EARLY – The Early Longhorns have collected victories in their first two outings and look to remain undefeated as the Comanche Indians – still in search of their initial victory of the Jake Escobar coaching era – visit Longhorn Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Early (2-0) is coming off a 33-16 road win over Tolar, following a 48-12 over Bangs in the home and regular season opener. Meanwhile, Comanche (0-2) has started its campaign with losses to Mason (34-13) and Brady (46-19).

Of last week’s win over Tolar, Early second-year head coach Daniel Price said, “We had some adversity, first time on the road, always challenging to go beat somebody at their place. Got down early, had some mistakes early, did some things uncharacteristically but then played through it and found a way to get back on track. The defense played well again, it was a lot of fun when we put it all together about midway through the second quarter and didn’t look back.”

Early generated 362 yards of total offense – 187 through the air and 175 on the ground – with just one turnover.

Quarterback Jaxyn Price connected on 13 of 26 passes for 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jeremy Brown led the Longhorns with six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, while Caleb McCullough also hauled in a scoring reception and finished with two grabs for 14 yards. Cedric Morelan finished with a team-best 68 receiving yards on two catches, Gavin Sanders added two receptions for 14 yards and John Stewart-Gordon pulled down a 30-yard catch.

On the ground, Tre Beam churned out 158 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, while Kaleb Ozuna chipped in 23 rushing yards.

“Our offense played well,” Price said. “They gave us a different look, something we didn’t expect. Once we figured out where we wanted to go with the ball we had some success. We had some big runs, Tre Beam had another big night in the backfield. He got loose a couple of times, one of them was pretty spectacular, he kept his balance and ran for a 35-yard touchdown. Jaxyn played well, not as many as completions and the percentage wasn’t as high, but he got the ball into some spots when we needed a first down and went and got it. Glad to see where we’re at and glad to see we could put in some in-game changes and have them respond well to it.

Leading the way defensively for Early – which forced a pair of Tolar (1-1) turnovers – were Tucker Hale with 8.5 tackles and an interception, Beam with 6.5 tackles including four for loss, Korbin Hall with 6.5 tackles and three for loss, McCullough and Ozuna with six tackles apiece, and Ki Houston with one tackle and a fumble recovery

Our defensive line play has been unbelievable,” Price said. “We’ve controlled the line of scrimmage and when you’re able to do that it leads to a lot of success. We generated some turnovers and Tucker Hale had a pick six. Doing a lot of good things, running to the football, tackling, it’s been fun to watch them gel and come together as a unit.”

Comanche enters the contest averaging 16 points and 202.5 yards – 141.5 rushing and 61 passing – per game while allowing 40 points per outing.

Quarterback Hudson Welch has completed 11 of 27 passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns, while Layden Welch hurled a 25-yard touchdown pass last week against Brady. Leading receivers are Miguel Martinez (4-84, 2 TDs) and Chris Reeves (1-25, TD). Anchoring the ground game is Luke Wilson (147 yards, 2 TDs), Hudson Welch (45 yards) and Martinez (37 yards).

Leading the charge defensively for the Indians are Diego Gutierrez (20 tackles), Martinez (16 tackles), Kyler Beaty (13 tackles), Israel Medrano (11 tackles), Hudson Welch (9 tackles), Layden Welch (9 tackles), and Pierson Sorrells (9 tackles).

“They’re running a little bit different offense and hopefully for us we can take advantage of that,” Price said. “They have a different offensive style after being in the Wing T which is really hard to prepare for. It’s not as strenuous as us to prepare for this. They’re pretty good up front, they’re going to be big and physical because they’re Comanche, they’re always big and physical. They’ve also got some skill kids that can run. I’m looking for a good contest here Friday night, I know they’ll be prepared. Since I’ve been here those games with Comanche have always been battles.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is an 11-point favorite.

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Early Longhorns 2021 Football Stats

Through 2 Games (2-0)

TEAM OFFENSE
40.5 points per game (81)

430.5 yards per game (861)
187.0 rushing yards per game (374)
243.5 passing yards per game (487)

PASSING
‒ Jaxyn Price
30 of 46 for 418 yards, 7 TDs

‒ Tucker Hale
1 of 1 for 69 yards, TD

RUSHING
‒ Tre Beam
259 yards on 38 carries, 2 TDs

‒ Michael Morales
53 yards on 13 carries, TD

‒ Riley Hill
32 yards on 4 carries

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
31 yards on 10 carries

‒ Jaxyn Price
-1 yards on 2 carries

RECEIVING
‒ Jeremy Brown
12 catches for 116 yards, TD

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
4 catches for 130 yards, TD

‒ Cedrick Morelan
4 catches for 113 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Caleb McCullough
4 catches for 46 yards, 2 TDs

‒ Tre Beam
3 catches for 52 yards, TD

‒ Gavin Sanders
2 catches for 14 yards

‒ Ki Houston
1 catch for 15 yards, TD

‒ Michael Morales
1 catch for 1 yard

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TEAM DEFENSE
14.0 points per game (28)
246.0 yards per game (492)

153.0 rushing yards per game (306)
93.0 passing yards per game (186)

TACKLES

‒ Korbin Hall
15.5 tackles, 4 for loss

‒ Caleb McCullough
12.5 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Kaleb Ozuna
12.5 tackles

‒ Tre Beam
12 tackles, 4 for loss

‒ Tucker Hale
12 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Franky Villarreal
12 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Jeremy Brown
9.5 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Gavin Sanders
6 tackles

‒ Vic Cooper
6 tackles

‒ Chris Fernandez
5 tackles

‒ Dalton Adams
4 tackles

‒ Bradly Roman
3 tackles

‒ John-Stewart Gordon
3 tackles

‒ Ki Houston
1.5 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Brooks Clippinger
1.5 tackles

‒ Riley Hill
1.5 tackles

‒ Casey Moseley
1.5 tackles

‒ Hayden Welch
1 tackle

‒ Cedric Morelan
1 tackle

‒ Jaxyn Price
1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (+2)
Early 1 – 1 fumble
Opponents 3 — 2 INTs, 1 FR