SAN ANGELO – The Early Longhorns continued their best start to a season in 45 years as they wrapped up pre-district action with a perfect record, thanks to Friday’s 49-0 rout of the Grape Creek Eagles.
Early (5-0), which started the 1976 campaign with six straight victories, is off next week, then begins District 3-3A Division I action Oct. 8 at top-ranked and reigning state champion Jim Ned (5-0), a 22-15 winner over Class 4A Division II Friday night.
In the win over Grape Creek (1-4), the Longhorns produced 378 yards of total offense – 222 through the air and 156 on the ground – with no turnovers. Meanwhile, the Early defense recorded its first shutout of the season, yielding just 102 yards – 91 rushing and 11 passing – with a pair of takeaways, upping their total to 15 this season.
The Longhorns led 14-0 after one quarter, 28-0 at halftime, and 35-0 through three quarters. Early’s last shutout occurred on Oct. 16, 2021, a 21-0 district victory at Breckenridge.
Quarterback Jaxyn Price accounted for all of Early’s passing yards, completing 19 of 27 attempts to eight different targets, with four scoring tosses.
John-Stewart Gordon caught a team-high four passes for 38 yards; Ki Houston hauled in three catches for 50 yards and scored once; Jeremy Brown finished with three receptions for 20 yards; Vic Cooper made three grabs totaling 15 yards; Tre Beam caught two passes for 39 yards; Franky Villarreal caught two passes for 21 yards and scored twice; Gavin Sanders pulled down a 31-yard scoring reception; and Caleb McCullough finished with a 10-yard grab.
On the ground, Beam compiled 115 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, Villarreal tacked on 32 yards, and Kaleb Ozuna rushed for 17 yards with two trips to the end zone.
The Longhorns entered Friday’s game ranked No. 20 in Class 3A Division I by Harris Ratings Weekly.
