EARLY – With the way the District 5-3A Division II football schedule has played out so far, and with the games remaining on the schedule for each squad, the district championship could very well be at stake when the Early Longhorns play host to the Brady Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Friday, moved up to the threat of inclement weather.

Early (3-4, 2-0) is coming off district victories over Tolar, 43-14, and Clifton, 28-3, while Brady (5-2, 2-0) has downed league foes Dublin, 62-13, and Eastland, 70-31.

“I’ve asked the kids if they understand, in all honesty, what Friday night is,” said Early first-year head coach Marvin Wilson. “They haven’t been in this position in a little while. It’s a big ball game, but we have to go do our jobs and not make it any bigger than it is. If we win it, in all honesty, it’s probably for the district championship, but that’s not the focus. The focus is us doing what we’ve got to do, and playing our game, and wherever we fall, we fall, win or lose. But we have to continue to get better because there’s more games after this. We know it’s a big one, we don’t want to make it too big, but they understand what it is.”

The Early defense turned in its best outing of the season at Clifton, allowing just a field goal and 80 yards of total offense.

“We’re starting to play disciplined,” Wilson said of defense. “Our corners and safeties are starting to keep their eyes where they’re supposed to and not get themselves out of position. The last couple of weeks we’ve been under balls and had chances to knock them down. We’ve stacked on top of receivers and not let them get to a ball. And those guys are doing a great job coming down hill and tackling when it’s time. Up front, our kids are getting in their gaps and our linebackers are working their way behind them.”

The Brady offense enters the contest producing 45 points and 455 yards – 364 rushing and 91 passing – per game.

The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Sean Jacoby (37 of 81 for 637 yards, 9 TDs, 5 INTs; 822 rushing yards, 10 TDs), running backs Ashton Taylor (994 rushing yards, 13 TDs; 6-140, 2 TDs receiving) and Alijah Stark (379 rushing yards, 5 TDs; 12-189, 1 TD receiving), and receivers Ethan Bernal (10-191, 3 TDs receiving) and Rylan Pedigo (5- 83, 2 TDs receiving).

“Brady has good size on the o-line and their running back and quarterback duo is pretty good,” Wilson said. “Their o-line gets on people, locks on, and moves people. We’ve got to attack low and attack through into gaps and shut their stuff down.”

The Early defense for the season is yielding 27 points and 315 yards – 172 rushing and 143 passing – per game on average.

Standouts include Angel Marquez (69 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception), Brayden Schafer (67 tackles, 1 for loss), Mario Vasquez (39 tackles, 1 sack), Aiden Driskill (35 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack), Andrew Reedy (33 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 interceptions), Aaron Mendoza (32 tackles, 1 for loss), Caden Wilson (31 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 interception), Rhett Williams (31 tackles, 2 for loss), and Weston Harrison (29 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack).

On the flip side of the ball, Brady’s defense has surrendered 24 points per game on average, with seven sacks and 14 takeaways, including 10 interceptions.

Leading the way defensively for the Bulldogs are Johnny Roque (91 tackles, 16 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions), Demarcus Reed (72 tackles, 16 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery), Nasir Menefield (44 tackles, 10 for loss), Taylor (39 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception), and Stark (33 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 interceptions).

“Defensively, they’re big up front,” Wilson said. “We just need to open the gaps like we’ve done the last two weeks, let your running backs through, and if we have to throw the ball, we’ll throw the ball. We have to exploit what they give us and then we have to go stop what they want to do and make them do some things they don’t want to do. We have to play disciplined football.”

The Early offense is producing 20 points and 264 yards – 150 on the ground and 114 through the air – per outing.

Wilson has completed 59 of 110 passes for 649 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions, while rushing for a team-high 367 yards and six more scores. Other weapons out of the backfield are Cameron Love (246 rushing yards, 1 TD), Isaac Ybarra (178 rushing yards, 2 TDs), Stone Ratliff (131 rushing yards, 1 TD) and Brandon Walker (95 rushing yards, 1 TD). Receiving threats include Reedy (25-429, 6 TDs), Ratliff (8-92, TD), Jaxson Stockman (7-54), Brennen Rasor (6-91), and Driskill (5-41).

