EARLY – Fresh off a 62-0 bi-district victory over Odessa Compass – with 41 points coming in the first quarter alone – the Early Longhorns’ Class 3A Division II Region I area round playoff foe will provide a significantly more difficult challenge as the No. 2 Canadian Wildcats await.
Kickoff between the Longhorns (7-4), ranked No. 17 this week in 3A Division II by the Padilla Poll, and Canadian is slated for 7 p.m. Friday in Vernon.
Reflecting on last week’s win over Odessa Compass, Early third-year head coach Daniel Price said, “We played really well. It was one of those games where we knew we should take care of business but we had to go out and prove it and we started with the opening kickoff when JB (Jeremy Brown) went 90 yards. That really set the tempo and the tone for the rest of the game. We controlled the whole first half, took care of business and won us a bi-district football game, which is always fun.”
Five-time state champion Canadian is coming off a 70-8 bi-district victory over Lubbock Roosevelt, last year’s regional champion. The Wildcats started the season 1-2 with losses to Class 3A Division I No. 6 Bushland (47-21) and Elk City, Oklahoma (37-36 in OT), but have won eight straight since and are scoring 54 points per game on average while giving up just 17.
“They’re big and they’re physical and they’re fast,” Price said. “Aside from the tradition and all those things you hear about from Canadian, they show up on film and do a lot of good things. We have a lot of work to do to be prepared and ready for that.”
Last week against Roosevelt, Canadian quarterback Camren Cavalier rushed for 176 yards on only six carries with three touchdowns, while connecting 8 of 10 pass attempts for 163 yards with two more scores. Preston Miller caught a 62-yard touchdown pass and Julian Dominguez added three grabs for 76 yards with a touchdown. Kaden Crooks chipped in 109 rushing yards and a touchdown on just three carries.
“Offensively they run a ton of sets, a ton of different formations,” Price said. “They have a really good quarterback that likes to sling it around. He’s fast, he can move in the pocket and does a lot of good things moving their offense. Up front they’re physical and they come downhill at you when they want to. They run a good combination of the spread and just lining up and mashing you.”
“Their tempo is something we’re going to have to try and dictate. I thought we played fast, but they play a whole lot faster than us. They’re snapping the ball every 10 to 15 seconds so they’re trying to get as many snaps as they can. We’re going to have to take advantage of getting them off schedule and behind the chains and control the quarterback and get them off the field as much as we can.”
The Wildcat defense yielded just 122 yards – all on the ground – to Roosevelt.
Early counters with an offense that produces 41 points and 415 yards – 238 passing and 177 rushing – per contest, with 11 turnovers on the season.
Quarterback Jaxyn Price has completed 170 of 317 passes for 2,485 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions, as receiving threats include Jeremy Brown (52-908, 14 TDs), John-Stewart Gordon (30-411, 2 TDs), Cedrick Morelan (21-315, 3 TDs), Ki Houston (15-252, 5 TDs), Griffin Cheslock (14-108), and Caleb McCullough (12-264, 5 TDs). Leading the way on the ground are Cheslock (1,183 yards, 11 TDs) and Kaleb Ozuna (506 yards, 7 TDs).
“We have to execute and sustain drives,” Price said of the goals for Friday night. “We can’t have three-and-outs and not be on the field. We can’t give them anymore possessions because they are explosive enough already. In order for us to be successful we have to stay on the field and score a lot of points for sure. We have to avoid turnovers and put ourselves in the best position we can to score some points and keep the defense off the field.”
The Longhorn defense surrenders 19 points and 225 yards – 121 rushing and 104 passing – per game, with 24 takeaways, including six in last week’s bi-district win.
Stalwarts include Ozuna (122 tackles, 11 for loss, 2 sacks), McCullough (104 tackles, 30for loss, 12 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception), Gavin Sanders (62 tackles, 3 for loss), Dalton Adams (61 tackles, 18 for loss, 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception), Chris Fernandez (50 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks), Colton Allen (46 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 6 interceptions), Morelan (44 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions), Casey Moseley (43 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Brown (41 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery), Rohyn Price (41 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception), Houston Ortiz (39 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception), and Izik Delgado (34 tackles, 9 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries).
