Gladewater Aims for Consecutive Wins vs. Daingerfield in Friday’s Matchup

No. 7 Daingerfield Tigers

vs.

Gladewater Bears

7:30 p.m. Friday

Jack V. Murphy-Bear Stadium, Gladewater

Coaches

• Daingerfield: Aric Sardinea
• Gladewater: Jerrod Baugh

Last season

• Gladewater 31, Daingerfield 14 (season opener at Daingerfield's Mickey Mayne-Tiger Stadium)

Playmakers

Daingerfield

• LB Calvin Bryant, Sr., 5-10, 175
• QB Keris Alexander, Sr., 6-0, 166
• OL Willie Evans, Sr., 6-4, 335
• DB Cory Smith, Sr., 5-9, 155
• RB Cordarius Anderson, Sr., 5-6, 160
• LB Kelshin Neal, Sr., 5-10, 170
• RB Ramius Wallace, Sr., 5-10, 165
• RB/DB Troy Stuard, Sr., 5-6, 155
• OL/DL Dylan Williams, Sr., 6-0, 350

Gladewater

• DT Daylon Mack, Jr., 6-1, 311
• LB Clint Sorrells, Sr., 5-11, 175
• DL Kenneth Gossett, Sr., 5-7, 165
• RB James Reese, Jr., 5-9, 155
• QB Nick Canaguier, Jr., 5-10, 140
• OL Thorn Berry, Jr., 6-2, 250
• OL Justin Stadtfeld, Sr., 6-3, 310
• DB Daylon Gordon, Jr., 5-10, 155
• WR Bailey Glenn, Jr., 5-7, 130

Just the facts

• Gladewater and Daingerfield have played 18 times since 1964.
• In that span, Daingerfield holds an 11-6-1 advantage.
• The teams have met six times in the playoffs since 1983 with Daingerfield winning five. Gladewater's only win in those matchups came in 1989.
• Daingerfield beat Gladewater in the playoffs four consecutive years from 1983-86, the same span that saw the Tigers not lose a regular-season game and win state championships in 1983 and 1985.
• Gladewater won last year's matchup 31-14 behind 400 rushing yards from Derrick Daniels and Tyler Price, who both graduated.
• Gladewater's win at Daingerfield was the first of three in a row for the Bears, who then dropped their final seven games to finish 3-7.
• Daingerfield started 3-3 before winning nine consecutive games to reach the Class 2A Division I state championship, where the Tigers lost to Cameron Yoe to finish 12-4.
• Gladewater junior defensive tackle Daylon Mack holds more offers than any East Texas 2015 recruit (13): Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
• Daingerfield has played in four state championship games in the last five years, winning three consecutive state crowns from 2008-10 before losing in last year's 2A D-I title bout. That gives Daingerfield the most appearances (9) and state championships (6) of any program in East Texas.
• Both head coaches were offensive coordinators at Class 5A schools prior to their arrivals in Gladewater and Daingerfield. Gladewater's Jerrod Baugh was Longview's OC, while Daingerfield's Aric Sardinea was Rowlett's OC.

Key matchup: Daingerfield's defensive front vs. Gladewater's running game. Bears head coach Jerrod Baugh's run-heavy attack dominated last year's matchup, producing 400 yards in a tempo-owning effort that sent the Bears to a season-opening win.

But the two main ball-carriers from that performance are gone after the graduations of quarterback Derrick Daniels and tailback Tyler Price. If Gladewater is to attempt to duplicate that effort, the cast must be different.

One thing is certain: regardless of who's on the field, Baugh will trust the running game. The Bears' offense is based on its ability to control the pace and keep its defense off the field, something Gladewater did well early in the 2012 season, but could not maintain against the stronger defenses of District 16-3A. James Reese could be the next guy in line to take over primary ball-carrier duties, while 250-pound Thorn Berry and 310-pound Justin Stadtfeld give Gladewater two large blockers up front.

Daingerfield counters with a quick, athletic defense that got better as the 2012 season progressed. The unit as a whole is not large, so that puts even more emphasis on hefty nose tackle Dylan Williams, who needs a strong performance in the trenches to help the Tigers combat Gladewater's run-first approach.

If Daingerfield holds its on at the line of scrimmage, the Tigers have a good shot to contain Gladewater with small but athletic linebackers Calvin Bryant and Kelshin Neal patrolling. Bryant finished second in East Texas as a junior with 212 tackles.

Don't be surprised if: Friday's game is close and competitive from start to finish. The contrast in offensive styles is interesting; both teams like to run the ball, but Gladewater does so in a more old-fashioned manner than Daingerfield, which runs it well but is far quicker to take to the air to gain yardage.

Daingerfield has the advantage on the perimeter on both sides of the ball. Chances are Gladewater cannot go athlete-for-athlete with the Tigers at the skill positions. But Gladewater, which boasts East Texas' top recruit in the 2015 class in 311-pound monster defensive tackle Daylon Mack, should have the edge along the lines, where there appears to be size in somewhat greater numbers for the Bears.

Hopefully the best thing to come from this matchup is a renewed series between these teams. Last year's game was the first meeting since 2003. With such a rich history involving the two since the 1980's, seeing these teams playing on a more regular basis would be fun for both fan bases and all of East Texas.