Archive : November 2005

November 28, 2005

Horns vs Socks, sorry, I meant to say Eagles

Early Longhorns 27 Sanford-Fritch Eagles 7

On a windy night in Wichita Falls the Early Longhorns ‘blew’ away the SF Eagles from out in the panhandle. In fact, had it not been for a questionable penalty on the defense in the 2nd, the Eagles might have been content to leave at halftime, just to get ahead of the traffic! But, the Eagle TD that followed the penalty kept them hopeful, at least for a little while. Meanwhile, Josh Conley had a career night with 35 carries for 259 yds, and 4 TDs! That, together with a Longhorn Defense that only allowed only 169 yds of offense, and you have a solid win for the boys in Purple.

Speaking of Purple, sideline reporter Alan Weathers dubbed the Early Crowd – “Purple Nation�. An apt description for Longhorn fans that out-numbered the Eagle fans by about a 5-1 margin. If I were counting heads like a Baptist preacher I would say that there were probably about 2000+ on the Early side, but since I’d better be truthful, I estimate the Crowd at 12-1500. About 200+ of which started showing up 3 hours before game time for some incredible chili at the Tailgate Party. This week the Purple Nation has a much shorter drive for the Tailgate Party, and plenty of “roast eagle� for the Game. Make plans now for 6pm, Dec. 3rd, Tarleton Stadium, Stephenville. I expect the biggest crowd ever to witness an Early Football Game for several reasons: #1-the Purple Nation seems to grow every week; #2-this is really the shortest drive for a playoff game yet; #3-several members of our Coaching Staff and Administration have deep Stephenville ties;(although Mr. Beck’s friend list is pretty short, the rest of the guys were pretty well liked! Just joking Wes!); #4-in the 2005 Football Playoff season, there is no hotter ticket than the Early Longhorns, everybody else around here is playing Basketball, except Richland Springs; #5-the 2005 Early Longhorn’s are on a journey to the State Finals, and this is the next stop on the itinerary!

I can’t help but mention a couple of stand-out performances from the SF game, although the thing that keeps this team winning is the depth of “team spirit� and unity. Constantly relying on each other and supporting one another marks this group of guys as unique. Not only that, but this team knows how to listen to the Coaches, make the “reads� and trust the game plan. This is a smart, talented, and committed bunch of guys, and they literally feed off the energy that the Purple Nation gives them. When we get excited, they get excited. When we get loud, they get loud. When we are confident, their confidence grows. These guys know how much we love and support every one of them, and every other student at EISD, and when they see us on our feet and hear our voices, I believe it energizes them in ways that can’t be described, only experienced. So, be in Stephenville on Saturday, change your plans, call in sick, close the store, put off the wedding, do whatever you have to do to be there, but BE THERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I mentioned stand-out performances, 1st – Nick Cantu: #55 became the SF offense’ worst nightmare in the 2nd half, with 7.5 tackles and 3 of those for lost yards in the 2nd half! 2nd – David Garcia: #1 had 6.5 tackles on the night, played great pass coverage all night long, and was 100% on “open field� tackles. 3rd-Marcus Gonzales: #58 played the most dangerous position on the field, center, almost flawlessly; remember, if something goes wrong at the “snap�, everything goes wrong, and when you have to switch from ‘gun’ to ‘under center’ to ‘motion snap’ constantly, it takes an incredible amount of concentration to get it right. 4th – the O-Line: what can I say, those guys had something to prove after the Wall game, and I don’t think there was an Eagle left who had any questions about who “owned� the line of scrimmage.

I looked for a word to describe the Purple Nation, the best I’ve come up with is “SOLIDARITY�. Maybe you’ve got another idea, let me know. For now, let’s get ready to give the Argyle Eagles a little taste of Purple Nation. Let me know what you think about the upcoming Game.

I’ll add more later, today’s flight has been delayed, but now they’re calling for ‘boarding’ so I’d better get ready to go. Maybe I’ll look for some ‘argyle’ socks while I’m out this week, I think there is going to be some “kicking� going on this weekend, I might need some new socks.

November 27, 2005

STOP the PRESSES!!!! Correction on the Location and Time for the Semi Final Game!!!

