Tenaha Seeks Fifth-Straight Regional Crown When Tigers Face Muenster

CLASS 2A DIVISION II QUARTERFINAL

Muenster Hornets (12-1)

vs.

Tenaha Tigers (7-5)

7:30 p.m. Friday

City Bank Stadium, Forney

Coaches

• Muenster: Brady Carney
• Tenaha: Craig Horn

Last week

• Muenster: def. Hubbard, 49-6
• Tenaha: def. Normangee, 24-12

Next week

• Winner faces winner between Bremond and Bruni, state semifinals

Playmakers

Muenster

• FB/LB Dalton Bartel, Sr., 6-0, 195 (137 carries, 1,376 yards, 17 TDs; 15 catches, 222 yards, 1 TD; 1 INT)
• QB/S Blayne Jones, Jr., 5-11, 175 (109 of 217, 1,846 yards, 15 TDs, 6 INTs; 100 carries, 584 yards, 15 TDs; 2 INTs, 1 fumble recovery)
• WR/S Parker McGrew, Fr. (9 catches, 167 yards, 2 TDs; 45 carries, 440 yards, 7 TDs; 6 INTs, 1 fumble recovery)
• RB/DB Clay Stephens, Soph. (30 carries, 262 yards, 4 TDs; 16 catches, 185 yards; 3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries)
• WR/CB Bryce Herr, Jr. (7 catches, 135 yards, 1 TD; 3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery)
• RB/DB Trace Klement, Sr., 5-11, 150 (29 carries, 176 yards, 10 TDs; 20 catches, 233 yards, 1 TD; 1 fumble recovery)
• WR/DB Chase Deeken, Sr., 5-11, 160 (15 catches, 414 yards, 5 TDs; 2 INTs, 1 fumble recovery)
• RB/LB Carson Trubenbach, Soph. (9 catches, 166 yards, 3 TDs; 1 INT, 2 fumble recoveries)

Tenaha

• QB CJ Horn, Soph., 6-0, 175 (154 of 235, 2,488 yards, 30 TDs, 9 INTs; 71 carries, 183 yards, 7 TDs)
• WR/CB Colton Goeke, Sr., 6-1, 170 (42 catches, 873 yards, 12 TDs; 25 tackles, 3 INTs, 13 PBUs, 1 fumble recovery)
• WR/S Jay Lloyd, Fr., 5-11, 165 (37 catches, 609 yards, 7 TDs; 18 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD; 99 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 QB pressure, 1 INT, 11 PBUs, 2 forced fumbles)
• WR/CB Trai Gardner, Soph., 5-10, 165 (36 catches, 562 yards, 6 TDs; 81 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 QB pressures, 4 INTs, 16 PBUs)
• RB Onterio Thompson, Soph., 5-9, 165 (97 carries, 936 yards, 10 TDs; 7 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD)
• RB/S Ladarrius Garrett, Soph., 5-8, 140 (79 carries, 677 yards, 8 TDs; 12 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD; 23 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, 4 PBUs)
• OL/LB Tyler Muckelroy, Sr., 5-11, 210 (112 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 6 QB pressures, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery)
• OL/DL Thomas Gardner, Jr., 6-1, 315 (96 tackles, 19 for loss, 1 sack, 6 QB pressures, 3 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries)

Just the facts

• Muenster's only loss this season came to Callisburg (15-10), which advanced to the third round of the Class 3A Division I playoffs.
• Tenaha has won four consecutive regional title games -- 2011 (Mount Enterprise, 55-6), 2012 (Frost, 34-30), 2013 (Bremond, 24-7), and 2014 (Iola, 35-28).
• Muenster is averaging 43.7 points and 401.7 yards per game -- 259.7 rushing and 142.0 passing.
• The Hornets' defense is allowing 11.8 points per game -- 15.0 in the playoffs.
• The cumulative record of Muenster's opponents this season is 71-76 (.483).
• Tenaha is averaging 34.8 points and 375.7 yards per game -- 168.3 rushing and 207.3 passing.
• The Tigers' defense is allowing 21.3 points per game -- 8.7 in the playoffs.
• The cumulative record of Tenaha's opponents this season is 70-63 (.526).

Key matchup: Tenaha passing attack vs. Muenster secondary. There were question marks surrounding the Tenaha program entering the 2015 season: how would the Tigers perform under first-year coach Craig Horn, and how quickly would a young Tenaha team come together, for example. Well, the Tigers are playing for their fifth consecutive regional championship this Friday night, and the youthful nucleus of impact performers are beginning to shine. Sophomore quarterback CJ Horn has thrived in his first season behind center, with almost 2,500 passing yards and 30 touchdowns heading into the state quarterfinal round. Senior wideout Colton Goeke has led the way for the receiving corps, but freshman Jay Lloyd and sophomore Trai Gardner have more than held their own. Lloyd and Gardner have combined for 73 receptions, 1,171 yards, and 13 touchdowns.

Muenster figures to present Tenaha with its biggest challenge to date, defensively. The Hornets are surrendering less than 12 points per game on the season, and the team has combined for 19 interceptions in 13 games. When this deep in the playoffs, all of the remaining teams are elite, and often times the deciding factor in games is turnovers. Horn tossed two interceptions in Tenaha's win over Normangee last week, but he had thrown 19 touchdowns to just one INT in the previous six games -- all Tenaha wins.

Don't be surprised if: Friday night's game is low scoring. While Muenster averages more than 43 points and 400 yards per game, the Hornets will be going up against a Tenaha defense that has come on strong during its seven-game winning streak. Following a dreadful 0-5 start to the season -- all against teams higher in classification -- the Tigers have righted the ship. Through the first five weeks, Tenaha allowed an average of 37.8 points per game, but since then, Tenaha is only giving up 9.6. Stops behind the line of scrimmage and forcing turnovers have been the difference. For the season, Tenaha has racked up 21 sacks and 62 tackles for loss, and come away with 26 turnovers -- 12 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries. With both Muenster and Tenaha are coming in with aggressive defenses, the outcome may very well be decided by the turnover margin.