The Longhorns (3-3, 1-0) – fresh off a 36-0 triumph at Ballinger – visit the Brady Bulldogs (3-3, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Early finished the night with negative-33 yards allowed as Ballinger completed just one pass for 10 yards and lost 43 yards on 30 rushing attempts.
“Defensively we played really well,” said Early third-year head coach Daniel Price. “They had a good kickoff return on their opening possession and then a couple of penalties helped them get the yards they did on that drive. They got down inside the 15 then our defense stepped up and from there we just controlled the line of scrimmage and had a lot of success. Then it started raining on us and that helped out quite a bit because they struggled with that on a couple of plays.”
Offensively, the Longhorns did all their damage in the first half, then prevented the unexpected driving rainstorm from foiling their plans.
“We scored on four or five possessions in the first half,” Price said. “We handled the ball really well, didn’t have any problems with a wet football in the second half. It started raining on us midway through the second quarter and it came down on us until the end of the third. I was really proud of the way they handled the wet football without a whole lot of work with that. We executed the things we needed to do, ran the ball really well and got out of there with a win.”
Brady, meanwhile, kicked off league play with a resounding 49-6 victory over San Angelo TLCA.
The Bulldogs led 28-0 at halftime and tacked on three more touchdowns in the third quarter en route to 436 yards of total offense – 261 rushing and 175 passing. Defensively, Brady gave up just 95 yards – 87 on the ground and 8 through the air – and forced a pair of turnovers.
“Brady is pretty good and they played really well against TLCA last week,” Price said.
Quarterback Hayden Baronet completed 10 of 12 passes for 175 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 82 yards on 11 carries and two more scores. Leading the charge on the ground was J.D. Ibarra with 168 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, while leading receivers were Keegan Farris (5-105, TD), Israel Morales (2-36), Kaden Bernal (2-30), and Mason Harris (1-4).
“Their quarterback has played really well,” Price said. “They’re big up front and physical. They’ll spread you out but they still like to run it down hill at you. The quarterback can throw it around, so it’ll be a good challenge for us defensively.”
On the flip side of the ball for Brady against TLCA, several Bulldogs made an impact on defense including Devon Taylor (2.5 tackles, 2 for loss), Bradyn Garza (2 tackles), Baronet (1.5 tackles), Daryl Adair (1.5 tackles), Manny Ozuna (1.5 tackles, 1 for loss), Ibarra (1 tackle, 1 for loss), Farris (1 tackle, 1 for loss), Kevin Avila (1 tackle, 1 for loss), Garrett Everett (1 tackle), Mike Martinez (1 tackle), Isaiah Tarr (1 tackle), and Ashton Ramsey (1 interception).
“They’ve been in a 3-4 and a 4-2-5, so a couple of different fronts for us to prepare for this week,” Price said. “They’re fast, they’re big up front,and they’ve got some good linebackers and secondary kids. It should be a good match-up for us Friday night, but we’re going to have to play well.”
The Longhorns enter the contest averaging 33 points and 396 yards – 254 passing and 142 rushing – per game, with seven turnovers on the season.
Quarterback Jaxyn Price has connected on 117 of 211 passes for 1,518 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while leading receivers include Jeremy Brown (37-585, 7 TDs), John-Stewart Gordon (19-260, TD), Cedrick Morelan (14-184, 2 TDs), Griffin Cheslock (11-76), Ki Houston (10-135, 2 TDs), Kaleb Ozuna (9-53), Colton Allen (7-60, TD), and Caleb McCullough (6-125, 2 TDs).
Leading the way on the ground are Cheslock (530 yards, 5 TDs), Ozuna (218 yards, 3 TDs) and Price (84 yards, 2 TDs).
“Offensively, we need to stay on the same path – execute and take care of the football,” Price said. “We’ve done that well the last few weeks, we haven’t turned the ball over and we’ve been able to execute and put up some points and yardage.”
After last week’s stellar effort, the Early defense comes into the game surrendering 28 points and 273 yards – 160 rushing and 113 passing – per outing, with 11 takeaways on the season.
Standouts include Ozuna (61 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), McCullough (59 tackles, 14 for loss, 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Dalton Adams (38 tackles, 11 for loss, 4 sacks), Gavin Sanders (34 tackles, 3 for loss), Morelan (32 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception), Chris Fernandez (28 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack), Brown (24 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery), Casey Moseley (21 tackles, 1 for loss), and Allen (19 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 interceptions).
“Defensively, we need to continue what we did last week,” Price said. “We started district off on the right foot, and tackled really well. We need to do the same thing Friday night with Brady and hopefully generate some turnovers and definitely continue to run to the football and get their offense off schedule again.”
On the health front, Price reported, “We’re as healthy as we’ve been and moving in the right direction.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 17-point favorite.
***
Early Longhorns 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 6 Games (3-3, 1-0)
TEAM OFFENSE
33.0 points per game (198)
396.3 yards per game (2,378)
142.0 rushing yards per game (852)
254.3 passing yards per game (1,526)
PASSING
* Jaxyn Price
117 of 211 for 1,518 yards, 15 TDs, 5 INTs
* Rohyn Price
1 of 3 for 8 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
RUSHING
* Griffin Cheslock
530 yards on 97 carries, 5 TDs
* Kaleb Ozuna
218 yards on 60 carries, 3 TDs
* Jaxyn Price
84 yards on 12 carries, 2 TDs
* Cedric Morelan
9 yards on 2 carries, 2 TDs
* Justin Pierce
8 yards on 5 carries
* Ki Houston
3 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Jeremy Brown
37 catches, 585 yards, 7 TDs
* John-Stewart Gordon
19 catches, 260 yards, 1 TD
* Cedrick Morelan
14 catches, 184 yards, 2 TDs
* Griffin Cheslock
11 catches, 76 yards
* Ki Houston
10 catches, 135 yards, 2 TDs
* Kaleb Ozuna
9 catches, 53 yards
* Colton Allen
7 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD
* Caleb McCullough
6 catches, 125 yards, 2 TDs
* Reece Middleton
2 catches, 22 yards
* Houston Ortiz
1 catch, 11 yards
###
TEAM DEFENSE
28.2 points per game (169)
272.7 yards per game (1,636)
159.5 rushing yards per game (957)
113.2 passing yards per game (679)
TACKLES
* Kaleb Ozuna
61 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack
* Caleb McCullough
59 tackles, 14 for loss, 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
* Dalton Adams
38 tackles, 11 for loss, 4 sacks
* Gavin Sanders
34 tackles, 3 for loss
* Cedrick Morelan
32 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception
* Chris Fernandez
28 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack
* Jeremy Brown
24 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
* Casey Moseley
21 tackles, 1 for loss
* Colton Allen
19 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 interceptions
* Griffin Cheslock
18 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Houston Ortiz
17 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack
* Rohyn Price
15 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Izik Delgado
9 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Dillon Miller
7 tackles
* Justin Pierce
6 tackles
* Dylan Brame
5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Reece Middleton
3 tackles
* Sebastian Constancio
2 tackles
* Malcham Williams
1 tackle
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (+4)
* Early: 7 (1 fumbles, 6 interceptions)
* Opponents: 11 (5 fumbles, 6 interceptions)