Without going into a lot of detail, I want to correct the earlier posting...it seems that there is no available "eagle season" in McClennan County (Waco), so, the game is going to be played in Stephenville, at Tarleton Stadium, 6pm, Saturday. We will be the "home" team, thanks to some expert "coin flippin'" on the part of our Administration!

Longhorns advance to face the Argyle Eagles in State Semi-Finals

Game time is set for 6pm, at the new Waco ISD Stadium, just off New Road in Waco, this Saturday, December 3rd.

November 22, 2005

Look out Sanford-Fritch Eagles...HERE COME THE HORNS!!!

Official word now: Early Longhorns vs. Sanford-Fritch Eagles, Saturday, November 26th, 6pm @ Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday, but don't forget - you can fill up on Turkey on Thursday, but...

Save room for some Eagle on Saturday, because that's what on the Longhorn menu this week!

November 19, 2005

Lornhorns VS Sanford-Fritch @ 6pm, Saturday the 26th, Wichita Falls (unofficial word)

The "unofficial" word is that the Longhorns will be playing this coming Saturday, at 6pm, in Wichita Falls. Probably at Midwestern University. It is certain that our opponents will be the Sanford-Fritch Eagles, who advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Tulia by a score of 35-12. The Eagles are 9-2 on the season, came in 2nd in their District behind Canadian. (Canadian is in D2, and advanced to play Crane next week).

This is going to be an incredible game - matching up the top 2 Teams from Division 1 in this Region! But if you like what the Longhorns did to the Hawks - you're going to love what these guys do to eagles!

It is midnight in Raleigh, NC and the Early Longhorns are Area Champions, Congratulations Horns!!!!

  • Tracy Ebarb
  • November 19, 2005 11:04 PM

LONGHORNS WIN!!!!! Horns 35 Wall 28 (2OT)

November 13, 2005

Top 10 Reasons Why the Horns will Beat the Hawks

What can I say? First of "thank you" to the Early Longhorns 2005 Edition for keeping all of our dreams alive in this "Cinderella" season. If you're like me, you got over being surprised several weeks ago, and now, you're just plain proud! Proud of our Students. Proud of our Teams. Proud of our School and our Community. Proud to be an Early Longhorn!

Second, thanks to the network of friends and family that kept me updated during Saturday night's game. The flight attendant finally forced me to hang up the phone when I took off in Dallas at 7:39pm, and I was the first one on the phone when we landed in Birmingham at 9:04pm. I cannot describe what I felt whe I heard that the Horns' were leading 33-0 at the half, then 40-0 at the end of the 3rd. It must have been incredible to see it live!

Third, I'm sorry that I can't really comment on the specifics of the win, but, I just don't have enough information. However, if you weren't there, maybe you were able to catch the play-by-play with Joseph King on KBWD 1380am, or if not, CALL SOMEONE!!! I'm sure there are lots of Longhorn Fans who would be more than willing to fill you in. Suffice it to say, however, that the Longhorn Defense is absolutely 'scary' to opponents, and our offense, well, you want players, we got players!

And fourth, if a Longhorn and a hawk were to get a chance to duke it out, who do you think would win? I'll tell you what I think, I think there are lots of reasons why there is no way the Wall hawks are going to advance to the 3rd round of the playoffs. But I can think of at least 10 Reasons why the Horns will beat the Hawks.

One fan's estimate of the crowd at Shotwell last Saturday was about 1200 Longhorn Fans. Would you fans help me out this week? Take a look at my Top 10 Reasons, then help me out by sending in your own Reasons. We need at least one for each year we've been out of the playoffs, 47 or so, and maybe we need one for each fan at the Game. The more the better.

Here's mine: Top 10 Reasons why the Horns will Beat the hawks

#10 Early has the most intelligent Student Body, ranked #2 in the entire State of Texas.
# 9 We have the tallest Superintendent in West Texas!
# 8 The EHS choir performed Cinderella in honor of the Longhorns' 'cinderella' season
# 7 We have the highest flying Cheerleaders.
# 6 We have the prettiest Drill Team - the Heartland Belles!
# 5 We have the most intimidating Band and Drill Team in the State, when they play, they "vaderize" the opponents!
# 4 The #1 Offense in the Region!
# 3 The #1 Defense in the Region!
# 2 We have the best dressed fans, purple is a royal color, you know!
# 1 Superior Coaching! Superior Coaching! Superior Coaching!