Price further reiterated the turnover battle, and a quick start, will be crucial for Early.
“We have to be positive in the turnover war and not give them short fields. We have to get into the game early,” Price said. “We always talk about settling in, but we’ve never seen a pace like this and we won’t really understand it until we’re on the field. We can’t give them an opportunity to get started fast and get up on us. When they do that, they’re a tough team to combat.”
As for what a victory over a team the caliber of Canadian would mean going forward, Price said, “We have goals to play in December and to do that we have to beat a really good Canadian team. I think we’re ready and geared up and ready to compete. I don’t know if we’ll beat them or not, but I want to say we’re going to be in the football game with them. Where we want to go and what we want to do has to go through Canadian at some point, whether it’s the fourth round or the second round. If we can manage to pull this it would be a huge win for us and hopefully set us up to make a deep run.”
Friday’s winner will face either Alpine (5-6) or Spearman (3-7) in the Region I semifinals next week.
Early is a 34-point underdog according to Harris Ratings Weekly and a 25-point underdog according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
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Early Longhorns 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 11 Games (7-4, 4-1)
TEAM OFFENSE
40.5 points per game (446)
415.2 yards per game (4,568)
176.7 rushing yards per game (1,944)
238.5 passing yards per game (2,624)
PASSING
* Jaxyn Price
170 of 317 for 2,485 yards, 30 TDs, 6 INTs
* Justin Pierce
6 of 8 for 126 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
* Rohyn Price
2 of 6 for 13 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
RUSHING
* Griffin Cheslock
1,183 yards on 151 carries, 11 TDs
* Kaleb Ozuna
506 yards on 81 carries, 7 TDs
* Dillon Miller
114 yards on 21 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
* Rohyn Price
5 yards on 2 carries
* Ki Houston
3 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Jeremy Brown
52 catches, 908 yards, 14 TDs
* John-Stewart Gordon
30 catches, 411 yards, 2 TDs
* Cedrick Morelan
21 catches, 315 yards, 3 TDs
* Ki Houston
15 catches, 252 yards, 5 TDs
* Griffin Cheslock
14 catches, 108 yards
* Caleb McCullough
12 catches, 264 yards, 5 TDs
* Reece Middleton
10 catches, 126 yards
* Kaleb Ozuna
9 catches, 53 yards
* Colton Allen
7 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD
* Sebastian Constancia
3 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD
* Rohyn Price
1 catch, 45 yards
* Houston Ortiz
1 catch, 11 yards
* Gavin Sanders
1 catch, 11 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
19.4 points per game (213)
225.0 yards per game (2,476)
121.3 rushing yards per game (1,335)
103.7 passing yards per game (1,141)
TACKLES
* Kaleb Ozuna
122 tackles, 11 for loss, 2 sacks
* Caleb McCullough
104 tackles, 30 for loss, 12 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception
* Gavin Sanders
62 tackles, 3 for loss
* Dalton Adams
61 tackles, 18 for loss, 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception
* Chris Fernandez
50 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks
* Colton Allen
46 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 6 interceptions
* Cedrick Morelan
44 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions
* Casey Moseley
43 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Jeremy Brown
41 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
* Rohyn Price
41 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception
* Houston Ortiz
39 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception
* Izik Delgado
34 tackles, 9 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries
* Griffin Cheslock
30 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Justin Pierce
18 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Dylan Brame
16 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Dillon Miller
15 tackles
* Sebastian Constancia
15 tackles
* Reece Middleton
9 tackles
* Cooper Jacobs
2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Nicolas Thames
2 tackles
* Malcham Williams
1 tackle
* Brooks Clippinger
1 tackle
* Ben Morris
1 tackle, 1 sack
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TURNOVER MARGIN (+13)
* Early: 11 (3 fumbles, 8 interceptions)
* Opponents: 24 (9 fumbles, 15 interceptions)