Tenaha Aims for Back-To-Back State Championships in Rematch Against Unbeaten Munday

Class A Division II
State Championship

Tenaha Tigers (10-4)
vs.
Munday Moguls (14-0)

Noon Thursday
Cowboys Stadium, Arlington

Coaches
Tenaha: Terry Ward
Munday: Patrick Corcoran

Road To Arlington

Tenaha

• Bi-district: bye
• Area: def. Overton, 42-8
• Regional semifinal: def. Bremond, 38-7
• Region III final: def. Frost, 34-30
• State semifinal: def. Falls City, 42-14

Munday

• Bi-district: bye
• Area: Wink, 63-34
• Regional semifinal: def. Hamlin, 66-13
• Region II final: def. Albany, 55-13
• State semifinal: def. Wellington, 48-6

Playmakers

Tenaha

• QB/DB J.R. Hill, Jr. (97 of 208, 1,557 yards, 19 TDs, 18 INTs; 90 carries, 609 yards, 3 TDs; 67 tackles, 4 INTs, 3 fumble recoveries, 11 pass breakups)
• RB/LB Chavis Gregory, Jr. (215 carries, 1,465 yards, 22 TDs; 2 TD catches; 66 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles, 1 kick block)
• LB DeAaron Roland, Sr. (129 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
• WR/DB Keontas Davis, Jr. (48 catches, 975 yards, 13 TDs; 78 tackles, 8 INT, 1 forced fumble, 11 pass breakups)
• DL Denzel Williams, Jr. (101 tackles, 13 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• RB/DB Cobe Caraway, Soph. (84 carries, 765 yards, 8 TDs; 67 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 4 recoveries)
• WR/DB T.J. Thomas, Soph. (60 touches, 443 yards, 2 TD catches; 74 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble)
• WR/DB D’Andre Thomas, Soph. (19 catches, 239 yards, 2 TDs; 60 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 3 recoveries)
• TE/DL Jacobi Ivy, Jr. (2 TD catches; 92 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• OL/DL Aaron Harris, Soph. (66 tackles, 1 fumble recovery)
• LB Brady Tovar, Jr. (53 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery)
• DL Ca’Detric Robertson, Sr. (61 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery)

Munday

• QB/S Dee Paul, Sr., 6-0, 165 (64 of 110, 1,565 yards, 23 TDs, 4 INTs; 113 carries, 1,692 yards, 29 TDs; 55 tackles, 8 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 3 recoveries)
• RB/CB Roddrick Taylor, Sr., 5-10, 167 (107 carries, 1,488 yards, 28 TDs; 6 catches, 288 yards, 5 TDs; 19 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles)
• FB/LB Tyrone Dockins, Sr., 5-9, 240 (84 carries, 765 yards, 16 TDs; 8 catches, 224 yards, 5 TDs; 122 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles)
• TE/DE L.J. Collier, Jr., 6-3, 237 (22 catches, 465 yards, 4 TDs; 70 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries)
• FB/DL Jarrett Masias, Soph., 5-7, 180 (23 carries, 182 yards, 2 TDs; 74 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery)
• OLB Ryder Cude, Sr. 5-7, 140 (132 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 5 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries)
• RB/LB Dewayne Castorenas, Sr., 5-5, 152 (28 carries, 213 yards, 2 TDs; 122 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• RB/DE Jake Myers, Sr., 6-0, 190 (17 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD; 11 catches, 261 yards, 7 TDs; 111 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 INTs, 6 fumble recoveries, 1 punt block)
• OG Logan Groves, Sr., 5-9, 239
• OT/DT Xzavier Bulliner, Sr., 6-2, 260 (56 tackles, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• OT/DT Jerico Thompson, Sr., 5-8, 299 (44 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery)
• C/DL B.J. Araujo, Sr., 5-7, 183 (31 tackles)
• WR/CB Garrett Weaver, Sr., 5-9, 135 (1 TD catch; 38 tackles, 3 INTs, 3 fumble recoveries)
• OT Mark Yzaguirre, Sr., 5-10, 258
• RB Victor Garcia, Jr., 5-9, 162 (47 carries, 308 yards, 2 TDs)

