Tenaha Looks to Keep It Rolling Friday Night At San Augustine

No. 4 Tenaha Tigers (3-1)

vs.

San Augustine Wolves (1-3)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Wolf Stadium, San Augustine

Coaches

• Tenaha: Terry Ward
• San Augustine: Donald Hubbard

Last week

• Tenaha: won 41-29 vs. Sabine
• San Augustine: won 35-16 at Hemphill

Next week

• Tenaha: at Burkeville
• San Augustine: at Grapeland

Playmakers

Tenaha

• QB J.R. Hill, Sr., 5-11, 160 (27 of 50, 457 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs; 25 carries, 196 yards, 1 TD)
• RB/LB Chavis Gregory, Sr., 5-10, 210 (41 carries, 281 yards, 5 TDs; 4 catches, 31 yards; 34 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 2 pass break-ups, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, 1 blocked PAT, 1 blocked FG)
• RB/DB Cobe Caraway, Jr., 5-8, 165 (38 carries, 466 yards, 4 TDs; 2 catches, 43 yards, 1 TD; 24 tackles, 1 pass break-up)
• WR/DB Keontas Davis, Sr., 6-1, 160 (8 catches, 195 yards, 3 TDs; 19 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT, 6 pass break-ups)
• DL Denzelle Williams, Sr., 5-11, 190 (37 tackles, 9 for loss, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
• WR/DB DeAndre Thomas, Jr., 6-1, 160 (7 catches, 108 yards, 2 TDs; 11 tackles, 2 pass break-ups)
• LB Jacoby Ivy, Sr., 5-10, 185 (43 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass break-up, 1 fumble recovery)

San Augustine

• QB Jamikel Roberts, Jr., 6-0, 175 (6 of 13, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 9 carries, 110 yards last week vs. Hemphill)
• RB/LB Jeremy Jenkins, Jr., 5-9, 190 (16 carries, 84 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 7 yards last week vs. Hemphill)
• WR Dez Randle, Sr., 6-2, 175 (3 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs last week vs. Hemphill)
• OL Jarvis Payne, Sr., 6-2, 315
• OL E.J. Barnes, Soph., 6-2, 270
• RB/DB Anwar Davis, Sr., 5-10, 175 (16 carries, 126 yards last week vs. Hemphill)
• WR/DB Jarvis Smith, Sr. (2 catches, 30 yards last week vs. Hemphill)

Just the facts

• Tenaha is 73-21 since 2006, posting double-digit win seasons in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.
• The Tigers are 29-12 in non-district games since 2006.
• Tenaha is averaging 35 points per game, while its defense is giving up an average of 14.8.
• The combined record of Tenaha's four 2013 opponent this far -- Joaquin, Garrison, Alto and Sabine -- is 11-8.
• San Augustine enters Friday's game with a 1-3 record, but its three losses have come by a combined 32 points.
• The combined record of the three teams to defeat the Wolves this season -- Tyler Grace, Deweyville and Garrison -- is 12-1.
• From 2004-10, San Augustine went just 23-46 with no playoff appearances. Since, the Wolves are 18-9.
• San Augustine is averaging 30.8 points per game, while its defense is allowing 34.

Key matchup: Tenaha running game vs. San Augustine defensive front. The Tenaha rushing attack averages 248.5 yards per game and has three rushers -- running backs Cobe Caraway and Chavis Gregory and quarterback J.R. Hill -- with at least 196 rushing yards on the season. Tenaha has run 187 plays from scrimmage and 72 percent of those have been running plays, so there's no secret what the Tigers' game plan on offense calls for.

Tenaha has weapons in the passing game in receiver Keontas Davis and DeAndre Thomas, who have combined for 15 of the team's 29 receptions for 303 of Tenaha's 476 receiving yards and five of its seven touchdown catches. But most of that production through the air is set up by a strong running game, which averages more than seven yards per carry. If Tenaha is able to dictate tempo with its running game, San Augustine could be in for a long night.

The Wolves must force Tenaha to throw the ball by forcing the Tigers into obvious passing situations. If San Augustine can win the battle on first and second down, Tenaha will be taken out of its comfort zone. While Hill has limited the interceptions this season -- only two in 50 attempts -- he has a track record of turning it over. In 2012, Hill threw 20 interceptions in 227 passing attempts. Keeping Caraway and Gregory bottled up at or near the line of scrimmage will be priority No. 1 for a young San Augustine defense that entered 2013 with just four returning starters.

Don't be surprised if: Tenaha attempts to incorporate the play-action pass game against San Augustine on Friday night. As mentioned above, Tenaha is not without playmaking options in the receiving corps, and expect Hill to try to get both Davis and Thomas involved early to give the Wolves' defense something other than stuffing the run to think about. San Augustine will likely be taking risks by adding an extra defender or two in the box for run support, which could give Hill some one-on-one matchups down the field to exploit. Aside from the season opener, in which Hill completed 6 of 7 passes for 164 and three touchdowns, Tenaha's passing game hasn't been much of a factor. Friday could be the perfect opportunity for the Tigers to display it prowess through the air.