EARLY – The Early Longhorns’ debut on their home turf didn’t go as planned this past week with a 41-21 loss to Hamilton, but first-year head coach Randall Case and company look to rebound against the undefeated Junction Eagles, led by former Bangs assistant Scott Freeman.

Kickoff between Early (1-1) and Junction (2-0) is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Longhorn Stadium

In last week’s loss to Hamilton, the Longhorns yielded 550 yards of total offense – 360 on the ground and 190 through the air.

“We put ourselves in a hole early and had to dig out of it,” Case said. “We’re proud of the way our kids came out and played the second half, but we’re always disappointed with a loss and we’ll look to grow from it this week.

“Obviously, you let someone score 41 points on you, it wasn’t a great night. We looked at the tape, we’re going to fix our mistakes and we’re going to get better. We didn’t do a very good job of tackling in the first half against Hamilton. We have to get that cleaned up. I want to see guys fly to football with a little more urgency. But those are all things we can fix, and that we’re going to get fixed.”

Leading the charge for the Early defense this season are Kaeden Byrd (28 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack), Mario Vazquez (22 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries), Weston Barton (13 tackles), Ben Morris (12 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack), Brandon Walker (12 tackles, 1 for loss), Brennen Rasor (11 tackles), Ben Bleth (10 tackles), Brayden Schafer (10 tackles), and Andrew Reedy (8 tackles, 1 INT).

Offensively, the Longhorns generated 460 yards – 252 on the ground and 208 through the air – against Hamilton.

“Our offense overall did a good job and moved the ball well,” Case said. “I thought we had some kids step up in some moments. We moved the ball well, scored 21 points, had a good second half, so I’m really happy with the way they played.”

The Longhorns are averaging 27 points and 420.5 yards – 230 passing and 190.5 rushing – per outing, as Barton has completed 25 of 47 passes for 460 yards with four touchdowns.

Reedy leads the way with 16 catches for 343 yards with two touchdowns, while Bleth has seven grabs for 99 yards with a score, and Jaxson Stockman has pulled down two catches for 18 yards and reached the end zone once.

On the ground, Walker (110 yards, TD), Barton (77 yards), Morris (69 yards), Cameron Love (63 yards) and Reedy (62 yards, 3 TDs) have shared the load.

Junction opened its season with a 40-6 victory at Goldthwaite, then held off San Saba for a 28-27 home triumph last week.

“They’re tough kids and they’ve got some big kids as well,” Case said of Junction. “They’re well-coached, Coach Freeman does a good job with those guys down in Junction. We look for them to come in and be physical. It’s going to be a dogfight on Friday, but we’re excited.”

In Junction’s opening 34-point victory at Goldthwaite, the Eagles finished with 376 yards of total offense – 234 rushing yards on 40 carries, an average of 5.8 yards per carry, and 142 passing yards – with no turnovers. Defensively, Junction allowed just 186 yards – 110 on the ground and 76 through the air – and recovered a pair of fumbles.

Chasen Doyal completed 8 of 12 passes with scoring tosses of 35 yards to Bode Bierschwale and 15 yards to Caden Roberts. On the ground, Aidan Cardwell rushed for touchdowns of 46 and 6 yards, and Korren Hoing chipped in touchdown carries of 5 and 8 yards.

“You see a little bit of everything from them,” Case said of the Eagles. “You’ll see some power game, a lot of power counter, but they have a quarterback that can throw it, too. I’d say they might be a little run heavy, but they’re pretty balanced and we’re going to have to gear up and get ready for it. Defensively, they’re a little like we are. You’ll see a three-man surface but they mix and match coverages.”

As for what it will take for Early to emerge with the win, Case said, “We have to tackle better, we have to get stops. When we get people behind the chains, we have to capitalize on that. Offensively, we have to do what we’ve done the last two weeks, be consistent, control the game, and put the ball in the end zone when we get the opportunity.

“Offensively, I’d like to see those guys to continue to progress. They put a little more in the playbook each week as we start gearing up for district, and I want to continue to see them on that upward path, having a good clean game, and punching it in the end zone.”

On the injury front, the Longhorns could be without a couple of key contributors Friday night. Jaxson Stockman, with an ankle injury, might back this week, while Brandon Walker may miss the Junction game with a lower body injury, according to Case.

Harris Ratings Weekly lists Early as a 1-point favorite for this week’s game.

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Early Longhorns 2024 Football Season Stats

Through 2 Games (1-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

27.0 points per game (54)

420.5 yards per game (841)

190.5 rushing yards per game (381)

230.0 passing yards per game (460)

PASSING

* Weston Barton

25 of 47 for 460 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT

RUSHING

* Brandon Walker

110 yards on 21 carries, 1 TD

* Weston Barton

77 yards on 14 carries

* Ben Morris

69 yards on 20 carries

* Cameron Love

63 yards on 7 carries

* Andrew Reedy

62 yards on 10 carries, 3 TDs

RECEIVING

* Andrew Reedy

16 catches, 343 yards, 2 TDs

* Ben Bleth

7 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD

* Jaxson Stockman

2 catches, 18 yards, 1 TD

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TEAM DEFENSE

26.5 points per game (53)

366.5 yards per game (733)

251.5 rushing yards per game (503)

115.0 passing yards per game (230)

TACKLES

* Kaeden Byrd

28 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Mario Vazquez

22 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries

* Weston Barton

13 tackles

* Ben Morris

12 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack

* Brandon Walker

12 tackles, 1 for loss

* Brennen Rasor

11 tackles

* Ben Bleth

10 tackles

* Brayden Schafer

10 tackles

* Andrew Reedy

8 tackles, 1 INT

* Will Speck

7 tackles

* Da’Corrain McBride

5 tackles

* Rhett Williams

4 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Eli Pallette

2 tackles

* Jaxson Stockman

2 tackles

* Aaron Mendoza

2 tackles

* Rhett Smith

2 tackles

* Angel Marquez

2 tackles

* Jack Nowell

1 tackle

* Brayden Moya

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+2)

* Early: 2 (1 fumble, 1 interception)

* Opponents: 4 (3 fumbles, 1 interception)