Just the facts

• Tenaha averages 31.7 points per game and allows 18.6.
• Munday averages 58.3 points per game and allows 10.8.
• Tenaha averages 352.1 total yards per game (223.2 rushing, 128.9 passing).
• Munday averages 467.3 total yards per game (355.5 rushing, 111.8 passing).
• Tenaha has won eight consecutive games.
• The Tigers have won those games with an average score of 40.6-8.5.
• Munday has won 13 of its 14 victories by at least 29 points.
• Munday's closest game was a 34-27 victory vs. Stamford on Sept. 7.
• Since Sept. 21, Munday has outscored 11 opponents 659-89.
• Tenaha is playing in its four state championship game.
• The Tigers are 2-1 in state title games, winning the 1998 Class A championship and the 2011 Class A Division II crown.
• Tenaha lost 41-12 to Windthorst in the 1996 Class A championship.
• Tenaha beat Munday 52-28 in last year's championship game.
• Munday is playing in its fifth state championship game.
• Munday is 2-2 in title games, winning the 1984 Class A championship and the 2007 Class A Division II title.
• Bartlett beat Munday 36-28 in the 1990 Class A championship.

Key matchup: Munday's backfield vs. Tenaha's defensive front. Munday possesses what is possibly the best backfield Tenaha will see this season. Dee Paul is a Division I-caliber athlete who was committed to SMU before decommitting recently. He holds additional offers from Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Paul is the driver of the well-oiled machine that is Munday's offense, which averages almost 470 total yards and more than 58 points. Munday has scored 62 or more points in half of its 14 games. Tyrone Dockins is Munday's power back from his fullback position, while Roddrick Taylor joins Paul for a fearsome 1-2 punch fueled by speed. Munday's offensive line will likely be one of the larger fronts Tenaha has faced this season. The Tigers need big performances from their defensive linemen, including junior Denzel Williams, who has been a force with 101 tackles and a team-leading 13 sacks. Behind him, linebackers DeAaron Roland and Chavis Gregory must be ready to make plays against the run. Tenaha coach Terry Ward said he knows it's next to impossible to stop Paul, but that his hope is that the Tigers can somehow contain him and slow him down. Tenaha has already faced tough backfields from Joaquin, Alto, West Sabine, and San Augustine in the regular season. Perhaps that will help the Tigers against Paul and company.

Chalk talk

• Tenaha coach Terry Ward on Munday quarterback Dee Paul: "Nobody this year has stopped Dee Paul. Even last year he got his yards, even against us. He’s a good player. You’re not going to stop him. You just hope you contain him enough and frustrate him a little bit."
• Ward on defending Munday's duo of fullback Tyrone Dockins and Paul: “(Dockins) is definitely a key. He’s a good running back. He’s big, he’s physical. We’ve got to be able to tackle that guy because he’s a pounder. He’s a hard-nosed runner and he’ll go north and south and he’ll make you tackle him. How we handle them is going to dictate the game. If (Dockins is) too big for us and (Paul) runs on us, it’ll be a long night. If we con contain them, then we’ve got a pretty good chance.”
• Tenaha linebacker DeAaron Roland on Paul: “We’re just going to have to keep hitting him. We can’t let him get comfortable back there. We want him on his toes, knowing that our defense is coming.”
• Roland on Tenaha's bevy of non-senior playmakers: "In the classroom they’re labeled as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, but on the field we’re all seniors. They’ve stepped up and played like it’s their last year, too.”
• Tenaha athlete Keontas Davis on Tenaha being the underdog: "We feed off of it. That's been the same for the past couple of games. Going into last week's game we were supposed to get beat by 21."

Don't be surprised if: This game is a lot closer than the four-game disparity the teams' records indicate. Tenaha entered last year's state championship against Munday as the undefeated favorite with Texas Tech-bound Reginald Davis leading the away against a 13-2 Munday squad. This season, the teams trade roles. Munday is undefeated with Division I-bound Dee Paul leading the way, while Tenaha enters the game with a 10-4 record. Munday has crushed 13 of the 14 teams the Moguls have played, including strong playoff teams from Wellington and Albany, which the Moguls beat once in the regular season before thrashing in the Region II championship. Munday also has a 34-27 victory against Stamford, which is 13-1 and playing in Thursday's 4 p.m. Class A Division I state championship against Mart. Tenaha has played its share of stiff competition, too, including six teams -- Joaquin, Garrison, Alto, West Sabine, San Augustine, Mount Enterprise -- in the regular season that wound up winning at least eight games. Both teams have history and tradition in their programs, and they're obviously familiar with each other having played in last year's championship game. With the roles reversed and Munday with more experience, can the Moguls get revenge? Or will the junior- and sophomore-heavy Tigers repeat in Class A Division II? Thursday's game should be exciting.