Sulphur Springs Tries to Avenge Last Year’s Loss Friday Against No. 4 Whitehouse

No. 4 Whitehouse Wildcats

vs.

Sulphur Springs Wildcats

7:30 p.m. Friday

Gerald Prim Stadium, Sulphur Springs

Coaches

• Whitehouse: Adam Cook
• Sulphur Springs: Greg Owens

Last week

• Whitehouse: won 42-34 vs. Chapel Hill (in Tyler)
• Sulphur Springs: won 34-14 at Sherman

Next week

• Whitehouse: vs. Marshall
• Sulphur Springs: at Paris

Playmakers

Whitehouse

• QB Patrick Mahomes, Sr., 6-3, 203 (committed to Texas Tech; 57 of 88, 851 yards, 8 TDs, 0 INTs; 20 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs)
• MLB Reggie Long, Sr., 6-0, 220 (21 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 INTs)
• WR Jake Parker, Sr., 6-0, 160 (14 catches, 251 yards, 3 TDs)
• WR Coleman Patterson, Sr., 6-0, 165 (13 catches, 168 yards, 2 TDs)
• WR Jaylon Dews, Sr., 6-0, 165 (16 catches, 197 yards, 1 TD)
• WR Ryan Cheatham, Sr., 6-1, 185 (7 catches, 135 yards, 1 TD)
• CB Nate Brooks, Jr., 6-0, 150
• RB Vincent Dunning, Sr., 6-1, 200 (26 carries, 167 yards, 3 TDs; 5 catches, 71 yards)
• CB Isaiah Burton, Sr. (11 tackles, 1 INT, 3 PBUs)
• LB/DB Savian Lacy, Sr. (12 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 INT)

Sulphur Springs

• ATH Willy Ivery, Sr., 5-8, 180 (missed last week's win at Sherman with an ankle injury)
• QB/S Larry Pryor, Jr., 6-1, 185 (30 of 50, 349 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 23 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD)
• OLB Derick Ingram, Sr. (20 tackles, 2 forced fumbles)
• S Zach Spigner, Jr., 6-0, 180 (11 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 PBUs)
• DL Dedric Smith, Sr. (14 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 1 recovery)
• WR Isaiah Lacy, Sr. (9 catches, 133 yards, 1 TD)
• RB Mitchell DeYong, Sr. (15 carries, 70 yards, 3 TDs; 7 catches, 62 yards)
• WR Alex Burney, Sr. (6 catches, 83 yards, 1 TD)
• DE Bryton Wood, Sr. (11 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble)
• DE Garrett Hood, Sr. (11 tackles, 2 for loss)

Just the facts

• Whitehouse junior safety Justin Dunning is out for the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee. Dunning, who holds offers from Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, had 15 tackles in Whitehouse's first two games.
• Whitehouse senior linebacker Reggie Long holds offers from Army and New Mexico State. Whitehouse junior Nate Brooks holds offers from Louisiana Tech and North Texas.
• Whitehouse scored 35 points in the first 21 minutes of last week's 42-34 win against Chapel Hill at Tyler's TMF Rose Stadium to build a 35-0 lead.
• Chapel Hill outscored Whitehouse 34-7 during the game's final 27 minutes.
• Whitehouse senior quarterback and Texas Tech commit Patrick Mahomes holds additional offers from Houston, North Texas, and Rice, plus baseball offers from Arizona, Arkansas, and Houston. He enters Friday's game averaging 425.5 passing yards per game and 5.0 total touchdowns per game.
• Sulphur Springs junior quarterback Larry Pryor, who is being recruited as a safety, holds seven offers: Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech.
• Sulphur Springs senior athlete Willy Ivery holds offers from Colorado State, New Mexico, North Texas, Texas State, and Toledo.
• Sulphur Springs led 14-0 at halftime against Sherman before the Bearcats cut that lead in half early in the third quarter. Sulphur Springs then stretched its lead to 34-7 in the fourth quarter before winning by 20 points.
• Whitehouse and Sulphur Springs have played 22 times since 1986.
• Sulphur Springs holds an 18-4 advantage against Whitehouse in that span, including winning 11 in a row from 1986-98. Whitehouse won last year's meeting 38-33 at home to snap a four-game losing streak to Sulphur Springs.

Key matchup: Sulphur Springs' pass rush vs. Whitehouse's pass protection. The obvious key matchup is Sulphur Springs' defensive backs and their ability (or inability) to chase Whitehouse's deep and talented receiver fleet all over the field Friday night at Gerald Prim Stadium. After all, Texas Tech-committed quarterback Patrick Mahomes has one of East Texas' most veteran and proven receiving corps at his disposal. The top four receivers -- Jaylon Dewis, Jake Parker, Coleman Patterson, and Ryan Cheatham -- have accounted for 50 of Mahomes' 57 completions.

But Chapel Hill might have written a solid script for defending Whitehouse's uptempo, high-powered passing attack, and it starts up front. When Whitehouse protected Mahomes well, which it did during the first quarter and a half of last week's game against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats did pretty much whatever they wanted through the air. Mahomes completed 22 of his first 26 passes for more than 320 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 35-0 lead with more than three minutes remaining until halftime.

After that, Chapel Hill's big, physical, athletic defensive front wore down Whitehouse's pass protection and began consistently chasing Mahomes. Obviously, this threw off Whitehouse's timing, regardless of Mahomes' uncanny ability to evade pressure and extend plays when they appear to have broken down. Chapel Hill held Mahomes to about 30 second-half passing yards in its comeback.

Sulphur Springs, which played very well defensively against Sherman after surrendering 55 points against Tyler Lee's balanced, uptempo spread attack in the season opener, is not as big as Chapel Hill up front, but there's no doubt head coach Greg Owens and staff may try to duplicate the stress Chapel Hill applied on Whitehouse's pass protection in the second half of last week's contest. If they don't, Sulphur Springs' defense is in trouble.

Don't be surprised if: Whitehouse and Sulphur Springs combine for 150-plus plays. That's exactly what happened last week when Whitehouse met fellow high-paced spread team Chapel Hill. Seventy to 80 plays per team is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

The team that got more snaps also was the team that dictated the game. Whitehouse had a 14-play advantage in the first half as it took a 35-14 lead into halftime. Then Chapel Hill had a 20-play second-half advantage to fuel the Bulldogs' comeback.

Willy Ivery's health could play a big role in Sulphur Springs' ability to match big-play potential with Whitehouse. Sulphur Springs got out of Sherman with a three-score win, but beating the state's No. 4 team, even at a home, will be a significantly taller order. Don't be surprised if, like last year, there's plenty of scoring and the teams put on a show for fans of both squads.