Tied at 7 after one quarter, Early (5-5, 4-1) opened a 14-7 halftime lead over San Angelo TLCA (5-5, 2-3) that grew to 21-7 through three periods, and both teams added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns produced 452 yards of total offense – 292 on the ground and 160 through the air – with one turnover. Defensively, Early yielded 304 yards of total offense – including 279 passing – and created one takeaway.
Griffin Cheslock sparked the Early offense with 217 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, while quarterback Rohyn Price chipped in 54 yards on the ground scored once on nine rushes. Kaleb Ozuna tallied 21 rushing yards on four attempts.
Price also completed 13 of 23 passes for 160 yards with a pair of scoring tosses. Andrew Reedy led the Longhorns with five catches for 63 yards while Weston Barton added four receptions for 37 yards and scored once, and Ki Houston chipped in two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown, while also returning a punt 50 yards to the end zone. Reece Middleton tacked on two catches for 22 yards.
TLCA quarterback Layne Honea connected on 21 of 41 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Luis Casillas led the way with six receptions for 113 yards and three scores and Colin Taylor contributed seven receptions for 110 yards. Jeremiah Bullingor finished with a team-best 39 rushing yards on seven carries for the Eagles, while the rest of the team lost 14 yards on 13 carries.
Next week, the Longhorns will square off with District 1 third seed Odessa Compass (4-6), a 42-0 winner over Tornillo Friday night, in the bi-district round of the playoffs next weekend.