Familiar Foes Sulphur Springs + Whitehouse Renew Series Friday Night

Sulphur Springs Wildcats (1-1)

vs.

Whitehouse Wildcats (2-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Wildcat Stadium, Whitehouse

Coaches

• Sulphur Springs: Greg Owens
• Whitehouse: Adam Cook

Last week

• Sulphur Springs: def. Sherman, 41-0
• Whitehouse: def. Chapel Hill, 52-42

Next week

• Sulphur Springs: idle
• Whitehouse: idle

Playmakers

Sulphur Springs

• QB Larry Pryor, Sr., 6-0, 203 (31 of 49, 393 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 16 carries, 137 yards, 3 TDs; committed to Texas A&M)
• LB Zach Spigner, Sr., 6-0, 180 (14 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 PBU)
• OL Jess Jenkins, Sr., 6-3, 290
• WR Dillon Carpenter, Sr. (12 catches, 140 yards)
• WR CJ Stephens, Sr., 5-5, 135 (5 catches, 163 yards, 2 TDs)
• OL Landon Watkins, Sr., 6-1, 270
• OL Austan Davis, Sr., 6-5, 235
• RB Tyler Rosamond, Sr., 5-9, 190 (36 carries, 214 yards, 3 TDs; 2 catches, 13 yards)
• DE Cain Cody, Jr., 6-3, 215 (12 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks)
• LB Cristian Jackson, Sr. (19 tackles, 1 for loss)

Whitehouse

• S Justin Dunning, Sr., 6-4, 204 (16 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 INT; committed to Texas A&M)
• CB Nate Brooks, Sr., 6-0, 155 (12 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU; committed to North Texas)
• RB/LB Dominique Hollie, Sr., 6-1, 225 (6 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD; 18 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
• RB Vincent Dunning, Sr., 6-0, 203 (49 carries, 287 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 9 yards)
• QB Jackson Allen, Sr., 6-2, 175 (41 of 76, 607 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT)
• LB Dillan Klein, Sr., 6-1, 210 (13 tackles)
• WR Trent Williams, Jr., 6-3, 185 (17 catches, 205 yards, 1 TD)
• WR Drew Smith, Sr., 5-11, 185 (11 catches, 150 yards, 3 TDs)
• WR Shemar Smith, Jr., 5-8, 165 (5 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD; 2 carries, 5 yards)
• DE Nic Costlow, Sr. (16 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB pressures, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery)

Just the facts

• This is the 27th all-time meeting between Sulphur Springs and Whitehouse. Sulphur Springs leads the series, 19-7, but Whitehouse has won three consecutive matchups.
• Sulphur Springs and Whitehouse have met twice in the playoffs, in 2007 and 2013, with Whitehouse winning both.
• Through two games, Sulphur Springs is averaging 31 points and 430.5 yards per game -- 219.5 rushing and 211 passing.
• Sulphur Springs recorded a shutout last week for the first time since 2011.
• Former Sulphur Springs quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who led the Wildcats to a state championship in 2008, passed for 562 yards and six touchdowns in Texas A&M-Commerce's historic 98-20 rout of ETBU last week.
• Under head coach Greg Owens, Sulphur Springs is 69-31 and has made the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.
• Through two games, Whitehouse is averaging 45 points and 475 yards per game -- 171.5 rushing and 303.5 passing.
• Whitehouse is currently riding a 12-game regular-season winning streak.
• With a win Friday night, Whitehouse will start a season 3-0 for the third consecutive year.
• Whitehouse has made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. Prior to 2006, the program totaled four postseason berths dating back to 1964.

Key matchup: Whitehouse running game vs. Sulphur Springs defensive front. It's not often that pre-game discussions of Whitehouse center on running the football, but it's become quite clear that this year's Whitehouse offense will feature more than just throwing the ball all over the yard. While Whitehouse has done plenty of that through two weeks, there's been a concerted effort by the coaching staff to get its running game established, and the formula has worked. Senior running back Vincent Dunning has carried the ball 49 times already this season after rushing just 63 times in seven games all of last year. Dunning has rewarded the coaches' faith by going for 287 yards -- an average of just less than six yards per carry. Dunning was unavailable because of injury in last season's playoff game vs. Sulphur Springs, but Whitehouse still managed to rush for a season-high 377 yards in its 38-14 victory. Inclement weather that night may have played a role in the game plan calling for more run plays, but even still, Whitehouse found an effective way to attack Sulphur Springs -- one that we might see again Friday night.

Sulphur Springs' defense did something last week it hadn't done in three years: record a shutout. And even though last week's opponent, Sherman, might be down compared to years passed, the shutout was quite an accomplishment for a Sulphur Springs defense that has struggled keeping other teams off the scoreboard of late. Last year, Sulphur Springs allowed 37.4 points per game and 39.5 the year before that. Through two games, an early strength on Sulphur Springs' defense has emerged: pass rush. Sulphur Springs has four sacks so far on the young season, and in order for the Wildcats to play on their strength, they must force Whitehouse to become one-dimensional on offense by shutting down the run. Whitehouse quarterback Jackson Allen has been exceptional thus far, but he's less of an improvisational artist than his predecessor Patrick Mahomes. Allen may not possess the escapability skills of Mahomes, but he's proven to be more than proficient in passing from the pocket. If Sulphur Springs can contain the Whitehouse rushing attack, and go after Allen on obvious passing downs, it could certainly improve its chances of coming out of Whitehouse victorious.

Don't be surprised if: Sulphur Springs quarterback Larry Pryor has a big night. Pryor, the multi-talented athlete committed to Texas A&M, starred in his first season at quarterback last season, and has gotten off to a good start in 2014. And despite all of the success the inexperienced offense has achieved in the early going, the Whitehouse defense has been vulnerable. Through two games, Whitehouse has allowed 39.5 points per game. Last week against Chapel Hill, Whitehouse surrendered 365 yards, but did force three turnovers -- two of which were returned for two touchdowns that proved to be the difference in a 52-42 win. Pryor has the ability to burn defenses on two fronts. He enters Friday's game with 393 passing yards to go with 137 yards on the ground, which mirror his season-long performance from 2013 -- 2,666 passing yards and 1,027 rushing. If Pryor avoids the turnover bug, which bit Chapel Hill a week ago, Sulphur Springs' star quarterback could be looking at a monster performance this week.