Early (1-4, 0-0) will attempt to halt a four-game skid against winless Ballinger (0-5, 0-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Longhorn Stadium, as the game also serves as Homecoming for the 2023 campaign.
“We took some lumps and now it’s time for the season to really start,” said Early fourth-year head coach Daniel Price. “We talked a lot about the five (games) that matter are the five at the end. We’ve learned quite a bit as we’ve gone through this. I’m really excited about this group as we get into district. I think we’re going to be competitive and we’re going to play some really good teams that taught us some things we needed to know. We have a group that’s young and those growing up games were important for us on both sides of the ball.”
The Longhorns’ most recent outing was a 52-14 loss at 4A Division I Burnet on Sept. 22, and the much-needed bye week followed.
“We tried to get healthy, that was the big thing over the bye week,” Price said. “We practiced a few days and managed to get our guys moving in the right direction so we should be really close to having all our guys back by Friday.”
Regarding the Burnet contest, Price said, “We were better against Burnet although the score may not reflect that. We did a lot of good things against Burnet we hadn’t done in the previous weeks so that was a little bit of a boost. We went down and scored on the first drive and scored again in the second half. We were able to finally put some points on the board which we haven’t done a whole lot.”
Early enters the contest averaging 16 points and 258 yards – 157 passing and 101 rushing – per game, with 15 turnovers. Rohyn Price (33 of 66 for 426 yards, 5 TDs, 5 INTs), Weston Barton (15 of 38 for 188 yards, 3 INTs) and Justin Pierce (13 of 25 for 170 yards, 4 INTs) have all seen time at quarterback, while leading receivers include Andrew Reedy (8-178, TD), Ki Houston (16-330, 2 TDs), Barton (11-115, TD), Reece Middleton (7-73) and Ben Bleth (4-54, TD). Griffin Cheslock (328 rushing yards, 2 TDs) is the primary ground gainer.
“We’d like to be more consistent offensively and stay on the field,” Price said. “That’s one of the things we talked about a lot during the bye week. We have to be prepared, execute, get first downs and get points at the end of our drives.”
Defensively, the Longhorns are yielding 41 points and 388 yards – 210 on the ground and 178 through the air – per outing, with five takeaways.
Standouts include Kaleb Ozuna (36 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Dalton Adams (34 tackles, 11 for loss, 4 sacks), Brooks Clippinger (27 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), Izik Delgado (22 tackles, 5 for loss), Reedy (22 tackles), Middleton (18 tackles), Barton (16 tackles), Dylan Brame (13 tackles, 1 for loss), and Houston (13 tackles, 1 INT).
“Defensively, I would love to see us tackle better,” Price said. “We’ve gotten better as we’ve gone but we’re still not where we want to be. That was a big emphasis we put on the last three weeks is being better at tackling. We did a better job against Burnet, so the improvement is there and I really want to see those guys come out and give a lot of effort and play for each other and put together a complete game.”
Ballinger enters the contest with a winless record, having been outscored a combined 238-12. But those five opponents – Sonora, Coleman, Stamford, Clyde, Mason – have combined for a 26-1 record this season and the only loss was Coleman dropping a game to Mason in the season opener.
“Ballinger’s a good football team,” Price said. “They’ve played some quality opponents as well and they’re going to be ready to play. They have a good running back, good scheme, do some RPO stuff so it’s going to be a challenge for us. I think we match up well and now it’s time to figure out the little details, like pre-snap penalties we need to clean up, and not turning the ball over.”
The Bearcats offense averages just 190 yards – 123 passing and 67 rushing – per game, and features Cade Strube (23 of 47 for 330 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs) and Kyson Weathers (18 of 38 for 284 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) at quarterback. Leading receivers are Jaylen Hernandez (16-163), Kyle Bullard (11-131), Aden Zavala (4-121, TD), and Manny Gonzalez (3-139), while the top rushers include Zach Canada (215 rushing yards, TD) and Aiden Pena (161 rushing yards)
The Ballinger defense is spearheaded by Gonzalez (42 tackles, 1 interception), Hernandez (41 tackles, 1 for loss), Trent Helms (26 tackles), Bryce Lopez (26 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception), Bullard (24 tackles), and Canada (20 tackles, 1 sacks).
Regarding the significance of starting league play with a victory, Price said, “It’s very important. We’re in a tough district that’s going to be competitive all the way through. Obviously Wall is the front runner right now, but we’d love to go out and win the first one and get on a winning streak and get off this four-game slide we’ve been on. Winning this first one is big to set us up where we want to be and that’s to compete for a district championship and play in the playoffs.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 35-point favorite.
***
Early Longhorns 2023 Football Season Stats
Through 5 Games (1-4)
TEAM OFFENSE
16.0 points per game (80)
258.2 yards per game (1,291)
101.4 rushing yards per game (507)
156.8 passing yards per game (784)
PASSING
* Rohyn Price
33 of 66 for 426 yards, 5 TDs, 5 INTs
* Weston Barton
15 of 38 for 188 yards, 3 INTs
* Justin Pierce
13 of 25 for 170 yards, 4 INTs
RUSHING
* Griffin Cheslock
328 yards on 58 carries, 2 TDs
* Kaleb Ozuna
83 yards on 23 carries, TD
* Rohyn Price
73 yards on 12 carries, 2 TDs
* Ben Morris
15 yards on 3 carries
* Weston Barton
7 yards on 6 carries
* Ki Houston
3 yards on 1 carry
* Justin Pierce
-2 yards on 3 carries
RECEIVING
* Andrew Reedy
18 catches, 178 yards, 1 TD
* Ki Houston
16 catches, 330 yards, 2 TDs
* Weston Barton
11 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD
* Reece Middleton
7 catches, 73 yards
* Ben Bleth
4 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD
* Griffin Cheslock
3 catches, 18 yards
* Kaleb Ozuna
2 catches, 16 yards
###
TEAM DEFENSE
41.4 points per game (207)
388.0 yards per game (1,950)
210.2 rushing yards per game (1,051)
177.8 passing yards per game (889)
TACKLES
* Kaleb Ozuna
36 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Dalton Adams
34 tackles, 11 for loss, 4 sacks
* Brooks Clippinger
27 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack
* Izik Delgado
22 tackles, 5 for loss
* Andrew Reedy
22 tackles
* Reece Middleton
18 tackles
* Weston Barton
16 tackles
* Dylan Brame
13 tackles, 1 for loss
* Ki Houston
13 tackles, 1 INT
* Ben Bleth
12 tackles
* Giovanni Guevara
9 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Kaeden Byrd
9 tackles, 2 for loss
* Rohyn Price
5 tackles
* Griffin Cheslock
4 tackles, 1 INT
* Ben Morris
4 tackles
* Rico Vasquez
3 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Aaron Mendoza
3 tackles
* Ethan Moseley
3 tackles
* Justin Pierce
3 tackles
* Ben Morris
4 tackles
* Jaxon Andrade
1 tackle
* Angel Del Villar
1 tackle
* Jacob Braun
1 tackle
* Jacob McDaniel
1 tackle
* Aaron Mendoza
1 tackle
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (-10)
* Early: 15 (3 fumbles, 12 interceptions)
* Opponents: 5 (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions)