After combining for just three wins between the Brown County rivals in 2024, both the Early Longhorns and Bangs Dragons hope the result of Friday night’s season opener is the catalyst for much greater success in 2025.

Kickoff between Bangs and Early is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Longhorn Stadium.

For the Dragons, Colton Buzzard is entering his second year as head coach following a 2-8 campaign last fall.

Buzzard said in regarding to the comfort level of heading into his second season opener at Bangs opposed to his first last year, “You know the kids better, you know what they can do and can’t do. The kids that are here want to be here and went through everything in the offseason, so there’s a better sense of knowing the kids,so it’s been a pretty exciting week.”

The Longhorns – coming off a 1-9 campaign in 2024 – are on their third head coach in as many seasons as 20-year coaching veteran Marvin Wilson takes over after serving as defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Brownwood most recently.

Regarding how quickly the players are picking up the new offensive and defensive schemes being installed in Early, Wilson said, “To me, the first game, no matter if you’ve been with those kids for three or five years, there’s some growing pains because it is the first one that’s 100 percent live and it counts now. The pressure, which I like pressure, that’s a good thing to have, but you can’t let the pressure affect you. We talked as coaches about what our kids do well, on both sides of the ball, and going and doing that. What we’re still working on, we can build to that.”

The Longhorns, in the opener, are facing a challenge on the defensive side of the ball they may not see again all season – having to slow down the Bangs Wing-T offense.

“It’s an offense that this day and time football-wise, you don’t see very often,” Wilson said. “Everything we’ve done for the last two weeks to prepare for the spread teams, the rules are still the same but the vision is different. Reads are reads, angles are still angles, but all that changes with the Wing-T formation. It’s good to see it, everywhere I’ve been we’ve probably seen it at least once a year, so seeing it early’s not a bad thing, but it does pull us off what we’ve been doing.”

For the Dragons, they’ll be facing an opponent in Early that will debut a different scheme on each side of the ball than what Bangs prepared for a year ago.

“They have a different dynamic, and a couple of new guys on their team over there,” Buzzard said. “We have to do a really good job at corralling them and keeping their big play makers from making big plays. They do a little bit more pistol, they’re a little more run heavy. Last year they were more of a spread team but they’re not going to shy away from running the ball this year, so we have to be ready for that. They’re going to be a big, physical team like always. Early always has big, physical guys, so it’s going to be a smash mouth football game.”

Key returnees for the Longhorns include offensive linemen Will Speck, Riley Barton, Rhett Smith, and Rhett Williams, with the addition of Ben Wilson. The receiving corps features returnees Andrew Reedy (67-914, 7 TDs receiving; 195 rushing yards, 8 TDs), Jaxson Stockman (9-87, TD) and Brennen Rasor, with the addition of Stone Ratliff (9-137, TD). And in the backfield, Cameron Love (778 rushing yards, 5 TDs) returns at tailback while newcomer Caden Wilson takes over at quarterback.

Other candidates to see time at the skill positions include receivers Aaron Mendoza, Darryl Watkins, Skyden Stoddart, and Miguel Brunette; running backs Brandon Walker, Logan Jackson, and Brayden Schafer; and tight ends Angel Marquez, Mario Vasquez and Aiden Driskill.

Up front, Braedyn Peek, Grant Stacks, Eli Pallette, Kaden Burleson and Weston Harrison could vie for playing time as well.

On the defensive side, the same players listed for the offensive line are battling to be among the rotation on the defensive front.

Schafer (39 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) and Marquez (42 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries) on the inside and Walker and Vasquez (93 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries) on the outside are expected to man the linebacker positions, while a combination of Reedy (30 tackles, 1 interception), Stockman, Wilson, Ratliff and Rasor (25 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) will see time in the secondary. Mendoza, Watkins and Brunette could also be sprinkled in along the back end, with Walker (24 tackles), Stoddart, and Love being in the mix at linebacker as well.

For Bangs, Hunter Withers takes over at quarterback while Cason Tidwell is moving to the backfield. Eliseo Rivas and Jackson Edmisten will also receive carries, while receivers include Connor Bible, Jayden Robinson, Braxton Wommack, Rex Guerrero and Michael Parrott, along with tight ends Joaquin Rubio, Heath Laughlin and Ryan Alqorum. Leading the charge up front are Roy Duron, Kason Klutts, Damian Hudspeth, Kian Kelly and Jace Duncan.

Defensively, Tidwell is expected line up at middle linebacker for the Dragons with Jaxon Duncan on the weak side, and Parrott, Bible and Rivas will man the safety positions. Wommack and Robinson are anticipated to play cornerback while the defensive line will feature a rotation of Kelly, Laughlin, Alqorum, Duron, Rubio, Hudspeth and Klutts.

Early won last year’s meeting, 33-12, its only victory of the season. Regarding the importance of starting the 2025 campaign on a winning note, Wilson said, “Momentum’s big, you want to start right. Everybody wants to win, but one of us is going to have it and one of us isn’t. It’s not going to define our season, but it is a great one for momentum. Bangs and Early is a rivalry, and you want to take care of that issue and make your town feel good. We’ve got excitement around here and the kids deserve to have those stands packed, so let’s go handle our business and gain that momentum to carry with us.”

Bangs is looking to reverse last year’s outcome in hopes that will also trigger a wave of positive momentum prior to the start of district play.

“You always want to win that first one and get that notch on your belt,” Buzzard said. “If you get the first one it can accumulate to more, but it’s not going to define our season, win or lose. But it can help propel you in the right direction, so we’re hoping to get that first win.”

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, Early is a 9-point favorite, while Harris Ratings Weekly lists the Longhorns as 13-point favorites.