Marshall Visits Hallsville For Pivotal District 15-5A Opener

Marshall Mavericks (2-1)

Vs.

Hallsville Bobcats (2-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Bobcat Stadium, Hallsville

Coaches

• Marhsall: Clint Harper
• Hallsville: David Plunk

Last week

• Marshall: idle
• Hallsville: idle

Next week

• Marshall: vs. Pine Tree, Oct. 3
• Hallsville: at Texas High, Oct. 3

Playmakers

Marshall

• OL Chett Munden, Sr., 6-6, 305 (committed to North Texas)
• RB Deondre Osborne, Jr., 5-9, 210 (3 rushing TDs)
• WR John Love, Sr., 5-11, 185 (167 receiving yards, 16 catches, 3 TDs)
• DL Trey Valentine, Sr., 6-3, 226
• DL Antonio Washington, Jr., 6-1, 250
• OL Tyler Hodges, Sr., 6-1, 280
• OL C.J. Powell, Sr., 6-2, 295
• QB Justin Hart, Jr., 6-0, 160 (390 passing yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT)
• QB Cameron Haller, Soph., 5-11, 195
• WR Jaquavian Dabbs, Sr., 5-11, 175

Hallsville

• RB Khalil Sneed, Sr., 5-6, 175 (46 carries, 396 yards, 3 TDs )
• QB Wyatt Wolverton, Sr., 6-0, 180 (328 passing yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs)
• WR Jamil Young, Sr., 6-2, 180 (12 catches, 181 yards, 2 TDs)
• DL Dwayne Johnson, Sr., 6-2, 205
• WR/DB Dionte Johnson, Sr., 5-10, 180
• OL Trey Gillespie, Sr., 6-4, 270
• DB Jaylon Kerby, Sr., 5-10, 170
• LB Ben Dewoody, Sr., 6-2, 200
• WR Ky-Untae Hicks, Sr.

Just the facts

• The two teams have met every year since 2000.
• Marshall holds a 10-4 advantage dating back to 2000, but Hallsville won the past three games in the series.
• Hallsville has not lost a district opener since 2011.
• Marshall has not won a district opener since 2010. It faced Hallsville in its last two district-opening games.
• Marshall has the opportunity to start a season 3-1 for the first time since the 2008 season. It made the playoffs that year.
• With a win Friday, Hallsville would start the season 3-1 for the third consecutive year.
• Hallsville's lone loss of the season came on a late field goal against Nacogdoches in Week 2.
• Marshall's loss came outside the state, a 45-21 defeat against Bossier City (La.) Parkway in Shreveport, La.

Key matchup: Marshall's offensive line versus Hallsville's defensive front. The Mavericks have some talent up front, headlined by North Texas offensive tackle commit Chett Munden. Hallsville has a great defensive lineman of their own in Dwayne Johnson.

Marshall can do a lot behind its line. Quarterback Justin Hart is in the top-third of East Texas passers and fellow quarterback Cameron Haller has 357 yards and five rushing touchdowns on the ground.

Hallsville, meanwhile, successfully slowed down Carthage and Athens offenses that can spark up at any minute. The Bobcats will be in great shape if they can put pressure on Marshall's quarterbacks since a significant percentage of the Mavericks offense hangs on what its signal callers can do.

Trench play will be nearly as important when Hallsville is on offense.

Khalil Sneed has nearly 400 rushing yards in three games. Marshall has big defensive linemen to counter. Antonio Washington and Trey Valentine should be able to use their big bodies to gum up holes Sneed will be looking for.

Don't be surprised if: the game remains close. Hallsville has had Marshall's number the past three years, but the Mavericks have matured quite a bit from last year's disappointing 3-8 campaign. The Bobcats played tough competition in the non-district portion of the schedule and found a lot of success. But Marshall lit up middle-of-the-road, in-state teams.

This is a big game with Longview, Texas High and Sulphur Springs running around elsewhere in the district.