Early targets second consecutive bi-district championship against Odessa Compass

November 9, 2022 at 6:40 am Derrick Stuckly

High School Football

Ki Houston (1) and the Longhorn offense generates 38 points and 418 yards – 245 passing and 173 rushing – heading into Thursday’s first-round contest. {Photo courtesy of Mike Jones}

EARLY – A year ago, the Early Longhorns earned their first postseason victory in 14 seasons. Now, third-year head coach Daniel Price’s squad sets its sights on a second consecutive bi-district championship against the District 1-3A Division II third seed Odessa Compass Academy Cougars.

Kickoff in the Region I bi-district battle between District 2-3A Division II runner-up Early (6-4) and Compass (4-6) is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at Sweetwater’s Mustang Bowl.

The Longhorns are coming off a 69-7 victory over San Angelo TLCA in last week’s regular-season finale, a team that Compass defeated 7-6 back in Week 2.

“You look at scores, you look at who they played, all that doesn’t matter,” Price said. “We’ve been talking to the guys about that since Saturday. You still have to go out and win the game. We’re all dialed in and we’ve had pretty good practices this week. We’re focused and executing at a level where we want to be. We have to be us and be at our level and make the other team chase us and hopefully that’s the way we’ll approach it Thursday night.”

The Cougars also defeated Iraan (14-13) and Tornillo twice (46-12 and by forfeit), as District 1-3A Division II foes played each other twice to account for their six district games.

Compass averages just 9 points and 145 yards – 77 rushing and 68 passing – per game, but only gives up 29 per outing on average.

Offensively, quarterback Diego Franco has completed 68 of 128 passes for 676 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Leading rushers include Abraham Davalos (310 yards, 4 TDs), Jeremiah Dominguez (251 yards) and Christian Davalos (207 yards). Receiving threats include Tanner Gahr (22-228, TD), Christian Davalos (20-170, TD), Ricardo Salinas (11-115, TD), and Dillon Fanning (9-118).

“They’ve had some success and they’ve got some big kids in some areas where they’ve played OK,” Price said. “Their quarterback has been hit or miss. There’s been times he’s looked pretty good and if he comes out and plays well he can throw the ball around a little bit and they have a decent line that could get after us.”

Early counters with a defense that yields 21 points and 243 yards – 132 rushing and 111 passing – per game, with 18 takeaways for the season.

Standouts include Kaleb Ozuna (108 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 sacks), Caleb McCullough (97 tackles, 26 for loss, 11 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception), Gavin Sanders (60 tackles, 3 for loss), Dalton Adams (54 tackles, 15 for loss, 6 sacks, 1 interception), Chris Fernandez (48 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks), Colton Allen (42 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 5 interceptions), Cedrick Morelan (40 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception), Casey Moseley (37 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Jeremy Brown (36 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery), Rohyn Price (32 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Izik Delgado (30 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Griffin Cheslock (30 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery).

“Defensively, I want to see us run to the ball and tackle well,” Price said. “I want to see us play fast up front and get after it.”

On the flip side of the ball, the Longhorns are producing 38 points and 418 yards – 245 passing and 173 rushing – per outing, with nine turnovers in 10 games.

Quarterback Jaxyn Price has connected on 162 of 303 passes for 2,336 yards with 26 scoring tosses and six picks. Receiving threats include Brown (49-849, 12 TDs), John-Stewart Gordon (29-389, 2 TDs), Morelan (21-315, 3 TDs), Ki Houston (14-228, 4 TDs), Cheslock (13-86), and McCullough (11-257, 4 TDs). Top ground gainers are Cheslock (1,041 yards, 10 TDs) and Ozuna (447 yards, 6 TDs).

“I want to see us control the line of scrimmage and see us execute,” Price said of the offensive goals for Thursday night. “We didn’t do a real good job here on the first two possessions last Friday against TLCA. We dropped some passes, missed some blocks, and were a little sloppy. We want to make sure that we’re sharp on Thursday night.”

