Football Game Preview: Dublin Lions vs. Early Longhorns

The Dublin Lions will venture away from home to square off against the Early Longhorns at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Dublin has given up an average of 53 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Dublin is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 57 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Clifton on Friday. They took a blow against the Cubs, falling 56-7. The Lions haven't had much luck with the Cubs recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

Joe Salinas

Rushing Yards

09/05/25 vs Millsap	-48
09/26/25 vs Lindsay	4
09/12/25 vs Anson	5
09/19/25 @ Bowie	19
10/10/25 @ Brady	29

Despite the loss, Dublin saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Joe Salinas rushed for 104 yards, and also picked up 63 receiving yards. Those 104 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Salinas.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Early). They breezed past Eastland to the tune of 74-0 on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Longhorns, who have now won three contests by 25 points or more so far this season.

Early is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.0 points over those games. As for Dublin, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-8.

Dublin strolled past Early in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 by a score of 36-22. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.