Comanche hands Early fourth straight loss to conclude pre-district slate, 54-20

September 28, 2024 at 11:40 am Derrick Stuckly

Weston Barton passed for 105 yards, rushed for 53 yards, and recovered a fumble on defense for the Longhorns (1-4), who open District 5-3A Division II action against Tolar (4-1) on Oct. 11 {File photo courtesy of Mike Jones]

COMANCHE – The Early Longhorns will be looking for better results once District 5-3A Division II action commences as they were dealt a fourth consecutive defeat to conclude pre-district play, 54-20 by the Comanche Indians Friday night.

Since defeating Bangs, 33-12, in the season opener, Early (1-4) has surrendered at least 40 points and 500 yards in each of its next four outings. Friday night, Comanche (3-2) amassed 507 yards, with 403 coming on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Early offense was limited to 222 yards – 117 rushing and 105 passing – with a pair of turnovers.

Comanche – which bounced back from last week’s 14-7 loss to Tolar – was sparked by quarterback Cayden Davis, who rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns and completed 5 of 12 passes for 104 yards and two more scores.

CT Buford added 96 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Ladainian Smith chipped in 72 rushing yards, while Zaden Tello tacked on 15 yards and a touchdown and Chance Boswell rushed for 10 yards and a score.

Through the air, Buford caught a 32-yard touchdown pass and Tello hauled in a 15-yard scoring reception, while Manuel Ortiz also caught a 35-yard pass and Smith pulled down a 24-yard reception.

Alex Terrell led the Indians defense with six tackles and an interception, Badger Sanchez also picked off a pass, and Ethan Dease and Peyton Baugh each tallied a sack.

Meanwhile, Early received a team-high 53 rushing yards from quarterback Weston Barton, who also competed 14 of 25 passes for 105 yards with a pair of picks.

Andrew Reedy caught a game-high eight passes for 51 yards, scored on a 1-yard carry – his lone rush of the game – and returned a kickoff 67 yards for another Longhorn score.

Cameron Love tacked on 42 yards rushing while Ben Morris finished with 21 yards and a touchdown on the ground, as well as a two-point conversion.

Ben Bleth added two catches for 14 yards, Angel Marquez finished with two grabs for 11 yards, Jaxson Stockman hauled in a 26-yard catch and Da’corrain McBride added a 3-yard reception.

The Early defense did force a pair of turnovers as Barton and Brayden Schafer each recovered a fumble. Kaeden Byrd recorded 18 tackles for the Longhorns followed by 10 from Rhett Williams, eight from Mario Vasquez and six from Will Speck.

After both teams take next week off, Early opens 5-3A Division II action Oct. 11 at Tolar (4-1) – which downed Breckenridge, 42-6 Friday, while Comanche kicks off District 3-3A Division I play at home against Jim Ned (3-2), which edged Holliday, 17-15, Friday.