Kickoff between the Longhorns (3-2) and Indians (3-1) is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Longhorn Stadium.
“If we win Friday night, that’s the signature win we were talking about earlier in the year and that changes the whole course of where we’re headed and where we’re going,” said Early first-year head coach Daniel Price. “It would be a big step in the right direction toward where we want to be here, where this program wants to be. If we line up and play well, we’ll give ourselves a chance so we’ll see what happens Friday night.”
The Longhorns’ last two outings were victories over Grape Creek (36-0) and Merkel (31-20).
“We’re just going to continue to try and improve, learn lessons and get better,” Price said. “We took some things from Grape Creek two weeks ago and we’re going to try and improve on that. We want to be consistent and I felt that Friday night we were about as consistent as we’ve been all year so we’re going to try and improve on that, do the things we do well, and rely on our defense to play well up front.”
Jim Ned, since a 20-14 opening loss to Ballinger, has responded with wins over Eastland (62-27), Cisco (39-20), and Hallettsville (24-21) last week.
“Jim Ned’s a good football team,” Price said. “We had a chance to watch them live last week, we went to Llano and watched them play Hallettsville. They’re big up front, they’re physical, they’re explosive, they’re the real deal and a good football team. It should be a fun night to see them live and a great opportunity for our guys to see where we match up and see the progress we’ve made moving in the right direction.”
The Indians average 35 points and 405 yards – 248 rushing and 157 passing – per outing. Quarterback Tate Yardley has thrown for 629 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, while Xavier Wishert (683 yards, 10 TDs) leads the ground game. Top receivers include Zach Henderson (10-73), Braden Lewis (8-149, TD), Caden Martin (5-125, TD) and Austin Martin (4-157, 2 TDs).
“They run the football really well,” Price said. “Wishert is a really good back. He goes downhill and they’re physical up front and come off the ball and get a lot of movement. They drove for the final nine minutes of that game Friday night. Hallettsville has a running back that’s the real deal, he’s a really good football player, too, and they kept him off the field so that was pretty impressive to see them work up front.”
Early counters with a defense that gives up 22 points and 257 yards – 150 rushing and 107 passing – per game. Against Grape Creek, the Longhorns allowed just 82 yards of total offense.
Standouts include Tre Beam (47 tackles, 9 for loss, 5 sacks), Marcus Morelan (29 tackles, 2 sacks), Caleb McCullough (22 tackles), Korbin Hall (21 tackles, 1 for loss), Bradon Schwartz (20 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks), Franky Villarreal (16 tackles), Tucker Hale (15 tackles), Casey Moseley (11 tackles) and John-Stewart Gordon (10 tackles).
On the flip side of the ball, the Longhorns produce 23 points and 295 yards – 199 rushing and 96 passing – per game.
Quarterback Jaxyn Price has completed 40 of 92 passes for 427 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions while Gordon has connected on all three of his pass attempts for 55 yards. Leading receivers include Caleb McCullough (11-55, TD), Tyson Tyler (7-91), Alex Jacobs (7-37), Tre Beam (6-128, TD), Hayden Schroeder (4-70, TD), Gordon (3-74, TD), and Rylie Hill (3-18). The ground game is led by Jacobs (498 yards, 5 TDs), Beam (246 yards, 3 TDs) and Price (192 yards, 2 TDs).
Jim Ned’s defense yields 22 points per game with seven takeaways and nine sacks on the season, and is led by Wishert (30 tackles, 4 for loss), Austin Martin (27 tackles, 11 for loss), Tyler Hussman (27 tackles) and Caden Martin (19 tackles, 1 for loss).
“Defensively they’re fast and they get to the ball,” Price said. “They run together, their defensive line is probably their strength, they’re physical up front, get off the ball and cause a lot of chaos in the running game. Then their linebackers and secondary can run to the football, too.”
As for the keys to the Longhorns coming away with the victory, Price said, “We can’t beat ourselves so we have to avoid penalties and turnovers. Against a good football team you can’t have those kind of mistakes and expect to win. They’re really good at running the football and blocking up front so we have to hold the line of scrimmage and tackle well. And then we have to put drives together and keep their offense off the field and be consistent on the offensive side. If we can do those things I think we’ll put ourselves in position to be successful Friday night.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 45-point underdog.
*Individual defensive stats are prior to the most recent game against Grape Creek
Early Longhorns 2020 Football Stats
Through 5 Games (3-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
23.0 points per game (115)
295.2 yards per game (1,476)
198.8 rushing yards per game (994)
96.4 passing yards per game (482)
PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
40 of 92 for 427 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs
‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 of 3 for 55 yards
RUSHING
‒ Alex Jacobs
498 yards on 79 carries, 5 TDs
‒ Tre Beam
246 yards on 44 carries, 3 TDs
‒ Jaxyn Price
192 yards on 64 carries, 2 TDs
‒ Wade Kennedy
27 yards on 4 carries
‒ Tucker Hale
23 yards on 5 carries, 1 TD
‒ Rylie Hill
4 yards on 1 carry
‒ Franky Villarreal
4 yards on 1 carry
‒ Caleb McCullough
0 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
‒ Caleb McCullough
11 catches for 55 yards, 1 TD
‒ Tyson Tyler
7 catches for 91 yards
‒ Alex Jacobs
7 catches for 37 yards
‒ Tre Beam
6 catches for 128 yards, 1 TD
‒ Hayden Schroeder
4 catches for 70 yards, 1 TD
‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 catches for 74 yards, 1 TD
‒ Rylie Hill
3 catches for 18 yards
‒ Jake Simpson
1 catch for 10 yards
‒ Jeremy Brown
1 catch for 5 yards
TEAM DEFENSE
21.6 points per game (108)
256.6 yards per game (1,283)
149.8 rushing yards per game (749)
106.8 passing yards per game (534)
TACKLES (Grape Creek game not included)
‒ Tre Beam
47 tackles, 9 for loss, 5 sacks
‒ Marcus Morelan
29 tackles, 2 sacks
‒ Caleb McCullough
22 tackles
‒ Korbin Hall
21 tackles, 1 for loss
‒ Bradon Schwartz
20 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks
‒ Franky Villarreal
16 tackles
‒ Tucker Hale
15 tackles
‒ Casey Moseley
11 tackles
‒ John-Stewart Gordon
10 tackles
‒ Jeremy Brown
8 tackles, 2 INTs
‒ Rylie Hill
7 tackles
‒ Tyson Tyler
7 tackles, 1 INT
‒ Wade Kennedy
4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FR
‒ Adan Aleman
2 tackles
‒ Alex Jacobs
1.5 tackles
‒ Chris Fernandez
1 tackle
‒ Bradly Roman
.5 tackle
‒ Ryan Parisi
.5 tackle