Kickoff 2022: Early seeks deep playoff run, district title after taking step last year
Early made one of the area’s biggest steps in 2021.
The Longhorns finished the regular season 8-2 and tied for second in District 3-3A Division I. They won their first playoff game since 2007, defeating Pilot Point 43-21 in the bi-district round before losing in the area round to Shallowater.
With much of last year’s talent back, the Longhorns are hoping to take an even bigger step.
“I think that’s going to spring us into, hopefully, a good year this year,” head coach Daniel Price said.
Veteran squad
The Longhorns return 17 lettermen from their history-making team. Seven of Early’s offensive starters from 2021 are back, and six on defense.
Key players returning include quarterback Jaxyn Price, wide receiver/defensive back John-Stewart Gordon, wide receiver/defensive back Jeremy Brown and linebacker Caleb McCullough, among others.
Those four were key pieces a year ago as the Longhorns had their best season in over a decade.
“We’re looking to compete, so emotions are high as we’re looking to get back into it,” Jaxyn Price said.
While many of their stars are back, the Longhorns did graduate a handful of leaders.
Offensively, they lost running back Tre Beam and lineman Bradly Roman.
Defensively, Early graduated three all-Big Country players in Beam and Franky Villarreal (linebackers) and Tucker Hale (defensive back).
“I think our season will go based on how fast we get those guys replaced and get people in there,” Daniel Price said. “We have the guys here, it’s just some of those guys haven’t proven it yet.”
Quarterback-receiver connection
As a junior, Jaxyn Price’s arm talent was on display while leading the Longhorns’ offense. In 11 games, Price threw for 2,106 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He sustained a concussion in the middle of the season but responded quite well after that. Price threw 12 touchdown passes in his last five games and four in the playoff win over Pilot Point.
Just a couple weeks into fall practice, Jaxyn’s father has been impressed by his son’s accuracy and strength.
“He’s been great,” Daniel Price said. “He worked hard this spring and summer and he’s in really good shape. He's been throwing the ball really great this first week and a half. It’s good to see him getting after it.”
Price’s targets this year will be familiar faces. The Longhorns return four — Gordon, Brown, Ki Houston and Cedrick Morelan — of their five leading receivers from last year.
The chemistry between Price and the receiving corps helped Early’s offense excel last year, and he hopes to build on that dynamic in 2022.
“He’s like our brother,” Gordon said. “He throws the ball at us, and he knows where to put it. He’s everything you could ask for as a quarterback — it’s great.”
Jaxyn Price added, “We’re all really close together. We’re a band of brothers, and that’s what we build each other on: the team chemistry. It’s easy going out and competing with those guys because we’re really close with each other.”
Taking another step
Early saw a four-win swing in 2021, going 9-3 after a 5-6 campaign in 2020. The Longhorns were undoubtedly a force in the Big Country a year ago.
But they have hopes of doing even more.
Early hasn’t won a district title since 2007, and every player and coach on the Longhorns' side believes it’s possible this year. But they also know they’ll have to work for it.
Despite dropping down from Class 3A Division I to 3A Division II, the Longhorns got placed in a tough district that includes Wall, Brady, Ballinger and San Angelo Grape Creek.
“(It will take) a lot of hard work, being focused in practice, being locked in and listening to coaches,” McCullough said.
Their goals, though, don’t stop at winning a district title.A year after winning their first playoff game in more than a decade, the Longhorns hope to make a deeper run in the postseason. Their players think last year’s playoff games will give them the experience and maturity needed to go further in 2022.
“We just learned how to come together and be a family,” Gordon said. “We just need to come out here, do our jobs and execute. We’ll be a pretty good team if we can do that.”
McCullough added, “Now we know what it takes to win a playoff game, so we should be good to go. I’m going to try to lead them my best and make sure they do their best.”
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Early Longhorns vying for another big step in 2022
