Garrison Takes 2-0 Record Into Home Matchup With Bullard Brook Hill on Friday

Bullard Brook Hill Guard (1-0)

vs.

Garrison Bulldogs (2-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Bulldog Stadium, Garrison

Coaches

• Brook Hill: Bobby Brasher
• Garrison: Craig Barker

Last week

• Brook Hill: idle
• Garrison: defeated Tenaha, 17-10

Next week

• Brook Hill: vs. Spring Hill
• Garrison: vs. San Augustine

Playmakers

Brook Hill

• WR Seth Brasher, Soph., 6-2, 170 (4 catches, 145 yards, TD)
• QB/WR Grant Hanks, Jr., 6-2, 175 (4-of-6, 53 yards, TD)
• QB Zac Wilson, Sr., 6-2, 190 (6-of-10, 135 yards, TD)
• RB Clayton Engel, Jr., 5-9, 175 (12 carries, 53 yards, TD)
• LB Ryan Young, Sr., 5-10, 220
• LB Malik Alley, Jr., 6-1, 195
• DT Bryant Robinson, Soph., 6-2, 220

Garrison

• QB Andrew Russell, Jr., 5-9, 150 (31-of-60, 543 yards, 4 TD, INT)
• WR Cameron Rodriguez, Sr., 5-11, 180 (13 catches, 284 yards, 3 TD)
• ATH Khiran Arrington, Sr., 6-0, 170 (5 catches, 101 yards, TD)
• RB Demetrius Bennett (9 carries, 82 yards)
• OL/DL Josh Robison, Sr., 5-10, 238
• DL Kade Hammer, Sr., 5-11, 220
• RB Logan Clark, Sr., 5-8, 165

Just the facts

• Brook Hill has made the TAPPS playoffs in each of the last five seasons, compiling a 50-15 record in the process.
• The Guard, whose first season was 2005, is 13-5 all-time against schools that compete in the UIL.
• Brook Hill's first-year coach Bobby Brasher previously served as Terry Pirtle's defensive coordinator and has almost 30 years of coaching experience in both Texas and Louisiana.
• J.B. Moss, who set the Brook Hill school record for most points in a season in 2009, is currently an outfielder for the Texas A&M baseball team.
• Garrison has reached the postseason in 16 of the last 19 seasons with 10 years of at least 10 wins, including five straight from 2001-05.
• The combined record of the four teams to defeat Garrison in 2012 -- Tenaha, Brook Hill, Arp and Centerville -- was 36-14.
• Craig Barker is in his second year as head coach at Garrison after serving as Henderson's offensive coordinator from 2009-11. In his last two years at Henderson, which included a state championship in 2010, his offense averaged 39.7 points per game.
• The last time Garrison went more than three years without making the playoffs was a four-year drought from 1973-76.

Key matchup: Garrison receivers vs. Brook Hill defensive backs. The Bulldogs have burned teams through the air so far this season, and in particular the duo of Cameron Rodriguez and Khiran Arrington. Rodriguez is averaging 21.8 yards per catch with three scoring receptions thus far, while Arrington is averaging a shade over 20 yards per reception. The running game, which was thought to be one of the team's main strengths heading into the season, has taken a back seat to the Garrison passing attack through two games. Logan Clark, who had almost 1,000 yards on the ground in 2012, has just 14 yards on 14 attempts thus far. Andrew Russell has proven he's more than capable of directing the offense in his first season as the starter.

Brook Hill's defense did a solid job most of the night in containing Frankston's 6-4 sophomore receiver Kendrick Rogers two weeks ago, holding the the Indians' top playmaker to only 53 yards on eight catches. The Guard will need a similar effort in the secondary on Friday night against a smaller, but more elusive receiving corps. Brook Hill's run defense frustrated Frankston all night by limiting the Indians to only 3.3 yards per carry. Garrison is much deeper in the backfield than Frankston, but the more Brook Hill can contain what's been a fairly explosive passing game to this point the more the Guard can hone in on their run-stuffing ability.

Don't be surprised if: Brook Hill is much sharper on offense than it was in the season opener. The Guard turned it over five times and completed just 10-of-24 passes against Frankston. But Brook Hill has had two weeks to clean up some of the mistakes and should be primed for a much cleaner outing Friday. Brook Hill will need to be smoother on offense if it hopes to move the ball against a defense that's surrendered only 10 points on the year.