Leading the charge for the Compass defense are Abraham Davalos (101 tackles, 7 for loss, 4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries), Christian Davalos (55 tackles, 6 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Christian Stout (53 tackles, 4 for loss), Braxton Morris (39 tackles, 1 for loss), and Fanning (37 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks).

“Defensively, they have some guys in the back end that aren’t bad,” Price said. “It’ll be a different look for us on the back end of it. Not necessarily knowing exactly where they’re at could put some strain on our offense.”

As for the short week of preparation for the game, Price said, “It gave us a little bit of a problem trying to get everything in that we want to have in for Thursday, but I think we’re going to be OK. We’re just happy for the experience and we look forward to playing well and we want to be really sharp and execute the things we need to Thursday to go win a football game.”

Thursday’s winner will face either Canadian (8-2) or Lubbock Roosevelt (4-6) in the area round.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, there is no line for the game. Early was ranked 64 points higher than Compass in the most recent poll.

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Early Longhorns 2022 Football Season Stats

Through 10 Games (6-4, 4-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

38.4 points per game (384)

417.6 yards per game (4,176)

172.8 rushing yards per game (1,728)

244.8 passing yards per game (2,448)

PASSING

* Jaxyn Price

162 of 303 for 2,336 yards, 26 TDs, 6 INTs

* Justin Pierce

3 of 3 for 93 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

* Rohyn Price

1 of 3 for 8 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

RUSHING

* Griffin Cheslock

1,041 yards on 149 carries, 10 TDs

* Kaleb Ozuna

447 yards on 78 carries, 6 TDs

* Dillon Miller

88 yards on 15 carries, 2 TDs

* Jaxyn Price

77 yards on 16 carries, 2 TD

* Justin Pierce

32 yards on 7 carries, 1 TD

* Cedric Morelan

24 yards on 4 carries, 4 TDs

* Ki Houston

3 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Jeremy Brown

49 catches, 849 yards, 12 TDs

* John-Stewart Gordon

29 catches, 389 yards, 2 TDs

* Cedrick Morelan

21 catches, 315 yards, 3 TDs

* Ki Houston

14 catches, 228 yards, 4 TDs

* Griffin Cheslock

13 catches, 86 yards

* Caleb McCullough

11 catches, 257 yards, 4 TDs

* Kaleb Ozuna

9 catches, 53 yards

* Reece Middleton

8 catches, 107 yards

* Colton Allen

7 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD

* Rohyn Price

1 catch, 45 yards

* Houston Ortiz

1 catch, 11 yards

* Gavin Sanders

1 catch, 11 yards

* Sebastian Constancia

1 catch, 11 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

21.3 points per game (213)

243.2 yards per game (2,432)

132.2 rushing yards per game (1,322)

111.0 passing yards per game (1,110)

TACKLES

* Kaleb Ozuna

108 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 sacks

* Caleb McCullough

97 tackles, 26 for loss, 11 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception

* Gavin Sanders

60 tackles, 3 for loss

* Dalton Adams

54 tackles, 15 for loss, 6 sacks, 1 interception

* Chris Fernandez

48 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks

* Colton Allen

42 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 5 interceptions

* Cedrick Morelan

40 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception

* Casey Moseley

37 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Jeremy Brown

36 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery

* Rohyn Price

32 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery

* Izik Delgado

30 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Griffin Cheslock

30 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Houston Ortiz

29 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception

* Justin Pierce

13 tackles

* Dillon Miller

12 tackles

* Sebastian Constancia

12 tackles

* Dylan Brame

11 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Reece Middleton

6 tackles

* Nicolas Thames

2 tackles

* Malcham Williams

1 tackle

* Cooper Jacobs

1 tackle

* Brooks Clippinger

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+9)

* Early: 9 (2 fumbles, 7 interceptions)

* Opponents: 18 (6 fumbles, 12 interceptions)