BURNET – The Early Longhorns put the finishing touches on the 2023 pre-district schedule Friday night, suffering a 52-14 setback at the hands of the Burnet Bulldogs for their fourth consecutive loss.
Early (1-4) finished with 264 yards of total offense – 204 passing and 60 rushing – and committed just one turnover after coughing up the ball 14 times in the first four games.
Rohyn Price completed 16 of 26 passes for 154 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Weston Barton connected on 3 of 6 tosses for 50 yards. Leading receivers were Ki Houston with six grabs for 90 yards and a touchdown; Barton with six catches for 38 yards; Andrew Reedy with three for 51; Reece Middleton with two for 20; and Ben Bleth and Kaleb Ozuna with receptions and 3 and 2 yards, respectively.
On the ground, Ozuna picked up 35 yards and scored a touchdown and Price chipped in 25 yards.
Burnet (3-2) – which jumped out to a 40-7 halftime lead – amassed 509 yards behind a balanced attack of 287 yards through the air and 222 on the ground.
Quarterback Rhett Murray completed 10 of 14 passes for 287 yards and five touchdowns, including three by Grant Jones who finished with six catches for 186 yards. Colt Stanford and Will Johnson hauled in touchdown receptions of 62 and 17 yards, respectively.
On the ground, Josiah Coronado led the attack with 97 yards and a touchdown, Dash Denton contributed 88 yards, Khris Kassner tacked on 24 yards and scored once, and Marcus Pimentel added 9 yards and six points.
The Longhorns are off next week, then open District 2-3A Division II action at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 with a homecoming tilt against Ballinger (0-5) – which was hammered by Mason, 69-0, Friday night.
