The Woodlands Highlanders football team gears up for tough first-round playoff challenge

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- After blitzing through the regular season with 10 wins, now comes the hard part.

The Woodlands High School Highlanders have to win, or they go home.

The Texas high school playoffs kick off tonight, and you can watch the Highlanders (10-0) square off against the Mesquite Horn Jaguars (6-4) right here at 7:30 p.m., during our live broadcast from Woodforest Bank Stadium.

Here’s what Highlanders fans need to know about the Jaguars: they did NOT advance to the postseason based on the team’s defensive ability. They are 0-3 on the road and their defense has surrendered an average of 53 points in those games.

However, the Horns can hold their own in a shootout, and they roll into The Woodlands averaging 43 points per game.

The Highlanders’ secondary might face their toughest test of the year in senior quarterback Chris Robison. He’s thrown for more than 2,000 yards with 23 scores and only three interceptions. Robison’s favorite target is wide receiver Reggie Roberson, who has caught 54 balls for nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Horns also balance out their aerial assault with a rushing attack anchored by junior Cornell Caldwell and senior Elton Taylor. Caldwell is the leading rusher with just under 600 yeards, and Taylor has a nose for the end zone with eight rushing touchdowns.

The Woodlands defense has no reason to be intimidated. Since the beginning of October, they’ve given up a grand total of 24 points over five games. That’s an average of less than two field goals.

Highlander quarterback Eric Schmid wrapped up an unbeaten regular season last week with a four-touchdown game, improving his total for the year to 30. He’s been picked off only once and completes close to 72 percent of this passes.

Week by week the offense has become more comfortable giving Schmid a wide array of weapons to work with. Receivers Christopher Stewart, Dylan Casey and Kesean Carter are all big-play threats, and running backs Jordan Talford and Carlos Ramos are a balance of power and speed.

Watch the game LIVE tonight at www.woodlandsonline.com.

Check in tomorrow morning for a game recap, photo gallery, video highlights and Player of the Game.