Early Longhorns seize hard-won victory over Brady Bulldogs

Written by Leland Acker – Holding penalties served as the great equalizer as the Early Longhorns pulled out a thrilling 38-37 victory over the Brady Bulldogs Friday at Bulldog Stadium to win the first district game of the season.

The Longhorns saw a 37-yard pass to Jose Pessina negated by offsetting penalties in the 1^st quarter, a 27-yard run by Ryan Trompler called back for a holding penalty and a 3-yard Trompler touchdown run called back for holding in the 3^rd.

Photo at top by Shayla Gosnell Kirby 

The Longhorns rebounded from those setbacks by scoring two touchdowns in the last three minutes of the game to come from behind and pull out the 38-37 victory.

“I told the players that you turn the page and you keep playing and keep fighting,” Early Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Blake Sandford told KXYL after the game. “You can’t let small disturbances affect you.

In the 1^st quarter, it appeared that Early would dominate the game. The Horns scored on a 25-yard screen pass to Rowdy Elkins with 10:03 left in the first.

After a successful defensive stand, the Longhorns struck again with a 25-yard pass to Devyn Burns. The Horns converted a two-point conversion by passing to Jim Fowler behind the swinging gate offensive line.

It was at that point that the momentum of the game began to swing rapidly from Early to Brady, then back to Early.

Burns halted a Bulldog drive by picking off a Tyler Vaughn pass at the Brady 24 yard line, but the Bulldogs picked off a Trompler pass on the very next play.

Early led by as much as 22-7 in the 1st half, but the Bulldogs battled back, eventually taking a 24-22 lead on a field goal with 5:58 left in the 3rd quarter.  The Brady field goal was kicked  as the Bulldogs faced a 4^th and goal situation. Having driven the ball successfully on the ground, the ‘Dogs elected to take the lead by kicking rather than risking a play to the end zone.

Early responded with a Brandon Lombrano field goal with 11:23 left in the 4^th quarter, giving the Longhorns a 25-24 advantage, but Brady wasn’t done. The Bulldogs scored on a 52-yard pass play with 8:21 left in the 4th, and on a 6-yard run at the 4:42 mark.

The Longhorns responded quickly when Trompler passed to Burns for a 30-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 37-31 in Brady’s favor. The Bulldogs fumbled the ball on the first play of their next drive, and Early capitalized on a 37-yard touchdown run by Jesson Tarrant. Early took the lead 38-37 with 2:52 left to play.

Brady began to put together another drive, which was halted when Early recovered their fumble with 1:48 left to play. The Longhorns went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, but had burned enough time off the clock to prevent Brady from securing a winning score.

Coach Sandford said it was a hard-fought game.

“Our kids rose up and met the challenge,” Coach Sandford said. “They found they could dig a little deeper and make things happen.”

The win evens Early’s record to 3-3 on the season, 1-0 in District. Brady falls to 0-6, 0-1 in district.

The Longhorns travel to Clyde to face another set of Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. The game will be broadcast on KXYL 102.3 FM, KXYL 1240 AM, and online at BrownwoodRadio.com.