VERNON – Facing the five-time state champion and Class 3A Division II No. 2 Canadian Wildcats, the Early Longhorns were unable to prolong their season as they were handed a 42-14 defeat in Region I area round playoff action.
Early (7-5), the District 2 second seed, finished with just 189 yards of total offense – 221 passing and negative-32 rushing. Canadian (10-2) generated 412 yards – 244 on the ground and 168 through the air.
The Longhorns trailed 7-0 after one quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 35-7 through three periods.
Jaxyn Price completed just 4 of 6 passes for 28 yards for Early while Justin Pierce was 10 of 18 for 121 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, while Rohyn Price connected on 2 of 5 passes for 72 yards with a scoring toss and a pick.
Jeremy Brown led the receiving corps with 10 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns. John-Stewart Gordon added three grabs for 29 yards, Kaleb Ozuna caught an 11-yard pass and Griffin Cheslock snared a 4-yard reception.
On the ground, Ozuna compiled a team-best 12 yards on 18 carries, and three Longhorns finished in the negative in rush yards.
For Canadian, 4 rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns and completed 11 of 20 tosses for 168 yards with two scoring tosses. 5 led the way with four catches for 84 yards and 11 added four for 66 yards with a score. 44 hauled in an 8-yard touchdown catch as well.
Canadian advances to face Spearman (5-7) – a 49-0 winner over Alpine – in the Region I semifinals next weekend.
