Kickoff between the Longhorns (7-2, 2-2) and Hawks (5-3, 3-1) is slated for 7 p.m. at Longhorn Stadium.
A victory by the Longhorns would create a tie between Wall, Early and likely Breckenridge (3-6, 2-2) – which hosts San Angelo TLCA (0-9, 0-4) – for second place in the final league standings. According to Early head coach Daniel Price, a win by 10 points or more for the Longhorns would secure the No. 3 seed. Price added there was no way the Longhorns could move up to the No. 2 seed in a three-way logjam. However, if TLCA were to stun Breckenridge and Early emerged victorious Friday, the Longhorns would own the No. 2 seed outright.
Price, however, is more focused on continuing the positive momentum the Longhorns are currently experiencing and that will come with a win by any margin.
“We need a win,” Price said. “We’d like to go into the playoffs with a victory and go 8-2. As far as seeding, it’s always important to try and not play the No. 1 seed and be in that fourth spot. Any way we can find to get that done would be great.”
The Longhorns rolled to a 72-0 victory over TLCA last week, one of the most lopsided wins in the history of the Early football program.
“We had a really good night,” Price said. “They were banged up, I’ve seen a whole lot of football teams but I don’t think I’ve seen one that had almost half their players out because of injuries. They were on their fourth starting quarterback but they did a good job through the first quarter up until the last four minutes when we got a turnover and scored pretty quickly and then jumped on them from there. It was a good win for us and an opportunity to get all our guys some playing time. I wish we could have had a few more touches but we only ran 20 offensive plays. I’ve been on the other side of those games and it’s always rough.”
For the season, the Longhorns are producing 41 points and 381 yards – 207 passing and 174 rushing – per outing, with eight turnovers.
Quarterback Jaxyn Price has completed 101 of 169 passes for 1,586 yards with 24 touchdowns and four interceptions while Tre Beam leads the ground game with 1,004 yards and 13 touchdowns on 151 carries. Leading receivers include Jeremy Brown (43-575, 4 TDs), John-Stewart Gordon (27-384, 5 TDs), Beam (15-237, 4 TDs), Ki Houston (9-214, 3 TDs), Cedrick Morelan (6-176, 2 TDs), Vic Cooper (6-89, TD), and Caleb McCullough (6-65, 2 TDs).
Defensively, Early is allowing 17 points and 222 yards – 113 through the air and 109 on the ground – per contest, with 20 takeaways.
Leading the charge are McCullough (76 tackles, 13 for loss, 5 sacks), Kaleb Ozuna (71 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 FRs, 1 INT), Tucker Hale (70 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT), Franky Villarreal (60 tackles, 6 for loss, 4 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 FR), Korbin Hall (55 tackles, 15 for loss), Beam (44 tackles, 17 for loss, 6 sacks, 1 FR), Brown (34 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 INTs), Cooper (32 tackles, 1 INT), Chris Fernandez (30 tackles, 1 FR), Brooks Clippinger (28 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 FR), Gordon (23 tackles, 5 INTs), and Dalton Adams (23 tackles, 1 for loss).
Wall is averaging 29 points and 325 yards – 236 rushing and 89 passing – per game, while giving up 23 points per outing with 14 takeaways.
On the ground, Dominic Garcia leads the way with 701 yards and six touchdowns, while quarterback Gabe Haskins has contributed 339 yards with 11 trips to the end zone, followed by Drake Martin with 237 yards and three touchdowns, and Kenneth Russell with 229 yards and a touchdown.
Haskins has also thrown for 699 yards and eight touchdowns, while Jacob Richardson is the top receiver with 32 catches for 408 yards and six touchdowns. No other Hawk has more than six grabs for 97 yards on the season.
Standouts for the Wall defense include Russell (82 tackles, 4 for loss), Caleb Valles (69 tackles, 6 for loss,), Nathan Pepper (66 tackle, 3 for loss), Jayden Sellers (48 tackles, 3 for loss) and Ryan Andrews (40 tackles, 1 for loss).