Help me add to this list!

November 12, 2005

Longhorns Demolish Colorado City Wolves!! Final Score 40-20! 10:14pm(CST)

4th quarter Horns Lead 40-6, 7minutes left ( 9:49pmCST)

  • Tracy Ebarb
  • November 12, 2005 9:47 PM

November 7, 2005

Longhorns are Playoff Bound!!!!!

Early Longhorns 48 Coleman Bluecats 25

Well, you can all check off Phase II as completed, and successful! Now comes Phase III, and the Early Longhorns are ready, 9-1 so far, with the Colorado City Wolves next on the menu. Saturday – Shotwell Stadium in Abilene @ 7:30pm.

Longhorn fans came out in “force� this past Friday night to watch their ‘Horns set the stage for their a playoff run in 2005. “The Force� was definitely with Early as they went up 14-0 only 9 minutes deep in the 1st quarter. The Bluecats took the opening kickoff, and fumbled the ball away 2 plays later after a quick lesson on just how hard the Early Longhorns hit! Eric Skaggs hit Justin Cadenhead on a 25 yd scoring strike 5 plays later for the first score, then after the Bluecats gave up the ball on the ensuing kickoff, the ‘Horns stretched 40 yards into 11 plays ending on Josh Conley’s 2yd TD run.

After allowing the Bluecats to go 75yds for a TD to close the gap to 14-7, the ‘Horns offense answered back. First, on a 22 yd run by Josh Conley, then a 7yd pass, Skaggs to Kade Horton with 18 seconds left in the half. The ‘Horns, at halftime were well on their way to the District 3-2A Championship, leading the Bluecats 28 – 7.

The second half was a bit strange, in my opinion. Both teams scored 3 touchdowns each, and the ‘Horns had things well in hand. However, for all practical purposes, the Bluecats were in a win or go home situation. No one expected the Jim Ned Indians to upset the Ballinger Bearcats and hand the Bluecats a ticket to the playoffs, however, the Bluecats appeared almost unconcerned with the outcome of the game from about mid-way through the 3rd quarter. It was really strange! Down 35-7, the Bluecats never got in a hurry, the were content to run the ball and run the clock. Carlton Brown is an incredibly gifted athlete, and gained more yards than any back the ‘Horns defense has faced all year. But, down by 28, against a team that has seemingly scored at will all night, you would think that the ‘Cats might’ve tried to go into a two minute drill, and control the clock, and so on. Never the less, the Longhorns are undefeated in District play and poised for a long overdue playoff run. ROLL HORNS!!!!

Next up – the Colorado City Wolves. The Wolves are an experienced playoff team and have fought through significant injuries to win their District on their way to an 8-2 record. (you may want to read the comments from the previous blog entry for details about the friendly wager between the CC blogger and myself; bottom line – I’m not terribly worried about taking pictures this week, although I’m sure we can find a place on the locker room wall for a special 8x10 from out west)

I’m going to need help this week. Due to long-ago scheduled appointments in Alabama, I will be unable to attend the game this week-end. I will be calling in to check the progress, as I am able, throughout the game. What I need is for as many people as possible to submit comments as soon as you get home from the Game. I’m expecting the ‘Horns defense to be punishing to the Wolves, and our offense is getting better every game, and we’ve still got a few games to go!
My call: Longhorns 27 Wolves 6

Joseph King will be broadcasting the game “in-stadium� on a selected FM frequency, so don’t forget your radios. A new tradition is beginning in Early, TX, so invite everyone you know to join in.

  • Tracy Ebarb
  • November 7, 2005 5:28 PM

November 3, 2005

1st Round Playoff Game Details Announced

The Longhorns will face the Colorado City Wolves at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene at 7:30pm, on Saturday, November 12th, for Round One of the 2A playoffs.

Keep those Comments Coming!!