“Our o-line is moving people and we threw the ball well last week,” Wilson said. “We had a lot more completions than not. We didn’t gash them on the ground, but we were going for 3 or 4 yards and then they piled in the box, so we went over the top of them. We’ve got kids that can catch balls and will go get what they can get. They’re not worried about breaking the big one. We rotate our running backs in and out and when people load the box our receivers are finding holes, and our quarterback is doing a good job putting the ball in their hands.”

As for what the Longhorns have to do in order to come away with their third straight victory Friday night, Wilson said, “What we’ve been harping the last few weeks is first downs equal touchdowns. If we go get first downs and we get into the end zone, we’re putting points on the board. If you don’t allow first downs, hopefully they don’t get in the end zone and you keep points off the board. We have to go be disciplined, we have to go be physical, and we’ve got to go play hard.”

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Longhorns are a 39-point underdog, while Harris Ratings Weekly lists Early as a 4-point underdog.

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Early Longhorns 2025 Football Season Stats

Through 7 Games (3-4, 2-0)

TEAM OFFENSE

20.1 points per game (141)

264.0 yards per game (1,848)

150.3 rushing yards per game (1,052)

113.7 passing yards per game (796)

PASSING

* Caden Wilson

59 of 110 for 649 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs

RUSHING

* Caden Wilson

367 yards on 74 carries, 6 TDs

* Cameron Love

246 yards on 56 carries, 1 TD

* Isaac Ybarra

178 yards on 34 carries. 2 TDs

* Stone Ratliff

131 yards on 21 carries, 1 TD

* Brandon Walker

95 yards on 14 carries, 1 TD

* Andrew Reedy

35 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Andrew Reedy

25 catches, 429 yards, 6 TDs

* Stone Ratliff

8 catches for 92 yards, 1 TD

* Jaxson Stockman

7 catches for 54 yards

* Brennen Rasor

6 catches, 91 yards

* Aiden Driskill

5 catches, 41 yards

* Cameron Love

2 catches, 68 yards

* Brandon Walker

2 catches, 5 yards

* Aaron Mendoza

1 catch, 11 yards

* Isaac Ybarra

1 catch, 5 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

27.1 points per game (190)

315.2 yards per game (1,576) – not including Hamilton, Tolar

172.2 rushing yards per game (861) – not including Hamilton, Tolar

143.0 passing yards per game (715) – not including Hamilton, Tolar

TACKLES

* Angel Marquez

69 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception

* Brayden Schafer

67 tackles, 1 for loss

* Mario Vasquez

39 tackles, 1 sack

* Aiden Driskill

35 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack

* Andrew Reedy

33 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 interceptions

* Aaron Mendoza

32 tackles, 1 for loss

* Caden Wilson

31 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 interception

* Rhett Williams

31 tackles, 2 for loss

* Weston Harrison

29 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack

* Brennen Rasor

24 tackles

*Logan Jackson

21 tackles, 3 for loss

* Jaxson Stockman

16 tackles, 1 interception

* Kaden Burleson

13 tackles, 1 for loss

* Will Speck

12 tackles

* Riley Barton

11 tackles

* Grant Stacks

10 tackles, 2 for loss

* Ben Wilson

8 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Miguel Brunette

8 tackles

* Rhett Smith

7 tackles,1 for loss

* Isaac Ybarra

7 tackles

* Brandon Walker

6 tackles, 1 for loss

* Braedyn Peek

5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Dacorian McBride

4 tackles

* Skyden Stoddart

4 tackles

* Stone Ratliff

3 tackles

* Matthew Walker

3 tackles

* Eli Pallette

2 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Cameron Love

1 tackle

* Darryl Watkins

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-3)

* Early: 8 (4 fumbles, 4 interceptions)

* Opponents: 5 (5 interceptions)