EARLY – The Early Longhorns are off to their best start since 1976 and look to complete their non-district schedule with a perfect record as they visit the Grape Creek Eagles at 7 p.m. Friday.

Improving to 4-0 last week, Early – ranked No. 20 in Class 3A Division I this week by Harris Ratings Weekly – matched its best start in 45 years as the 1976 squad won its first six games en route to a 9-1 record. That Longhorn squad, however, was denied a playoff berth by district champion De Leon as only the league winner advanced to the postseason in those days.

Faced with a chance to carry an unblemished mark into the District 3-3A Division I opener against reigning state champion Jim Ned, Early second-year head coach Daniel Price said, “If we can manage one more and go 5-0 Friday night it would be something special for us. Going 5-0 would be big for our confidence as we go into a tough district schedule as far as what we’re capable of against some quality pre-district opponents before district and have those wins and understand we’ve learned lessons through those five victories. It’s not going to be easy when we get into district with Jim Ned, the No. 1 team in the state, Wall is Wall and Breckenridge and Clyde are in there, too.”

The Longhorns are coming off a 47-13 homecoming victory over Merkel, a game in which Early pulled away in the third quarter with four touchdowns after leading just 14-6 at intermission.

“There was a little bit of a struggle for us there in the first half. It was good to see our boys go through some adversity,” Price said. “We really haven’t had any except for Tolar, and even against Tolar it wasn’t like that. It was the first time we’d been hit in the mouth and done those things in the first quarter. It was good for those boys to go through that, play through it and we got some things going there toward the end of the half. “

The defense yielded just 260 yards of total offense and forced five more turnovers – three interceptions and two fumble recoveries – as the Longhorns are now +10 in turnover margin for the season with 13 takeaways.

“The defense tackled really well and ran to the football, and they continued to generate turnovers,” Price said. “We had five more on Friday so the defense is taking the ball away, giving us extra possessions and keeping the score down. Our defense carried us the first half and in the second half our offense finally got started.”

The offense generated 389 yards – 233 passing and 156 rushing – as Jaxyn Price hurled three touchdowns, including two to Tre Beam who also rushed for a pair of scores. Six Longhorns caught passes and five players rushed the ball in the latest victory.

“Offensively we still remain balanced in what we’re doing and it’s good to see that,” Price said. “We were able to move the ball in a variety of ways and not just rely on either passing or running. It was good to see those things play out Friday night.”

Grape Creek (1-3) is coming off a 49-0 loss to Coleman in which the Bluecats scored all their points in the first half. The Eagles, whose lone win came against San Angelo TLCA by a 50-22 count, finished with 120 yards – 89 rushing and 48 passing – last week against Coleman while yielding 337 yards – 231 on the ground and 106 through the air – and surrendering 12 yards per play on average.

“Grape Creek has some big kids up front, they’re going to be multiple offensively so it’s going to be a little bit different from what we’ve seen,” Price said. “They run a little bit of the single wing, they line up in some different formations, so seeing something different that we haven’t seen poses a good challenge for us.

“Defensively we’ve seen them in a couple of a different defensive fronts. When you’re having to prepare for multiple defenses and not knowing what you’re going to see on Friday night it makes it a challenge.”

Behind the blocking of Casey Moseley, Cody Jackson, Chris Crawford, Chris Fernandez, and Bradly Roman, Early enters the contest averaging 46.5 points and 413 yards – 232 passing and 181 rushing – with three turnovers.

Price has completed 58 of 98 passes for 854 yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception, while Beam has compiled 459 rushing yards and eight scores. Leading receivers include Jeremy Brown (21-249, 3 TDs), John-Stewart Gordon (13-262, 3 TDs), Beam (5-117, 3 TDs), Cedrick Morelan (4-113, 2 TDs), Caleb McCullough (4-46, 2 TDs), Ki Houston (3-44, TD), and Vic Cooper (3-34).

On the defensive side of the ball, the Longhorns yield 14 points and 233 yards – 137 through the air and 96 on the ground – with 13 takeaways.

Standouts include McCullough (42 tackles, 8 for loss, 3 sacks), Tucker Hale (37 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT), Kaleb Ozuna (30 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack, 2 FRs, 1 INT), Franky Villarreal (29 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 FR), Korbin Hall (29 tackles, 7 for loss), Beam (26 tackles, 9 for loss, 4 sacks, 1 FR), and Brown (22 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT).

As for the Friday night goals against Grape Creek, Price said, “I would like to see us continue to do the things defensively we’ve done through the first four weeks – run to the ball, tackle, keep the score manageable for us to be in striking distance. Offensively I’d like to see us start faster this week than we did last week, play a full complete game and be ready to go when we start district in a couple of weeks.”

There is no line for this game according to Harris Ratings Weekly, but Early is ranked 56 points higher than Grape Creek this week.

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Early Longhorns 2021 Football Stats

Through 4 Games (4-0)

TEAM OFFENSE
46.5 points per game (186)

413.3 yards per game (1,653)
181.3 rushing yards per game (725)
232.0 passing yards per game (928)

PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
58 of 98 for 854 yards, 13 TDs, 1 INT

‒ Tucker Hale
2 of 2 for 74 yards, TD

RUSHING
‒ Tre Beam
459 yards on 60 carries, 8 TDs

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
81 yards on 20 carries

‒ Michael Morales
71 yards on 22 carries, TD

‒ Franky Villarreal
62 yards on 14 carries

‒ Riley Hill
32 yards on 4 carries

‒ Tucker Hale
14 yards on 2 carries

‒ Jaxyn Price
8 yards on 7 carries, TD

RECEIVING
‒ Jeremy Brown
21 catches for 249 yards, 3 TDs

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
13 catches for 262 yards, 3 TDs

‒ Tre Beam
5 catches for 117 yards, 3 TDs

‒ Cedrick Morelan
4 catches for 113 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Caleb McCullough
4 catches for 46 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Ki Houston
3 catches for 44 yards, TD

‒ Vic Cooper
3 catches for 34 yards

‒ Gavin Sanders
3 catches for 17 yards

‒ Franky Villarreal
1 catch for 26 yards

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
1 catch for 14 yards

‒ Hayden Welch
1 catch for 5 yards

‒ Michael Morales
1 catch for 1 yard

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TEAM DEFENSE
13.8 points per game (55)

233.5 yards per game (934)

96.5 rushing yards per game (386)
137.0 passing yards per game (548)

TACKLES

‒ Caleb McCullough
42 tackles, 8 for loss, 3 sacks

‒ Tucker Hale
37 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
30 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack, 2 FRs, 1 INT

‒ Franky Villarreal
29 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 FR

‒ Korbin Hall
29 tackles, 7 for loss

‒ Tre Beam
26 tackles, 9 for loss, 4 sacks, 1 FR

‒ Jeremy Brown
22 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT

‒ Chris Fernandez
15 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Vic Cooper
13 tackles

‒ Gavin Sanders
12 tackles

‒ Dalton Adams
10 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
9 tackles, 3 INTs

‒ Brooks Clippinger
7 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 FR

‒ Casey Moseley
5 tackles

‒ Ki Houston
4 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Bradly Roman
4 tackles

‒ Cedric Morelan
3 tackles

‒ Jaxyn Price
2 tackles

‒ Riley Hill
2 tackles

‒ Hayden Welch
2 tackles

‒ Ryan Parisi
1 tackle

‒ Houston Ortiz
1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (+10)
Early 3 – 2 fumbles, 1 INT
Opponents 13 — 6 INTs, 7 FRs