Go Friday Night

Early 13 Llano 10

By Tracy Ebarb
September 3, 2005

Longhorn fans were treated to one of the most exciting endings in memory in Friday night's home field victory. With 1:56 left to play, the Longhorn's Kade Horton punched the ball into the end zone from the 1-yard line to give the Horns a 12-10 lead, 13-10 after the Conely kick. That would have been a great ending, but Llano didn't give up. The ensuing kick-off put the yellowjackets 86 yards away from the end zone and less than two minutes to get there. The Horn's defense was content to give up yards down the middle to burn the clock, but things got dicey when the Jackets set up offense near the Horn's red zone. The Horns, however, had an answer, and it came in the form of a leaping Tim Chandler interception at the Early goal line. Game over, Lonhorns win!

Defense:
This game saw the Horn's defense continue to improve. The yellowjackets put together two scoring drives, both consisting almost entirely of one big play. The first, a 49 yard run off a sweep around the right side by Branden Long for Llano's only TD, and then a 66 yard pass and run by Shane Pope to set up the Jackets field goal. Those two plays, 115 yards total, were really the only bright spots for the Jackets offense all night. The Horns defense, led in tackles by Taylor Singleton (18 tackles), and Wills Setzler (15 tackles), were able to over come the enormous offensive line of the yellowjackets to consistently stop drives and force punts (9), and give the Longhorn's offense plenty of opportunities to win the game. In a half-time interview on KBWD 1380AM, Defensive Coordinator Alan Luker said the he was very pleased with the defensive play in the first half and that the goal for the second half was to force turnovers and continue to give the offense opportunities to score. It took 23 minutes and 41 seconds of the second half to achieve that goal, but Chandler's interception was the turnover they were looking for, and that sealed the deal!

Offense:
Junior QB Eric Skaggs(7 of 28, 1pick) continued to grow into the leader of the Horn's offense. Although his numbers and completion percentage are not impressive for the game, his poise and leadership were very impressive. The Horns were plagued early and late with dropped passes, and a hard hitting Llano defense. The Horns were forced to punt 9 times during the game, and managed only 163 yards of total offense, with 1 turnover. However, the 2005 Early Longhorns showed that they are a team that will not give up. When the key receivers were covered on the Horn's final scoring drive, Skaggs hit Stephen Hopkins on a drag across the middle, key downfield blocks by Tim Chandler and Blake Reid kept Hopkins running all the way to the Jackets 1 yard line. The Horn's offense continued to show improved execution and varied play selection, as they worked hard the entire 48 minutes to get the win.

Summary:
Last year against Llano, the Longhorn's defense kept the game close, but the offense couldn't close the deal. This year, as I mentioned last week, the Horn's fielded a much more balanced team, the defense continues to make adjustments and improvements, and the offense showed incredible growth and took great strides toward maturity. Couple that with the psycological boost that comes from winnig a game in "come from behind" fashion, and you have an Early Longhorn's football team that is coming together in all the right ways.

Next Week vs Dublin:
Although the Lions stayed close against Comanche through the first half last Thursday, they proved no match for Indian standout Shelden Feist in a 21 - 0 loss to Comanche. The big (and they are big, 300+lbs) green Lions from Dublin may have a difficult time adjusting to a multiple set offense, with several players that are a constant threat. Not only that, injured seniors Brian Pettit and Chase Rome, are likely starters after missing the Llano game. Coming off the great win, the Longhorn defense will continue to grow stronger, and would love to hold the Lions scoreless. Coach Tindol talks about the "pride" of this defensive squad, I expect this pride will result in a shut-out. The Longhorn's offense will work on play execution this week and the results will show up in caught passes, blocks made, first downs, and points on the scoreboard.

Early 20 Dublin 0
(it may be important to note that although I missed the exact score in my prediction for this week, the 'spread' or differential in the score was only 12 points, compared to a 'spread' of 23 points for my counterpart)

Special Note: Fans should bring their portable FM radios to Dublin this week. The game will be broadcast on an 'in-stadium' FM frequency, with the Longhorn's broadcast team: Joseph King and Tracy Ebarb. Kick-off 7:30pm, Friday September 9, 2005.

Comments

• Previous Entry: « '04 Score Correction
• Next Entry: Early Longhorns 55 Dublin Lions 0 »