The season is really firing all cylinders this week as the Jones Longhorns take on the Chandler Lions in big district matchup.
Let’s start with last week, the Longhorns were dominant against Star Spencer, controlling every facet of the game, where do the Longhorns go from here?
Matt: It certainly was a dominant performance last week. Coach Martin always emphasizes improvement from week to week. And as we hit the pivotal month of October, he’s going to want to see that improvement continue. Coach Martin has said the difficult first two weeks were intentional, because he didn’t want the team to get complacent. We’ll look for the Offensive and Defensive Lines to show their dominance and control the line of scrimmage.
Derrick: I think like you said, Coach Martin has emphasized growth week to week so that the team is peaking at the right time. Coach Martin has the innate ability to get the most out of his guys at the perfect time, and should show this week that their (2-2) record isn’t indicative of the talent this team has.
The Oklahoman listed this as the 10th best game in the State this week. What type of a game are you expecting?
Derrick: I think that’s a good spot for it. It should be a competitive and exciting game. Both teams have the ability to win a game in multiple ways. Both teams will be looking to break their .500 record and should be highly motivated which can always add some extra intrigue from a fans perspective.
Matt: Chandler will be tough. QB Kaden Jones can beat you through the air or with his feet. Many may forget that Chandler was ahead of the Longhorns in the 3rd Quarter last year. Here is a fun fact: This will be 5th straight year the Lions and Longhorns have played, with Jones winning each of the previous meetings, but the margin of victory has gotten small each year. These Lions will be confident.
The Longhorns are looking for their first win in the new stadium, what would that mean for the program to get that first W?
Matt: It would mean quite a bit. It’s kind of hard to believe, but both Longhorn victories have come on the road this year. Getting that first win in the new stadium would create some major excitement.
Derrick: I agree. The game results have been peculiar, but I believe with the desire to get back to a winning record as well as getting a win in the new stadium will provide plenty of excitement as well as some morale boosting value for the team.
Prediction Time:
Derrick: Chandler struggled with Beggs and have shown they can struggle with athleticism and big time QBs. Luckily for Jones they have both. Carson has been on a tear lately and I think he will build on that this week. I think it’s a competitive game until the 4th and May scores a couple late TDs to put the game away. 34-14 Jones.
Matt: I think the Lions put up a tough fight, but Carson May throws for 3 TDs and the Longhorn Defense bottles up Kaden Jones and the Longhorns win 28-16.
Extra Points:
Derrick: Chandler I believe has a younger brother of former Jones QB/ATH Daniel Jackson. So there’s some familiarity with the programs through that. On the Jones side, Carson has been recognized by Rivals as the offensive player of the week for the last 2 games now. I’m about 4 quarters of actual on the field time in the Longhorns most recent games Carson is 24/34 (71%) with 570 yards passing and 10 TDs (9 passing/1 rushing) and ZERO turnovers. Those numbers like I said are in right around 4 quarters of him actually being on the field. To put that in perspective that would give him 5,700 yards and 100 TDs on the season if he kept those averages up. Obviously that’s unreasonable to expect it, but wow. He’s incredible and Chandler is the second town of Lions that are about to find that out this season.
Matt: The National Weather Service shows a 30% chance of rain at kickoff. In the past, this would have been a huge headache for the athletic department wondering how the field would hold up. One of the huge advantages to the new field is that there will be no drainage issues. That will be a win for the School even before the teams meet.
#TTHL