Sorry everyone, the "comments" part of the blog was a little "constipated", but it should be fixed. Thanks for your patience. Tracy

  • Tracy Ebarb
  • November 3, 2005 7:16 AM

November 1, 2005

Early Longhorns 21 Bangs Dragons 12

Early Longhorns 21 Bangs Dragons 12

First of all, let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves – Phase II of this season is not over, the Coleman Bluecats come to McDonald Field this Friday night, and they certainly want a share of the District Title. As I said last week, the Bangs game was important primarily because it was the next one on the schedule, not because of the ‘hype’ surrounding it. This next game is just as important! However…

Wasn’t it great to drive over to Bangs last Friday night and watch a strong and confident and talented team of Early Longhorns do their trash talking with the way they played the game! As I said last week, Bangs is a fine football team, and they are well coached, but, they were no match for Robbie Tindol’s Longhorns. Consider this, the dragons had more yards punting than total offense. The dragons, who have dominated the line of scrimmage against opponents all year, had less than 100 yds rushing,completed only 41% of their passes, and were absolutely unable to advance a punt or kickoff more than 1 yard. Their average field position on the night was their own 27. Give them credit, they tried to stay in the game, and to be honest, they kept us from playing our best. But when the time came for players to step up and make a play, it seemed like every Longhorn on the field wanted to be the one.

· Think about Josh Conley rushing for 44yds on the opening drive and ending the drive with a 1 yd run for 6 points
· Think about Wills Setzler’s punt downed on the Bangs 2yd line early in the 2nd quarter.
· Think about the Longhorn Defense forcing the Dragons to punt on their first 4 possessions.
· Think about Eric Skaggs hitting Tim Chandler in full stride for a 77yds and a touchdown, along with whatever Tim was doing with the fumble and the recovery and the dive and whatever. (Note to Tim: Stop trying to dribble the football, you won’t be playing basketball until sometime in December.)
· Think about Taylor Singleton flying through the Bangs O-line to block the PAT after Bangs’ Travis Snyder hit Caleb Hall on an absolutely perfect TD pass late in the 2nd.
· Think about the Longhorn offense mounting an 80yd, 5:33 drive to go ahead 21-6 early in the 4th.
· Think about the Longhorn Defense stopping the 2-point conversion that would have made it a ‘one score’ game for the dragons.
· Think about Brian Cochran going 3-3 on PAT kicks, and how important those 3 points were.
· Think about the ‘sea of purple’ that was on it’s feet almost all night cheering the Horns.
· Think about how the stands on the ‘green’ side of the field began to empty after the Horns last score.
· Think about how good the burgers at the tailgate party were before the game, and how awful the “humble pie� must have tasted to the good folks from Bangs.

There really is a lot to think about, and to remember, but for me, the thing that stands out the most, happened about 10 hours before game time, at the Longhorn’s Pep Rally. When the Team gathered at mid-court for their usual rally cry, Wills Setzler and the rest of the guys shouted that it wasn’t just the guys in pads that were important, but the entire Student Body, and the entire Student Body emptied out of the stands onto the gym floor for the “Ain’t no party like a Longhorn’s party…� rallying cry! I knew then that there was no way the Bangs Dragons could beat Early, they might’ve had our number in years past, but they were only playing the Football Team in those years, this year they had to face the entire Herd! Consequently, they got trampled!

Now it’s time to complete the task at hand, and earn the District Championship. I think we played Coleman last year, it seems like I remember something about the game, but that seems like a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. This year, when the Band plays the “Imperial March� the Coleman Bluecats are going to wish they were in a galaxy far, far, away! Coleman has a very good team, in fact, I think they may be the best representative for District 3-2A, in Division II, that is. I guess we’ll have to wait and see who wins all the potential tie-breakers between them, Bangs, and Ballinger, because Coleman will be 3-2 in District play after Friday night. I expect the Horns to finish District with a strong 35-12 win.
And then, we get to start Phase III, and the march to a state title will begin!

Note to Chris Cadenhead: My shirt size is 16 neck, 35 sleeve.

Congratulations to the Longhorn Marching Band on a great showing at the Area Competition! We are very proud of all of you! And for the Longhorn’s 9th Grade team on a great 5-5 season.

This Thursday at McDonald Field the Middle School teams will complete their season, and the JV squad will travel to Coleman. Although football in Early is not going to be over anytime soon this year, this will be the last opportunity to catch these teams, so don’t miss out.

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