Price said. “They beat up on Post and they played for a state championship last year. They’re big, they’re physical, they have some very athletic skill kids. It’s going to be a good match up for us on Friday.”

In the win over Post, Tolar amassed 282 yards of total offense – 191 passing and 91 rushing – with one fumble.

Quarterback Jackson Lecluyse completed 9 of 15 passes for 159 yards with three touchdowns – all to Wyatt Jones, who finished with seven catches for 106 yards. Isaac Blessing connected on 3 of 6 passes for 32 yards with a touchdown to Matt Moore, who grabbed two passes for 66 yards.

On the ground, Joseph Arce rushed for a team-high 34 yards, Peyton Brown added 23 yards and a score and Blessing rushed for 19 yards and reached the end zone once.

The Rattlers yielded 205 yards – 144 rushing and 61 passing – and forced a pair of turnovers – one fumble and one interception.

“Defensively, they’re very disciplined and they’re fast to the football,” Price said of Tolar. “They’re good up front and come off the ball well. Offensively, they’ve got some skill kids that can go. We’re going to be challenged in a different way then we were Friday night against Bangs. They’re going to throw the ball a little bit more and we’re going to have to be on our game because they have some big, long receivers. It’ll be interesting to see how we match up and play against a little bit different style of offense.”

As for what Price would like to see improved upon in Week 2, he said, “I would like to see us get off the field on third and long. We didn’t do a really good job of that all night Friday night, so we’d like to be better there. Offensively, continue to get a grasp on the entire offense. We only have a little bit of it in so hopefully we’ll see us continue to take some strides offensively as we put a little bit more on the boys Friday night. That’s where we’re at and hopefully we get to see that. We also need to take care of the football. We didn’t turn over the football Friday night, and we need to continue that as well.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 9-point underdog.

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Early Longhorns 2021 Football Stats

Through 1 Game (1-0)

TEAM OFFENSE
48 points per game

499 yards per game
199 rushing yards per game
300 passing yards per game

PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
17 of 20 for 231 yards, 5 TDs

‒ Tucker Hale
1 of 1 for 69 yards, TD

RUSHING
‒ Tre Beam
101 yards on 15 carries

‒ Michael Morales
57 yards on 10 carries, TD

‒ Riley Hill
32 yards on 4 carries

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
10 yards on 3 carries

‒ Jaxyn Price
-1 yards on 2 carries

RECEIVING
‒ Jeremy Brown
6 catches for 55 yards

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 catches for 100 yards, TD

‒ Tre Beam
3 catches for 52 yards, TD

‒ Cedrick Morelan
2 catches for 45 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Caleb McCullough
2 catches for 32 yards, TD

‒ Ki Houston
1 catch for 15 yards, TD

‒ Michael Morales
1 catch for 1 yard

***

TEAM DEFENSE
12 points per game
261 yards per game

193 rushing yards per game
68 passing yards per game

TACKLES

‒ Korbin Hall
9 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Franky Villarreal
7.5 tackles

‒ Caleb McCullough
6.5 tackles

‒ Jeremy Brown
6.5 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
6.5 tackles

‒ Tre Beam
5.5 tackles

‒ Vic Cooper
5 tackles

‒ Chris Fernandez
5 tackles

‒ Tucker Hale
3.5 tackles

‒ Bradly Roman
2 tackles

‒ Gavin Sanders
2 tackles

‒ Riley Hill
1.5 tackles

‒ Casey Moseley
1.5 tackles

‒ Hayden Welch
1 tackle

‒ Dalton Adams
1 tackle

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
1 tackle

‒ Ki Houston
0.5 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (+1)
Early 0
Opponents 1 — 1 INT