CLYDE – The Early Longhorns’ best football season since the 2007 campaign reached its conclusion in the Class 3A Division I Region I area playoff round here Friday night, where the Shallowater Mustangs notched a 43-7 victory.
A week after a 43-21 opening-round win over Pilot Point – the Longhorns’ first bi-district championship in 14 years – that was fueled by a 29-0 start in the first period, Early (9-3) mustered just 1 yard in the first quarter against Shallowater (10-2) and trailed 13-0 heading into the second period.
The Longhorns also entered Friday’s contest at plus-19 in the turnover margin, having created 27 takeaways while giving the ball away just eight times. Shallowater, however, caused four Early turnovers – including two that were returned for touchdowns – and did not cough up the ball.
Early found itself in a 43-0 hole before finally lighting up the scoreboard with 5:51 remaining on a 21-yard scoring toss from Jaxyn Price to John-Stewart Gordon. The Longhorns scored once more with 1:20 left as Franky Villarreal rumbled into the end zone from 17 yards out.
The Longhorns finished with 328 total yards to Shallowater’s 354, but the turnovers that led either to points directly or short fields for the Mustangs proved too much for Early to overcome.
Price completed 19 of 37 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown for Early, but was picked off three times. Price also rushed for 22 yards, Tre Beam finished with a team-best 91 and Villarreal chipped in 36 as Early generated 149 yards on the ground. Leading receivers for the Longhorns were Gordon with seven for 92 and a touchdown, Jeremy Brown with seven catches for 58 yards, Cedric Morelan with two for 14, Villarreal with two for 8 and Beam hauled in a 7-yard reception.
For the Mustangs, Keegan Campbell led the way with 96 of the team’s 227 yards on the ground, Kaleb Cox added 70 yards and a touchdown, Cannon Reed finished with 55 yards and scored once, Trevor Winn tacked on 37 yards, and quarterback Garret Foerster rushed for 29 yards and crossed the goal line once. Foerster also completed 5 of 12 passes for 72 yards with a scoring toss to Major McCully, who led Shallowater with three catches for 57 yards.
After Shallowater failed to score on its first drive despite reaching the Early 44, the Mustangs reached the end zone on their next possessions on a 7-yard run by Cox and a 34-yard pass from Foerster to McCully.
The Mustangs stretched the lead to 16-0 on a 24-yard field goal by Clayton Vincent with 7:29 left before halftime, then Early coughed up the ball for the first time on a fumble that was returned 41 yards for a touchdown by Brett Hall with 6:47 left in the first half.
Trailing 23-0 at halftime, Early’s first possession of the second half ended on downs at the Shallowater 26, and five plays later Foerster galloped into the end zone from 18 yards out for a 29-0 lead.
The next Longhorn drive ended with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Raston Copeland, as Shallowater’s lead stood at 36-0 at the 5:30 mark of the third period.
Shallowater reached the end zone for the last time with 1:08 left in the third on a 30-yard sprint by Cannon Reed – another possession that began after an Early turnover.
Early second-year head coach Daniel Price said earlier in the week of his team’s accomplishment to reach the second round of the playoffs, “I couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids and coaches. They bought into the mentality against Brock last year at Tarleton. We talked about getting back to this point and wanting to win. That was the goal and we reminded them daily through the spring and in the weight room. Then you go out there and see the goal accomplished and it was something special for all of us.”
Shallowater advances to face Whitesboro (8-4) – a 41-21 winner over Bushland (8-4) Friday night –– in the Class 3A Division I Region I Semifinals next weekend.
***
Shallowater 43, Early 14
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Early | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | – 14 |
| Shallowater | 13 | 10 | 20 | 0 | – 43 |
SCORING SUMMARY
S: Kaleb Cox 7 run (kick failed), 5:27, 1st
S: Major McCully 34 pass from Garret Foerster (Clayton Vincent kick), 3:26, 1st
S: Vincent 24 FG, 7:29, 2nd
S: Brett Hall 41 fumble return (Vincent kick), 6:47, 2nd
S: Foerster 18 run (kick failed), 6:43, 3rd
S: Raston Copeland 35 interception return (Vincent kick), 5:30, 3rd
S: Cannon Reed 30 run (Vincent kick), 1:08, 3rd
E: John-Stewart Gordon 21 pass from Jaxyn Price (Franky Villarreal kick), 5:51, 4th
E: Villarreal 17 run (Villarreal kick), 1:20, 4th
***
| TEAM STATS | E | S |
| First Downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total Offense | 328 | 354 |
| Rushes-Yards | 29-149 | 35-282 |
| Passing Yards | 179 | 72 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 19-37-3 | 5-12-0 |
| Punts | 3-36.7 | 4-21.0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-75 | 3-15 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: Early – Tre Beam 15-91, Franky Villarreal 5-35, TD; Jaxyn Price 9-22. Shallowater – Keegan Campbell 14-96; Kaleb Cox 6-70, TD; Cannon Reed 6-55, TD; Trevor Winn 3-37; Garret Foerster 5-29, TD; Chris Salazar 1-5; Major McCully 1-1; Luke Fisher 3-(-2); Eli Bowe 2-(-9).
PASSING: Early – Price 19-37-3-179, TD. Shallowater – Foerster 5-12-0-72, TD.
RECEIVING: Early – John-Stewart Gordon 7-92, TD; Jeremy Brown 7-58; Cedric Morelan 2-14; Villarreal 2-8; Beam 1-7. Shallowater – McCully 3-57, TD; Cox 1-11; Salazar 1-4.
