PREVIEW: Chapel Hill + Whitehouse Meet Thursday Eyeing 2-0 Starts

Chapel Hill Bulldogs (1-0)

vs.

Whitehouse Wildcats (1-0)

7:30 p.m. Thursday

CHRISTUS TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler

Coaches

• Chapel Hill: Jason Hooker
• Whitehouse: Adam Cook

Last week

• Chapel Hill: def. Wills Point, 48-37
• Whitehouse: def. Hallsville, 27-10

Next week

• Chapel Hill: at Tatum
• Whitehouse: vs. Carthage

Playmakers

Chapel Hill

• RB Hunter Branin, Sr., 5-10, 178 (15 carries, 201 yards, 3 TDs)
• WR Demarcus Attaway, Sr., 5-9, 160 (6 catches, 152 yards, 4 TDs)
• LB Adrian Berry, Sr., 5-10, 195 (15 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 QB pressure, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT)
• QB Khalan Griffin, Soph., 5-10, 180 (4 of 10, 51 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; 10 carries, 40 yards)
• QB Jaxon Heckel, Jr., 5-9, 170 (7 of 8, 141 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs)
• WR/DB Kaine Perkins, Sr., 6-1, 170 (7 tackles)
• DB Montel Hood, Sr. (3 tackles, 4 PBUs)
• DB Joshuah Lee, Sr., 5-7, 155 (6 tackles, 1 INT)

Whitehouse

• DL Trevor Lawrence, Sr., 6-5, 245 (6 tackles, 1 for loss; committed to Texas State)
• DL Christian Owens, Sr., 6-3, 260 (7 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 1 QB pressure)
• WR Cameron Cantrell, Jr., 6-1, 175 (9 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD; committed to Texas Tech)
• QB Jake Clemons, Sr., 6-1, 170 (22 of 33, 177 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs)
• RB Clayton Cook, Sr., 5-9, 175 (18 carries, 93 yards, 2 TDs)
• WR/DB Javier Neal, Sr., 5-10, 155 (2 catches, 32 yards; 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU)
• LB KJ McDade, Sr., 5-9, 182 (6 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 forced fumble)
• DL Darius Trimble, Jr., 5-11, 250 (10 tackles, 1 for loss)

Just the facts

• This will be the 31st installment of the "Lake Tyler Rivalry" between Chapel Hill and Whitehouse. The all-time series is tied, 14-14-2.
• Whitehouse has won the last five meetings in the series by an average margin of 19.8 points.
• In last week's win over Wills Point, Chapel Hill rolled up 48 points and 442 yards of offense. The Bulldogs averaged just 16 points per game in 2016.
• Chapel Hill has not begun a season 2-0 since 2011.
• Since Chapel Hill's 2011 state championship season, the Bulldogs' record is 23-34.
• Whitehouse made nine tackles for loss and limited Hallsville to 10 points in the Wildcats' season-opening win.
• The defensive trio of Trevor Lawrence, Christian Owens, and Darius Trimble averages 252 pounds.
• Whitehouse averaged less than five yards per play last week.

Key matchup: Chapel Hill offensive line vs. Whitehouse defensive line. It was a brilliant to start offensively for the Jason Hooker era at Chapel Hill. The Bulldogs put up more than 400 yards of offense and scored 48 points after averaging only 16 points per game all of last year.

Chapel Hill's offensive approach was balanced. It got 250 yards on the ground, 201 of which came from senior running back Hunter Branin, who ran for three touchdowns. And the quarterback duo of sophomore Khalan Griffin and junior Jaxon Heckel passed for 192 yards and four touchdowns -- all of them going to receiver Demarcus Attaway.

The Bulldogs will face a much stiffer challenge this week from Whitehouse, and in particular the Wildcats' defensive front.

Last season, Whitehouse was led by its defense, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. In last week's season-opening win over Hallsville, Whitehouse's defense stood tall, by limiting the Bobcats to 10 points and making nine stops behind the line of scrimmage.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better trio of defensive linemen in East Texas than Whitehouse's combination of seniors Trevor Lawrence (Texas State commit) and Christian Owens and junior Darius Trimble. The three combined for six tackles for loss last week.

Don't be surprised if: Whitehouse takes more deep shots in the passing game this week. The Wildcats had moderate success on offense in last Friday's win, but didn't really get going until the second half. Whitehouse finished with less than 300 yards of offense, and despite completing 22 passes, quarterback Jake Clemons averaged less than six yards per attempt.

Knowing that Whitehouse likes to call quick passes near the line of scrimmage, expect Chapel Hill's corners to play up on the Wildcats' receivers with regularity. That might open up the possibility of Whitehouse receivers winning some one-on-one situations in press coverage, allowing the Wildcats to go over the top of Chapel Hill's defense.