EARLY – The Early Longhorns’ five-game win streak to open the 2021 season came to end this past week at the hands of defending state champion and top-ranked Jim Ned, but head coach Daniel Price and his squad look to return to the win column as they host the Breckenridge Buckaroos at 7:30 p.m. Friday in their first home District 3-3A Division I contest.

Reflecting on last week’s 48-7 loss to Jim Ned, Price said, “Jim Ned’s the best team in the state of Texas. If they play like they did against us on Friday night they’re going to go win it again. We got a taste of what the elite looks like and we’re not ready for that. Six weeks from now we might be in that conversation cause we’ve seen it, but not at the moment.”

Early (5-1, 0-1) also had to deal with the loss of quarterback Jaxyn Price, who suffered a mild concussion, according to Coach Price – also his father. Price (1,123 passing yards, 17 TDs, 2 INTs) will miss action until his concussion symptoms subside, but the head coach feels the Longhorn offense is in more than capable hands under the direction of Tucker Hale.

“Tucker did a good job coming in last week not having played a whole lot,” Price said. “I was proud of his performance. He’s been practicing all year so there’s not a lot of that changes for us offensively with him. He’s a good quarterback and it’s nice to have Tucker and Jaxyn on the team. Either one could be a starting quarterback. Tucker would probably start for almost every team we’ve played so far with the exception of Jim Ned, he’s that good at it.”

Breckenridge (2-4, 1-0) is coming off just its second victory of the season, outlasting Clyde, 44-29 in the district opener for both teams.

The Buckaroos average 27 points and 301 yards – 164.5 rushing and 136.5 passing – per outing, while giving up 31 points with seven takeaways on the season. No opponent has scored fewer than 28 points in a game.

Quarterback Chase Lehr has completed 78 of 11 passes for 819 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for 220 yards and another score. Jerry Lawson (399 yards, 10 TDs) and Anson Rodgers (232 yards, 3 TDs) anchor the ground game. Rodgers (18-227, 2 TDs) and Lawson (16-123, TD) are also the top receiving threats, along with Zeke Castillo (6-111, TD).

The Longhorns counter with a defense that gives up just 17 points and 242 yards – 128 rushing and 114 passing – per outing, with 17 takeaways on the season.

Standouts include Caleb McCullough (57 tackles, 10 for loss, 4 sacks), Hale (57 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT), Kaleb Ozuna (46 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 2 FRs, 1 INT), Franky Villarreal (42 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 FR), Korbin Hall (38 tackles, 7 for loss), Tre Beam (34 tackles, 12 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 FR), Vic Cooper (27 tackles, 1 INT), Jeremy Brown (27 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT), Chris Fernandez (20 tackles, 1 FR) and John-Stewart Gordon (12 tackles, 5 INTs).

“Breckenridge is very multiple offensively,” Price said. “They can go anywhere from I-formation to empty backfield to all kind of spread sets. They have a big running back that’s really good, the same kid they had lat year. Their quarterback is different this year, he throws the ball OK and he’s really fast and they utilize that because he can run the ball well, too. It’s going to be a lot different than what we saw last Friday. They’re going to try and run it at us but they’ll also spread it out a little more than what Jim Ned did.

As for the defensive goals this week, Price said, “I want to see us get off blocks better, and I want to see us run to the football and tackle better. We didn’t do a really good job of that Friday night and a lot of that you have to tip your hat to Jim Ned cause they got on blocks and stayed on blocks, and finished blocks. We’ve done a really good job of creating turnovers all year and we’ve got to get back to that, we only had one on Friday. I’d like to get back to where we’re getting two plus and generate some offense because of the defense. Most importantly we’ve got to get stops defensively. It’s hard to win football games when you don’t get stops.”

