PREVIEW: Marshall Eyes District Championship Against Whitehouse

DISTRICT 9-5A DIVISION II

Whitehouse Wildcats (6-2, 4-1)

vs.

Marshall Mavericks (6-2, 5-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Maverick Stadium, Marshall

Coaches

Whitehouse: Marcus Gold
Marshall: Claude Mathis

Last week

Whitehouse: def. Pine Tree, 45-43
Marshall: def. Nacogdoches, 40-0

Next week

Whitehouse: vs. Hallsville, Nov. 9
Marshall: at Pine Tree, Nov. 9

Players to watch

Whitehouse

WR Cameron Cantrell, Sr., 6-1, 175 (27 catches, 441 yards, 5 TDs; 18 carries, 120 yards, 3 TDs; committed to Texas Tech)
WR Kendrion Johnson, Sr., 6-3, 195 (41 catches, 806 yards, 9 TDs)
WR Kendahl Fry, Sr., 5-8, 170 (50 catches, 490 yards, 4 TDs)
LB Michael Raabe, Sr., 5-11, 210 (76 tackles, 8 for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 QB pressures, 2 INTs)
QB Flint Herrington, Sr., 6-0, 165 (154-of-239, 2,112 yards, 20 TDs, 7 INTs; 40 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD)
DB Chaez Spurlock, Sr., 5-10, 185 (51 tackles, 1 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 4 PBUs, 1 forced fumble)
DB Jermone Bowser, Jr., 5-9, 175 (31 tackles, 2 INTs, 4 PBUs, 1 forced fumble)
DE Ty Ward, Jr., 5-9, 175 (32 tackles, 7 for loss, 4 sacks, 6 QB pressures, 2 PBUs, 1 forced fumble)
LB Trevon Coleman, Sr., 5-7, 175 (28 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 sacks, 7 QB pressures)

Marshall

QB JJ Green, Jr., 6-4, 170 (97-of-169, 1,614 yards, 24 TDs, 6 INTs; 64 carries, 419 yards, 3 TDs)
WR Tahj Washington, Sr., 5-11, 168 (28 catches, 515 yards, 9 TDs; 16 carries, 162 yards, 2 TDs)
WR Savion Williams, Jr., 6-5, 203 (29 catches, 491 yards, 6 TDs; 9 carries, 37 yards)
WR De'Kendrick Bender, Sr., 6-2, 196 (21 catches, 418 yards, 8 TDs; 27 carries, 294 yards, 5 TDs)
RB Treylin Lewis, Sr., 5-10, 178 (75 carries, 482 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 28 yards)
S Champ Mathis, Sr., 5-10, 189 (28 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INTs, 7 PBUs)
DL Mike Washington, So., 5-11, 210 (41 tackles, 17 for loss, 8 sacks, 9 QB hurries, 1 fumble recovery)
OL Christian Hood, Sr., 6-1, 294
LB Brevin Randle, Sr., 6-0, 215 (65 tackles, 21 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 9 QB hurries, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)

Just the facts

Since 1951, Whitehouse is 6-2 against Marshall. The Wildcats most recently won59-3 in 2013.
Whitehouse receiver Cameron Cantrell had a season-high in carries (nine) and rushing yards (62) this past week against Pine Tree.
Whitehouse is averaging 394.9 yards per game (266 passing and 128.9 rushing).
Should Whitehouse win, it would force a three-way tie atop the district standings between the Wildcats, Lindale and Marshall.
Marshall is averaging 453.1 yards per game (230.1 passing and 223 rushing).
When Maverick receiver DeKendrick Bender gets the ball on a handoff, he has been deadly. He has just 27 carries but is averaging 10.9 yards per carry.
Marshall's top three receivers (Bender, Tahj Washington and Savion Williams) all have FBS offers and at least 400 yards receiving this season.

Key matchup: Whichever passing attack can flourish in this game will have the upper hand. Whitehouse and Marshall boast two of the most talented receiving corps in East Texas. Savion Williams, DeKendrick Bender and Tahj Washington all have FBS offers for the Mavericks and have combined for 1,424 yards and 23 touchdowns. Quarterback JJ Green has shown poise under pressure this season and has the ability to escape pressure and make difficult throws.

On the other side, Kendrion Johnson and Cameron Cantrell present a tough challenge to the Marshall secondary. Cantrell, a Texas Tech commit, is averaging 99.7 yards receiving and a touchdown in the past three games. Johnson has been the go-to target all season and leads the team with 806 yards. Whitehouse lost speedy receiver Kendahl Fry to injury two weeks ago, but he returned last week against Pine Tree to the tune of 12 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. It's safe to say, both teams are loaded at this position.

Both defenses have their work cut out for them, and whichever can do the better job of limiting these prolific attacks will likely win this game.

Don't be surprised if: Brevin Randle and Mike Washington make it difficult for the Whitehouse rushing game. Wildcat running back Jaden Haskins returned this past week to the tune of 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He likely will have a much more difficult time this week. Randle and Washington have combined for 38 tackles for loss this season, making the lives of offensive linemen and running backs arduous all season.

Look for much of the same in a game that figures to be a battle of two quarterbacks.