Early targets third straight bi-district title in playoff rematch with Odessa Compass

November 9, 2023 at 6:55 am Derrick Stuckly

Andrew Reedy (4) and the Longhorn offense is generating 28 points and 360 yards – 191 passing and 169 rushing – per game through 10 contests thus far. {Photo courtesy of Mike Jones}

EARLY – Making their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, every year of Daniel Price’s tenure as head coach, the Early Longhorns will attempt to secure a third straight bi-district championship as they tangle with the Odessa Compass Cougars in the first round for the second year in a row.

Kickoff between the District 2-3A Division II runner-up Longhorns (5-5) and District 1 third seed Cougars (4-6) is slated for 7 p.m. Friday at San Angelo ISD Stadium.

The Longhorns knocked off Compass, 62-0, last year in the bi-district round as well.

Regarding facing the same team in the opening round of the playoffs, Price said, “It’s always an advantage when you’ve seen a time before and have an idea of what they do. They didn’t have any big changes that we’ve seen on film so it should be pretty similar to what we saw last year. They’re definitely improved, a year older and compared to the team we saw last year it’s definitely two different teams.”

Early is coming of a 35-21 victory over San Angelo TLCA last week, which secured the No. 2 seed from the district for the Longhorns.

“We didn’t travel great and started the game a little slow and did some things we haven’t done in a long time, turned the ball over and gave up a couple of big plays,” Price said. “We fumbled our way through the first quarter, and actually the whole first half was back and forth and both defenses played well. In the second half, we were able to find our groove and put it away to get us a big win and finish second.”

Compass has also faced San Angelo TLCA this year, the only opponent it has in common with Early, and the Cougars dropped that contest by a 27-24 count on Sept. 1.

In that game, TLCA quarterback Diego Franco completed 8 of 13 passes for 84 yards with a touchdown, Christian Davalos caught three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 58 yards and another score, Tanner Gahr finished with two catches for 18 yards, and Braxton Baline added 35 yards on the ground.

The biggest win for the Cougars this season was a 69-0 district triumph over Tornillo as Franco was 8 of 9 for 172 yards with two scoring strikes, Gahr caught two passes for 113 yards and scored once, and Jace Hinojoz rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 34 yards with another trip to the end zone.

“Offensively they spread it out, have some athletes and can throw and catch a little bit,” Price said. “We’re a little worried about that after watching TLCA throw it on us quite a bit, so that’s something we’ve prepared for all week. Defensively, they have some big guys up front that could pose some problems for us. On the back end, we feel like there’s some things we can take advantage of.”

Early enters the contest generating 28 points and 360 yards – 191 passing and 169 rushing – per game, with 22 turnovers.

Quarterback Rohyn Price has completed 98 of 167 passes for 1,456 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while leading receivers include Andrew Reedy (40-535, 4 TDs), Ki Houston (29-628, 3 TDs), Weston Barton (28-349, 2 TDs) and Reece Middleton (17-238, 3 TDs). Griffin Cheslock (1,125 rushing yards, 14 TDs) anchors the ground game.

“I’d like to see us a be a little more consistent,” Price said of the offense. “We had some drives stall on some mistakes we made, not necessarily that were forced, so we need to clean those things up and get better in those areas offensively.”

Defensively, the Longhorns are yielding 29 points and 326 yards – 183 on the ground and 143 through the air – per contest, with 16 takeaways.

Leading the charge are Kaleb Ozuna (94 tackles, 6 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries), Dalton Adams (58 tackles, 19 for loss, 8 sacks), Brooks Clippinger (50 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries), Middleton (47 tackles), Izik Delgado (40 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Kaeden Byrd (38 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks), Reedy (35 tackles, 2 INTs), Price (26 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack), and Giovanni Guevara (23 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery).

“We have to get off the field on third down,” Price said of the defensive goals. “Third and fourth down were big for TLCA last week so we have to fix that, along with continuing to run to the football and tackle. That’s what I want to see.”

On the health front, Price added, “Everybody’s healthy and has been for a couple of weeks now. We’re playing with a full roster and that’s always nice.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Early is a 35-point favorite.

Friday’s winner will face either District 3 champion Canadian (10-0) or District 4 fourth seed Littlefield (6-4) in the area round of the playoffs next week.

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Early Longhorns 2023 Football Season Stats

Through 10 Games (5-5, 4-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

27.9 points per game (279)

360.1 yards per game (3,601)

168.8 rushing yards per game (1,688)

191.3 passing yards per game (1,913)

PASSING

* Rohyn Price

98 of 167 for 1,456 yards, 15 TDs, 9 INTs

* Weston Barton

16 of 39 for 243 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs

* Justin Pierce

15 of 27 for 214 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs

RUSHING

* Griffin Cheslock

1,125 yards on 144 carries, 14 TDs

* Rohyn Price

238 yards on 48 carries, 4 TDs

* Ben Morris

153 yards on 17 carries, 1 TD

* Kaleb Ozuna

161 yards on 39 carries, 3 TDs

* Weston Barton

7 yards on 6 carries

* Ki Houston

6 yards on 2 carries

* Justin Pierce

-2 yards on 3 carries

RECEIVING

* Andrew Reedy

40 catches, 535 yards, 4 TDs

* Ki Houston

29 catches, 628 yards, 4 TDs

* Weston Barton

28 catches, 349 yards, 3 TDs

* Reece Middleton

17 catches, 238 yards, 3 TDs

* Griffin Cheslock

8 catches, 54 yards

* Ben Bleth

5 catches, 83 yards, 2 TDs

* Kaleb Ozuna

2 catches, 16 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

28.6 points per game (286)

326.0 yards per game (3,260)

182.6 rushing yards per game (1,826)

143.4 passing yards per game (1,434)

TACKLES

* Kaleb Ozuna

94 tackles, 6 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries

* Dalton Adams

58 tackles, 19 for loss, 8 sacks

* Brooks Clippinger

50 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries

* Reece Middleton

47 tackles

* Izik Delgado

40 tackles, 7 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Kaeden Byrd

38 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks

* Andrew Reedy

35 tackles, 3 INTs

* Rohyn Price

26 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Giovanni Guevara

23 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Weston Barton

20 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Dylan Brame

18 tackles, 1 for loss

* Ki Houston

18 tackles, 1 INT

* Griffin Cheslock

14 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT

* Ben Bleth

13 tackles

* Ben Morris

9 tackles

* Justin Pierce

7 tackles

* Dillon Miller

5 tackles

* Ethan Moseley

5 tackles

* Aaron Mendoza

5 tackles

* Rico Vasquez

4 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Jacob McDaniel

4 tackles, 1 INT

* Will Speck

2 tackles

* Angel Del Villar

2 tackles

* Jaxon Andrade

1 tackle

* Jacob Braun

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-6)

* Early: 22 (6 fumbles, 16 interceptions)

* Opponents: 16 (10 fumbles, 6 interceptions)