PREVIEW: Texas High Looks to Keep it Going Vs. Liberty-Eylau

Texas High Tigers (1-1)

vs.

Liberty-Eylau Leopards (0-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Harris Field, Texarkana

Coaches

Texas High: Gerry Stanford
Liberty-Eylau: Steve Wells

Last week

Texas High: def. Arkansas High, 43-35
Liberty-Eylau: lost to Carthage, 42-28

Next week

Texas High: vs. Kilgore, Sept. 21
Liberty-Eylau: vs. Atlanta, Sept. 21

Players to watch

Texas High

QB Coltin Clack, Sr., 6-3, 200 (33 of 59, 434 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT; 17 carries, 19 yards, 2 TDs; committed to Arkansas State)
WR Kobe Webster, Jr., 6-1, 180 (4 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs)
RB Tra'keci Cooper, Jr., 6-0, 185 (17 carries, 79 yards; 1 catch, 7 yards)
WR/TE Kendall Reid, Sr., 6-3, 205 (6 catches, 109 yards, TD)
DT Deandre Brown, Sr., 6-2, 220 (13 tackles, 4 for loss)
LB Darryl Maxwell, Sr., 5-11, 188 (8 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles)
SS Chris Lyles, Sr., 5-10, 185 (10 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU)
RB/WR Chris Sutton, Sr., 5-8, 180 (14 carries, 35 yards; 9 catches, 46 yards)

Liberty-Eylau

QB Isaiah Cross, Sr., 6-1, 166 (20 of 36, 337 yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs; 27 carries, 78 yards)
WR El-Amin Greer, Sr., 6-2, 184 (5 catches, 126 yards, TD)
RB Damian Henderson, Soph., 5-8, 165 (13 carries, 82 yards; 1 catch, 23 yards)
RB/LB Cedric Dickerson, Sr., 5-10, 185 (17 carries, 40 yards, 2 TDs; 4 catches, 72 yards. TD)
LB Conderus Shears, Sr., 5-11, 175 (19 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 4 QB pressures, 1 forced fumble)
DE Demetry Hunter, Sr., 5-10, 203 (11 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 2 QB pressures, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
LB Marzavin Riles, Sr., 5-9, 175 (16 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 QB pressures, 1 PBU)
DT Isaiah Johnson, Jr., 5-11, 225 (4 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 QB pressure, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)

Just the facts

This is the 14th meeting between Texas High and Liberty-Eylau since 1990. Texas High is 10-3 in the series in that span.
Texas High has won the last three matchups against the Leopards.
Texas High has averaged 25 points and 302 yards through its first two games.
Tigers quarterback Coltin Clack has accounted for all six of his team's offensive touchdowns in 2018.
Texas High concludes non-district play next Friday with Kilgore before beginning 7-5A Division I play Sept. 28 against John Tyler.
Liberty-Eylau has averaged 17 points and 297.5 yards through its first two games.
Leopards running back Cedric Dickerson has scored three touchdowns on just 21 offensive touches.
Liberty-Eylau's 2018 schedule includes games against Carthage (No. 1 in 4A), No. 2 Argyle, No. 4 Waco La Vega, No. 3 Pleasant Grove, and No. 5 Gilmer.

Key matchup: Texas High passing attack vs. Liberty-Eylau secondary. It was a season opener to forget for Texas High, which was dominated in a 56-7 loss to Class 6A power Pflugerville Hendrickson. Not much went right for the Tigers that night, including the offense being shut out of the end zone. But everything turned around last week against interstate rival Arkansas High as the Tigers earned a 43-35 win over the state of Arkansas's top-ranked team in Class 5A. Senior quarterback and Arkansas State commit Coltin Clack was outstanding, completing 17 of 26 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Three players were on the receiving end of those scoring tosses -- Kobe Webster, who hauled in touchdowns of 19 and 75 yards, Kendall Reid and Myles Washington.

Liberty-Eylau, despite getting off to an 0-2 start, has played fairly well on the defensive side of the ball. The Leopards' pass defense has been especially impressive, as their first two opponents -- Arkansas High and Carthage (both ranked No. 1 in the state at the time) -- combined to complete just a little more than half of its pass attempts. Liberty-Eylau's pass defense has allowed a total of just 268 passing yards in 2018. Texas High's running game has been a weakness up to this point, so if L-E can find a way to minimize Clack's impact on Friday's game, the Leopards stand an excellent chance of coming away with a win.

Don't be surprised if: Texas High tries to find a rhythm with its running game. In the first two games of the season, the Tigers have totaled just 169 yards on the ground, averaging a pedestrian 3.1 yards per carry. That number will obviously need to improve before Texas High begins district play in a couple of weeks. As good as Clack is, if opposing defenses can turn Texas High into a one-dimensional outfit, they'll have free reign on sending extra rushers. And with Clack's injury history, the less he's helped up off the ground, the better Texas High's future prospects will be. Whether it's junior Tra'keci Copper or senior Chris Sutton, someone needs to step up at running back for the Tigers.