Longview Begins District 11-6A Play at Home vs. Mesquite Horn

DISTRICT 11-6A

Mesquite Horn Jaguars (2-1)

vs.

Longview Lobos (2-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Lobo Stadium, Longview

Coaches

• Mesquite Horn: Mike Overton
• Longview: John King

Last week

• Mesquite Horn: lost to Cedar Hill, 59-21
• Longview: def. Dallas South Oak Cliff, 62-14

Next week

• Mesquite Horn: vs. Mesquite, Sept. 23
• Longview: at Tyler Lee, Sept. 23

Playmakers

Mesquite Horn

• QB Chris Robison, Sr., 6-2, 190 (13 of 18, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 5 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD in 1 game; committed to Oklahoma)
• WR Reggie Roberson, Sr., 6-0, 180 (15 catches, 291 yards, 2 TDs; 1 carry, 26 yards; committed to Kansas)
• DT Junius King, Sr., 6-0, 272 (7 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 QB pressures; committed to North Texas)
• DE Maureese Wren, Jr., 6-3, 215 (3 tackles)
• QB Jermaine Givens, Soph., 5-11, 170 (34 of 62, 502 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT; 28 carries, 76 yards)
• RB Cornell Caldwell, Jr., 5-8, 160 (40 carries, 198 yards; 6 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD)
• LB Ronald Reffell, Sr., 6-0, 215 (22 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 INT, 3 PBUs)
• WR Katrell Blakely, Sr., 6-1, 180 (7 catches, 144 yards, 2 TDs)

Longview

• S Traveion Webster, Sr., 6-0, 202 (6 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBUs, 1 fumble recovery)
• RB Kendrevian White, Sr., 5-9, 215 (44 carries, 350 yards, 7 TDs)
• RB D'Crayvan Polk, Sr., 5-9, 180 (32 carries, 164 yards, 2 TDs)
• OL Kendall Starling, Sr., 6-2, 300
• QB Gaylon Wiley, Sr., 6-4, 185 (12 of 35, 264 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 11 carries, 55 yards)
• WR Astin Henry, Sr., 6-2, 160 (3 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD)
• TE Jaylin Brown, Jr., 6-4, 225 (2 catches, 48 yards, 2 TDs)
• DB Jephaniah Lister, Soph., 5-9, 155 (22 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT, 4 forced fumbles)

Just the facts

• Longview coach John King is 66-4 all-time in district games, dating back to 2004.
• Mesquite Horn and Longview have met 10 times. Longview leads the all-time series, 8-1.
• The Jaguars have made the postseason eight consecutive years.
• Horn defeated McKinney Boyd (46-31) and Dallas Skyline (44-6) before last week's loss to Cedar Hill.
• Jaguars quarterback Chris Robison, an Oklahoma commit, was injured in Week 1 and has not returned yet.
• Longview has made the postseason 15 consecutive years.
• Since its 35-24 Week 1 loss to Lufkin, the Lobos have outscored Marshall and Dallas South Oak Cliff a combined 118-21.
• Eleven Lobos carried the ball in last week's win, and five of them ran for touchdowns.

Key matchup: Longview rushing attack vs. Mesquite Horn defensive front. The Lobos have seemingly always been able to run the football, and there's nothing new to the formula in 2016. In three games, Longview has battered opposing defenses for a grand total of 954 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. In the last two weeks, which were blowout wins over Marshall and Dallas South Oak Cliff, the Lobos have had at least 10 different ball carriers. Up to this point of the season, the effectiveness on the ground has helped mask some of the issues Longview has experienced with its passing game. Although senior quarterback Gaylon Wiley was excellent last week (7-of-10, 203 yards, 2 TD's), for the season he is completing just 34 percent of his passes. Longview will once again need a big performance from Kendrevian White, D'Crayvan Polk, and company out of the backfield.

Against three quality opponents to begin the season (McKinney Boyd, Dallas Skyline, and Cedar Hill), the Mesquite Horn run defense has held up well. The Jaguars have allowed a modest 158.7 rushing yards per game, and just 4.6 yards per attempt. That could be put to the test Friday night against a very deep Longview backfield that's running behind a very physical offensive line. However, if Horn is able to prevent Longview from gaining the advantage on down-and-distance, that puts more pressure on an unproven Lobos passing game to make plays extending drives.

Don't be surprised if: Horn senior quarterback and Oklahoma commit Chris Robison returns from injury after missing the previous two games. Robinson, a four-star recruit rated among the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, left the Jaguars' Week 1 win late in the first half with an apparent shoulder ailment. There was speculation that Robison could've returned last week, but with Horn playing a loaded Cedar Hill team and the district opener right around the corner, the coaching staff thought it best to save the star QB for this week. If Robison, who had more than 2,300 yards of offense and 27 touchdowns in 2015, cannot return, the Jaguars will go with sophomore Jermaine Givens, who's thrown seven touchdowns in two-and-a-half games.