White Oak Gets Rematch with Grandview in 2A D-I Region III Area Playoff

Class 2A Division I Region III

Area Playoff

White Oak Roughnecks (10-1)

vs.

Grandview Zebras (9-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Bruce Field, Athens

Coaches

• White Oak: Gerry Stanford
• Grandview: Casey Walraven

Last week

• White Oak: won 44-14 vs. Winnie East Chambers
• Grandview: won 62-29 vs. Trinity

Next week

• Winner faces Newton (11-0) or Whitney (6-5) in a 2A D-I Region III semifinal.

Playmakers

White Oak

• QB Dylan Gale, Sr., 5-8, 165 (161 of 266, 2,790 yards, 27 TDs, 2 INTs; 5 rush TDs)
• RB/LB Riley Lakin, Sr. (185 carries, 1,237 yards, 20 TDs)
• WR Jansen McCurdy, Sr., 6-0, 165 (42 catches, 1,185 yards, 15 TDs)
• S Jake Pullen, Jr.
• WR/DE Hayden Nichols, Sr., 6-3, 215 (21 catches, 364 yards, 4 TDs)
• WR Cass Carr, Sr. (36 catches, 418 yards, 1 TD)
• WR Gabe Michael, Sr., 6-1, 175 (43 catches, 640 yards, 6 TDs)
• WR Josh Benson, Sr. (13 catches, 210 yards, 1 TD)
• OL/DL Jason Heim, Sr., 6-1, 260
• DT Dee Sutton, Sr., 5-11, 260

Grandview

• QB Zach Smith, Soph. (157 of 256, 2,703 yards, 31 TDs, 9 INTs; 6 rush TDs)
• RB Jordan Martinez, Jr. (215 carries, 1,917 yards, 24 TDs; 17 catches, 230 yards, 2 TDs)
• WR Colby Lee, Sr. (70 catches, 1,272 yards, 17 TDs; 15 carries, 138 yards, 5 TDs)
• RB/LB Peyton Mahan, Sr. (19 carries, 177 yards, 7 TDs; 138 tackles, 12 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)
• WR/DB Bailey Smith, Sr. (20 catches, 226 yards, 2 TDs; 45 tackles, 6 INTs, 12 pass breakups)
• DE Nathan Gullickson, Sr. (115 tackles, 9 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble)
• WR Tyler Fauver, Jr. (18 catches, 296 yards, 3 TDs; 43 tackles, 5 INTs, 12 pass breakups)
• LB Rhett Van Zandt, Sr. (98 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 punt block)
• WR Chase Goldwater, Sr. (25 catches, 593 yards, 9 TDs)
• WR Thomas Ben, Sr. (32 carries, 242 yards, 1 TD; 12 catches, 248 yards, 1 TD)

Just the facts

• Grandview beat White Oak 47-32 in a 2012 Class 2A D-I Region III area playoff.
• White Oak averages 41.5 points per game and allows 11.8.
• Grandview averages 54.4 points per game and allows 26.3.
• White Oak has scored at least 55 points three times this season, going 3-0 in those contests.
• Grandview has scored at least 62 points seven times this season, going 6-1 in those contests.
• White Oak has held 10 of its 11 opponents to 20 points or fewer, going 10-0 in those games.
• White Oak has held six foes to single digits.
• The only team to score more than 20 points against White Oak was undefeated Tatum, which beat the Roughnecks 42-21 in Tatum on Oct. 11.
• Grandview has held five of its 11 opponents to 20 points or fewer, going 5-0 in those games.
• Four opponents have scored at least 33 points on Grandview, which is 2-2 in those contests.
• Grandview's two losses were 76-64 at Eastland on Sept. 13 and 50-29 to Lorena (3A) on Sept. 20.
• Grandview has won seven consecutive games.
• During that span, the Zebras have scored 59.3 points per game.
• White Oak has won five consecutive games.
• The Roughnecks have held their five foes to 12.2 points per game in that span.

Key matchup: Grandview's offense vs. White Oak's defense. That may seem wide-ranging, but every matchup you look at involving those two units is intriguing.

Grandview averages 449.1 total yards per game with a healthy balance fueling the Zebras' attack: 239.7 passing, 209.4. Grandview has scored at least 62 points in its last four games and five times in its last six contests. Running back Jordan Martinez accounted for almost 1,900 yards from scrimmage in the regular season, which saw the Zebras score 70 offensive touchdowns (39 rushing, 31 passing).

That prolific offense meets a White Oak defense that has dominated 10 of the 11 teams the Roughnecks have played. The only exception came against a Tatum team that finished the regular season ranked in the top five of the Associated Press Class 2A poll and enters the second round of the playoffs still undefeated.

In their other 10 games, the Roughnecks have allowed 89 points -- or 8.9 points per game.

White Oak's defensive success has come against differing styles, but, with the exception of Tatum, has especially shown against run-heavy teams. Grandview obviously isn't a run-exclusive team, but stopping the run will be a high priority for head coach Gerry Stanford's team Friday night in Athens.

Don't be surprised if: This game comes down to the fourth quarter.

Grandview broke a 26-26 halftime tie with White Oak in last year's second round with a three-score second-half run to pull away before the Roughnecks scored in the final minute of the game.

Like last season, Grandview is 9-2 entering this contest. Once again, Jordan Martinez and Colby Lee are key skill position playmakers for the Zebras.

But White Oak's offense is better than a year ago, which could wind up making this game a shootout. Senior quarterback Dylan Gale possesses East Texas' second-best touchdown-to-interception ratio at 27-2 and has a fleet of receivers at his disposal that has made plays all year. There's also Riley Lakin, who has done a fine job replacing leading rusher Hunter Owens as the Roughnecks' primary ball carrier.

In a lot of ways, White Oak and Grandview are mirror images of each other offensively. That should mean that the team with the better defense advances to the third round.

One thing is certain: Friday's game should be an exciting one.