Leading the charge on defensive for Breckenridge are Rodgers (53 tackles,1 for loss, 1 INT), Julian Eutimio (51 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 sack), Emilio Maya (44 tackles, 2 INTs), Isaak Eutimio (36 tackles, 8 for loss, 2 sacks), Alexis Franco (35 tackles, 1 for loss), and Lawson (31 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 FR).

Early’s offense is producing 40 points and 373 yards – 205 passing and 168 rushing – per game, with six turnovers.

Hale has completed 6 of 13 passes for 112 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while rushing for 38 yards and a score. Beam leads the ground game with 682 yards and nine touchdowns, while top receiving threats consist of Brown (30-327, 3 TDs), Gordon (17-299, 3 TDs), Beam (10-164, 3 TDs) and Ki Houston (6-117, 2 TDs).

“Defensively they’re going to sit in a 3-4 and give us multiple looks, but I think it’s about us executing and being a little better up front than we were last Friday,” Price said. “Offensively we need to refocus on where we’re going. We learned some lessons last week about running routes and being in the right spot and how you have to run your routes against a good team and that’s coming again Friday night. Breckenridge is not quite that level, but they’ll be another good challenge as far their speed on the outside and in the secondary. We also have to be better up front protecting and just execute.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 1-point favorite.

“We have to get our mojo back,” Price said. “If we can get up and play like I know we can, I think we’re going to be in a good spot to win us a football game. We just don’t want to take that beat down and carry it over a week and have that lag against another good football team.

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Early Longhorns 2021 Football Stats

Through 6 Games (5-1, 0-1)

TEAM OFFENSE
40.3 points per game (242)

373.8 yards per game (2,243)
168.0 rushing yards per game (1,008)
205.8 passing yards per game (1,235)

PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
81 of 134 for 1,123 yards, 17 TDs, 2 INTs

‒ Tucker Hale
6 of 13 for 112 yards, TD, 2 INTs

RUSHING
‒ Tre Beam
682 yards on 96 carries, 9 TDs

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
98 yards on 23 carries, 2 TDs

‒ Franky Villarreal
97 yards on 21 carries

‒ Michael Morales
71 yards on 22 carries, TD

‒ Tucker Hale
38 yards on 8 carries, TD

‒ Riley Hill
32 yards on 4 carries

‒ Ryan Parisi
-3 yards on 1 carry

‒ Jaxyn Price
-7 yards on 13 carries, TD

RECEIVING
‒ Jeremy Brown
30 catches for 327 yards, 3 TDs

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
17 catches for 299 yards, 3 TDs

‒ Tre Beam
10 catches for 164 yards, 3 TDs

‒ Ki Houston
6 catches for 117 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Caleb McCullough
5 catches for 56 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Vic Cooper
5 catches for 54 yards

‒ Cedrick Morelan
4 catches for 113 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Gavin Sanders
4 catches for 48 yards, TD

‒ Franky Villarreal
3 catches for 47 yards, 2 TDs

‒ 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

Caleb McCullough
57 tackles, 10 for loss, 4 sacks

‒ Tucker Hale
57 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT

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

‒ Franky Villarreal
42 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 FR

‒ Korbin Hall
38 tackles, 7 for loss

‒ Tre Beam
34 tackles, 12 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 FR

‒ Vic Cooper
27 tackles, 1 INT

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

‒ Chris Fernandez
20 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Dalton Adams
17 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Gavin Sanders
15 tackles

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

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
12 tackles, 5 INTs

‒ Casey Moseley
7 tackles

‒ Ki Houston
5 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Bradly Roman
4 tackles

‒ Cedric Morelan
4 tackles

‒ Houston Ortiz
3 tackles

‒ Cooper Jacobs
2 tackles

‒ Jaxyn Price
2 tackles

‒ Riley Hill
2 tackles

‒ Hayden Welch
2 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Sebastian Constancio
2 tackles

‒ Ryan Parisi
1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (+11)
Early 6 – 2 fumbles, 4 INTs
Opponents 17 — 9 INTs, 8 FRs