Marshall Looks To Keep Rolling Vs. Arkansas High In Mavs’ Final Non-District Tuneup

Arkansas High Razorbacks (0-2)

vs.

Marshall Mavericks (2-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Maverick Stadium, Marshall

Coaches

• Arkansas High: Todd Ledford
• Marshall: Clint Harper

Last week

• Arkansas High: lost to Liberty-Eylau, 66-21
• Marshall: idle

Next week

• Arkansas High: at Pine Bluff (Ark.), Sept. 25
• Marshall: vs. Hallsville, Sept. 25

Playmakers

Arkansas High

• QB Bailey Sprayberry, Sr.
• WR/DB Timothy Stuckey, Sr., 5-8, 155
• DL Nicholas McCann, Sr., 6-3, 300
• WR/DB Korleon Campbell, Jr., 5-11, 165
• DB Johnathan Gullatt, Jr., 6-4, 170
• FB/DL Tylar Gray, Jr., 6-0, 215

Marshall

• ATH Cam Haller, Jr., 5-10, 200 (22 carries, 231 yards, 8 TDs; 4 of 4, 136 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
• DL Antonio Washington, Sr., 6-2, 280 (11 tackles, 8 for loss, 1 sack, 2 QB pressures)
• LB/DB Micahh Smith, Sr., 6-1, 200 (18 tackles, 1 PBU)
• RB Chavis Mills, Sr., 5-7, 180 (16 carries, 229 yards, 5 TDs)
• QB Justin Hart, Sr., 6-0, 160 (16 of 22, 226 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs)
• LB Deondre Osborne, Sr., 5-8, 215 (13 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU)
• WR Trel Patton, Sr., 5-9, 160 (6 catches, 174 yards, 1 TD)
• DB Corteze Hurd, Soph., 6-1, 170 (3 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBUs)

Just the facts

• Arkansas High and Marshall have not met since 1984, but the Mavs are no stranger to facing schools from The Natural State, holding a 6-5 record vs. Arkansas teams since 1951.
• Marshall is 2-4 all-time against Arkansas High. The two schools met in 1967, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1982, and 1984.
• Arkansas High is facing its third consecutive Texas opponent. The Razorbacks are 3-8-1 vs. schools form Texas since 2007.
• The Razorbacks won the state of Arkansas' first two Class 6A state championships in 2006 and 2007.
• Arkansas High has not had a winning record since winning the '07 state title, combined to go 32-50 in the last seven-plus seasons.
• Marshall is aiming for its first 3-0 start since 2008.
• The Mavericks have averaged 58.5 points and 461.5 yards in wins over Royse City and Crandall.
• Marshall has just one playoff win since 2009, and that came in the first round of the postseason a season ago.

Key matchup: Marshall rushing attack vs. Arkansas High defensive front. The Marshall Mavericks have excelled at both facets of offensive football through two weeks with almost 120 combined points in their two wins to begin the year. But the Mavs have been especially potent on the ground, where Marshall comes into Friday's night game averaging a little more than 280 yards. And almost all of the production has come from the duo of Cam Haller and Chavis Mills. Each has more than 200 yards for the year, and both players are averaging more than 10 yards per carry. Haller, a physical runner, averages 10.1 yards per rush with eight of his 22 carries resulting in touchdowns. Mills is the team's big-play back with 229 yards and five touchdowns on only 16 attempts.

But don't think Marshall relies solely on its ground attack. The Mavs have been both efficient and explosive through the air, led by its two-man quarterback rotation of Justin Hart and Haller. Hart gets the majority of the snaps on passing downs, and his completing a sizzling 73 percent of his throws. Meanwhile, Haller has only been asked to put the ball in the air four times, but all four attempts have been completed for an average of 34 yards per pass. The Mavs are rich with deep-ball talent at receiver. Senior Trel Patton has been the primary pass-catcher with 174 yards on just six receptions -- an average of 29 yards per grab.

Arkansas High had all kinds of defensive breakdowns in last week's 45-point loss to Liberty-Eylau, allowing the Leopards a school-record 838 yards of offense, including 525 rushing. That type of performance was surprising to say the least, considering the Razorbacks limited Texas High to just 28 points and a much more modest 297 rushing yards. Compounding the confusion is the defense has struggled despite the presence of senior lineman Nick McCann, who is one of the top D-line recruits in the country. McCann currently holds FBS offers from Baylor, Kansas, SMU, Texas State, Texas Tech, and ULM.

Don't be surprised if: Marshall's offensive prowess continues this week. With the Mavs averaging almost 10 yards per carry and more than 18 yards per completion, it could be another long night for the Arkansas High defense. Not only did the Razorbacks' "D" get burned on the ground last week against Liberty-Eylau, the Leopards also hit Arkansas High up for 313 yards and five touchdowns through the air. The scoring passes averaged 37.6 yards in distance.