Hallsville and Henderson Offensive Lines will be Tested by Two of East Texas’ Best Pass Rushers

Hallsville Bobcats (1-1)
vs.
Henderson Lions (1-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Lion Stadium, Henderson

Coaches
Hallsville: David Plunk
Henderson: Dickey Meeks

Last week
Hallsville: def. Van, 38-13
Henderson: def. Nacogdoches, 26-14

Next week
Hallsville: vs. Lindale
Henderson: at Jacksonville

Playmakers
Hallsville

• DE Coby Bradford, Sr., 6-1, 205 (15 tackles, 9 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 12 QB pressures)
• LT Hayden Wall, Sr., 6-4, 270
• RB Thaddeus Fagan, Sr., 6-0, 190 (24 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD)
• QB Austin Toney, Sr., 6-3, 185 (20 of 37, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)
• ATH Macailyn Wilder, Jr.,  5-10, 175 (2 of 6, 23 yards, 1 TD; 20 carries, 147 yards, 3 TDs))
• LB Cayden Ferrill, Sr., 5-10, 195 (17 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU)
• LB/DB Santos Estrada, Sr., 5-9, 175 (5 tackles, 2 INTs, 5 PBUs)
• WR Andre Jones, Jr., 5-9, 170 (8 catches, 74 yards, 1 TD)
• RB Khalil Sneed (12 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD)
• DL Tray King (14 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks)

Henderson

• ATH Patrick "Monster" Brown, Sr., 5-10, 175 (8 carries, 101 yards; 7 catches, 85 yards; 1 kickoff return TD)
• QB Janson Moore, Sr., 6-1, 180 (24 of 37, 401 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
• RB Diamante Wright, Sr. (38 carries, 175 yards, 1 TD)
• WR/DB Jamie Anthony, Sr., 6-2, 175 (5 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD)
• DE Bo Brady, Sr., 6-0, 195 (2 sacks, 1 forced fumble)
• DT Contrell Phillips, Sr., 6-1, 230 (1.5 sacks)
• RB/LB Jamaal Kind, Sr., 5-10, 185 (1 rushing TD)
• OL Nick Siler, Sr., 6-4, 255 (committed to Air Force)
• ATH Arqez Walton, Sr., 5-8, 190 (3 catches, 77 yards)

Just the facts

• Henderson threw for 235 yards and ran for 203 yards against Nacogdoches
• Henderson held Nacogdoches to less than 100 yards in last week's win
• Hallsville defensive end Coby Bradford had five sacks in the season-opening loss to Whitehouse and two and a half sacks last week in the win against Van
• Henderson had seven sacks last week against Nacogdoches
• Hallsville has 11 sacks as a team this season
• Hallsville averages 205.5 rushing yards and 126.5 passing yards per game
• Henderson averages 157.0 rushing yards and 241.0 passing yards per game

Key matchup: Each team's offensive tackles vs. two of the region's best edge pass rushers, Hallsville's Coby Bradford and Henderson's Bo Brady. Bradford has taken the early lead in the race for the individual sack championship with an eye-popping seven and a half in only two games. He was the ETSN.fm Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week to start the season, and followed that performance up with another big game in Hallsville's bounce-back win against Van this past Friday. Brady, who had 17 sacks as a junior, was quiet in Henderson's opener against Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy, but came back with a vengeance last week, when he had two sacks and three tackles for loss as the Lions shut down Nacogdoches. Both quarterbacks -- Henderson's Janson Moore and Hallsville's Austin Toney -- are coming off big games and will be confident entering Friday night's contest. To keep them confident, each team's offensive line will have to keep these pass rushers off the QB. Don't overlook the rest of the defensive lines, either. Hallsville's Tray King has two sacks, and Henderson's Contrell Phillips as one and a half. The Lions sacked Nacogoches seven times last week. In other words, Bradford and Brady aren't the only QB harassers these teams have to worry about. The good news for each side is Henderson has an O-line featuring Air Force-bound Nick Siler to counter Bradford, while Hallsville's Preseason East Texas Super Teamer Hayden Wall will lead the charge in keeping Brady off the Bobcat QBs.

Chalk talk

• Henderson coach Dickey Meeks on the value of a player such as Bo Brady or Coby Bradford: "It's always important that you're able to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, especially with down linemen."
• Meeks on the impact of last week's 26-14 win at Nacogdoches coming off the Lions' 35-point season-opening loss to Plano Prestonwood: "I think it was real important. We didn't play extremely well, either. We had a ton of penalties and turnovers and things, but it did give us an idea of what we thought we could be if we put it all together."
• Meeks on Hallsville: "They look like a typical Hallsville team, but I think this year they have more speed. I think they have some outstanding players at defensive end and linebacker. They're not a team that's going to misalign or do much wrong. They're not going to do anything wrong to lose the game, so you're going to have to take it from them."

Don't be surprised if: These old district rivals play a close game decided in the fourth quarter. Both teams have shown the capability of running balanced offenses that are hard to prepare for and rushing the quarterback with regularity on the other side of the ball. Diamante Wright has emerged as Henderson's go-to ball carrier, while Hallsville has spread the rock around to Thaddeus Fagan, Macailyn Wilder, and Khalin Sneed. Special teams could have a huge influence in the outcome, especially after Henderson's Patrick "Monster" Brown got going last week. Brown, who had six punt return touchdowns and one kickoff return TD in 2011, returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown against Nacogdoches. Will Hallsville dare kick to East Texas' most prolific return man? The way each team handles the strategy involved in that matchup could go a long way in determining Friday's winner.