PREVIEW: Chapel Hill Looks to Bounce Back Against Kilgore

DISTRICT 9-4A Division I

Chapel Hill Bulldogs (3-2, 0-1)

vs.

Kilgore Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

St. John Memorial Stadium, Kilgore

Coaches

• Chapel Hill: Jason Hooker
• Kilgore: Mike Woods

Last week

• Chapel Hill: lost to Henderson, 35-21
• Kilgore: def. Palestine 31-21

Next week

• Chapel Hill: vs. Center, Oct. 13
• Kilgore: at Carthage, Oct. 13

Playmakers

Chapel Hill

• RB/LB Adrian Berry, Sr., 5-10, 190 (67 tackles, 6 TFL, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles; 1 sack)
• RB/DB Hunter Branin, Sr., 5-10, 178 (50 carries, 340 yards, 3 TDs)
• WR Demarcus Attaway, Sr., 5-9, 160 (8 catches, 162 yards, 5 TDs)
• OL Sammy Cintron, Sr., 5-11, 220
• WR Robbie Williams, Jr., 6-3, 180 (11 catches, 124 yards, 3 TDs)
• QB Khalan Griffin, Soph., 5-10, 180 (36-of-84, 415 yards, 7 TDs; 83 carries, 581 yards, 3 TDs)
• DB Sairdarius Lacy, Sr., 5-11, 165 (2 INT, 14 tackles, 2 PBUs)

Kilgore

• WR Jonathan Shepherd, Sr., 6-3, 196 (6 catches, 288 yards, 5 TDs; committed to Oklahoma State)
• QB/WR Patrick "Buddy" Jackson, Sr., 5-9, 160 (14 of 32, 334 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INTs; 51 carries, 501 yards, 6 TDs)
• DL Demorrea Richardson, Sr., 6-0, 240 (19 tackles, 1 for loss, 5 sacks)
• LB Sebastion Mumphrey, Sr., 5-7 (67 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 INT)
• RB/LB Javorie Hamilton, Sr., 5-9, 170 (59 carries, 482 yards, 7 TDs)
• Nesba Brown, Jr. (62 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 INT)
• OL Austin Adams, Sr.

Just the facts

• Chapel Hill has already surpassed its win total from last season, when the Bulldogs won a mere two games.
• Chapel Hill is putting up an average of 207 rushing yards per game.
• Kilgore is averaging 40.8 points per contest.
• Kilgore's lone loss of the season came in double overtime to Texarkana, 44-41.
• Chapel Hill is 1-5 against Kilgore since 2012.
• Kilgore won the matchup last season 36-7.
• Chapel Hill is in search of its first winning season since 2013.

Key matchup: Chapel Hill running game against Kilgore rush attack. It's not secret that when Khalan Griffin is running well, Chapel Hill is usually winning. This past week, Henderson was able to contain Griffin along with tailback Hunter Branin. The Lions won easily.

Demorrea Richardson has terrorized backfields this season for five sacks. Pair him with Sebastion Mumphrey and Nesba Brown, and Kilgore has the defensive talent to put a stop to Chapel Hill's run game.

Griffin has rushed for an average of 123 yards in Chapel Hill's three victories this season. If he passes the 100-yard mark again, it could be devastating for Kilgore.

Don't be surprised if: Jonathan Shepherd's lone catch goes for a touchdown. It's amazing what Shepherd has done this season on the few touches he has seen. Kilgore rarely throws the ball, but when it does, it does so to Shepherd.

The Oklahoma State commit has just six catches this season, but has turned that into five touchdowns and 288 yards. That's an average of 48 yards per catch. He is as close to a big-play guarantee as Kilgore has.

If he gets the ball, just watch out.