“Wall is really good and it’s going to be a good showdown,” Price said. “They run that wing-T and it’s always tough to defend. You get a week to look at it, but not many people can go at that tempo and the pace they play so it’s a struggle all week long to get an actual picture to know what you’re up against until you get there. They come off the ball at you that first play and you see how fast that dive hits and how fast they run that veer. Collectively, they’re pretty young, they’re not quite as big, but it’s still Wall. They don’t have as much experience as they’ve had in the past but they’re still a good football team.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 9-point underdog.
***
Early Longhorns 2021 Football Stats
Through 9 Games (7-2, 2-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
41.0 points per game (369)
381.4 yards per game (3,433)
173.7 rushing yards per game (1,564)
207.7 passing yards per game (1,869)
PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
101 of 169 for 1,586 yards, 24 TDs, 4 INTs
‒ Tucker Hale
22 of 41 for 283 yards, TD, 2 INTs
RUSHING
‒ Tre Beam
1,004 yards on 151 carries, 13 TDs
‒ Franky Villarreal
177 yards on 30 carries, 2 TDs
‒ Kaleb Ozuna
171 yards on 32 carries, 3 TDs
‒ Tucker Hale
89 yards on 25 carries, TD
‒ Michael Morales
71 yards on 22 carries, TD
‒ Gavin Sanders
33 yards on 1 carry, TD
‒ Riley Hill
32 yards on 4 carries
‒ Ryan Parisi
-3 yards on 1 carry
‒ Jaxyn Price
-10 yards on 16 carries, 2 TDs
RECEIVING
‒ Jeremy Brown
43 catches for 575 yards, 4 TDs
‒ John-Stewart Gordon
27 catches for 384 yards, 5 TDs
‒ Tre Beam
15 catches for 237 yards, 4 TDs
‒ Ki Houston
9 catches for 214 yards, 3 TDs
‒ Cedrick Morelan
6 catches for 176 yards, 2 TDs
‒ Vic Cooper
6 catches for 89 yards, TD
‒ Caleb McCullough
6 catches for 65 yards, 2 TDs
‒ Gavin Sanders
5 catches for 53 yards, TD
‒ Franky Villarreal
3 catches for 47 yards, 2 TDs
‒ Ryan Parisi
1 catch for 20 yards, TD
‒ Kaleb Ozuna
1 catch for 14 yards
‒ Hayden Welch
1 catch for 5 yards
‒ Michael Morales
1 catch for 1 yard
***
TEAM DEFENSE
17.2 points per game (155)
222.6 yards per game (2,004)
109.4 rushing yards per game (985)
113.2 passing yards per game (1,019)
TACKLES
‒ Caleb McCullough
76 tackles, 13 for loss, 5 sacks
‒ Kaleb Ozuna
71 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 FRs, 1 INT
‒ Tucker Hale
70 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT
‒ Franky Villarreal
60 tackles, 6 for loss, 4 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 FR
‒ Korbin Hall
55 tackles, 15 for loss
‒ Tre Beam
44 tackles, 17 for loss, 6 sacks, 1 FR
‒ Jeremy Brown
34 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 INTs
‒ Vic Cooper
32 tackles, 1 INT
‒ Chris Fernandez
30 tackles, 1 FR
‒ Brooks Clippinger
28 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 FR
‒ John-Stewart Gordon
23 tackles, 5 INTs
‒ Dalton Adams
23 tackles, 1 for loss
‒ Gavin Sanders
15 tackles
‒ Casey Moseley
14 tackles, 1 for loss
‒ Cedric Morelan
12 tackles
‒ Bradly Roman
6 tackles
‒ Ki Houston
6 tackles, 2 FRs
‒ Houston Ortiz
6 tackles, 1 for loss
‒ Sebastian Constancio
4 tackles
‒ Riley Hill
4 tackles
‒ Cooper Jacobs
4 tackles
‒ Jaxyn Price
2 tackles
‒ Hayden Welch
2 tackles, 1 FR
‒ Ryan Parisi
1 tackle
***
TURNOVER MARGIN: (+12)
Early 8 – 2 fumbles, 6 INTs
Opponents 20 — 9 FRs, 11 INTs