PREVIEW: John Tyler Hosts Tomball to Open Playoffs

CLASS 5A DIVISION I
Region II Bi-District Playoff

Tomball Cougars (6-4)

vs.

John Tyler Lions (7-3)

7 p.m. Friday
Christus TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler

Coaches

Tomball: Kevin Flanigan
John Tyler: Ricklan Holmes

Last week

Tomball: def. Willis, 42-7
John Tyler: def. Sherman, 45-13

Next week

Winner vs. Lancaster or Wakeland, Class 5A Division I area playoff

Players to watch

Tomball

QB Hunter Dunn, Jr., 6-4, 170 (115-of-198, 2,068 yards, 14 TDs, 2 INTs)
WR Jay'Ris Smith, Jr., 5-11, 160 (22 catches, 523 yards, 4 TDs)
WR Konnor Cooper, Sr., 6-2, 205 (24 catches, 477 yards, 1 TD)
RB/LB Daveon Vean, Sr., 5-11, 205 (77 carries, 576 yards, 12 TDs)
TE Logan Compton, Sr., 6-5, 220 (22 catches, 379 yards, 2 TDs)

John Tyler

WR Ke'Andre Street, Sr., 6-2, 200 (24 catches, 745 yards, 10 TDs; committed to Houston)
RB Roderick Hawkins, Sr., 5-8, 190 (109 carries, 1,079 yards, 8 TDs; 9 catches, 111 yards)
RB/CB Cameron Grant, Sr., 5-10, 185 (55 carries, 472 yards, 7 TDs; 32 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 INTs, 12 PBUs, 1 forced fumble)
OL Chance Billington, Sr., 6-4, 275 (committed to Louisiana-Monroe)
QB Devlen Woods, Sr., 5-8, 170 (77-of-128, 1,637 yards, 19 TDs, 4 INTs; 50 carries, 266 yards, 3 TDs)
RB Ka'Darian Asbell, Sr., 5-10, 210 (24 carries, 284 yards, 2 TDs)
DE Christian Hartsfield, Sr., 5-10, 221 (52 tackles, 13 for loss, 7 sacks, 1 blocked punt)
DT Ja'Bralen Yarber, Sr., 6-1, 280 (43 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 13 QB pressures; committed to Northwestern State)

Just the facts

This is the first meeting between John Tyler and Tomball.
John Tyler is averaging 470.2 yards per game (200.8 passing and 269.4 rushing).
Lions receiver Ke'Andre Street is averaging 31 yards per reception.
JT running back Roderick Hawkins has rushed for 100 or more yards in three of the Lions' past four games.
Tomball is averaging 355.7 yards per game (234.3 passing and 121.4 rushing).
The Cougars finished fourth in a tough district that also included Lufkin, College Station and Magnolia West.
Tomball is giving up 27 points per game.

Key matchup: John Tyler passing attack against the Tomball secondary. John Tyler has boasted a particularly potent passing attack in the past two weeks. After throwing for a season-high 343 yards against Mesquite Poteet, Devlen Woods threw for 205 to close the season against Sherman. That also included back-to-back weeks in which Ke'Andre Street caught multiple touchdowns. This jolt in the passing game gives the Lions offense, which is still humming along with Roderick Hawkins in the backfield, more balance.

Tomball will hope it can stop not only Street, but also K'Lon Warren (343 yards, 7 TDs) with its secondary. If it can, the Cougars are closer to moving on to the area round.

Don't be surprised if: JT goes to the ground game a lot. The Lions could use the tandem of Hawkins and Cameron Grant to their advantage to control the clock. Tomball will likely throw plenty, with more than half of its offense coming through passing. If the Lions can put together a few drives that eat up clock and score a touchdown, it would benefit them by giving the Cougars less chances to score. Hawkins has been steady the past four games and should continue to see a decent workload.