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This weekend, the El Campo Ricebirds made the long trek to Boerne to play the Champion Chargers. Leading El Campo, 2023 five-star running back Rueben Owens has been off to a hot start to the season, including 283 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns against Port Lavaca Calhoun. However, Champion is the state's sixth-ranked team in the 5A Division II classification and presented an early challenge for the Ricebirds.
 
Week Five:
 
Entering Friday's contest, Rueben Owens was averaging 191 rushing yards per game. Against Champion, he more than continued this trend. In fact, in the first half alone, Owens rushed for over 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, earning El Campo a sizable 34-0 lead. Alongside his work on offense, Owens also spent a large portion of Friday's game at safety. It was at safety in which Rueben was able to add a first quarter interception to his stat line as well.
Owens, who de-committed from the Longhorns in June, remains a top priority for Texas in recruiting. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Owens is also a top priority for many other powerhouse programs, including Georgia, where Owens happened to visit last weekend. Despite interest from other schools, Texas appears to still be well in the mix for Owens, who could (once again) potentially become the first pledge in Texas's 2023 recruiting class.
Thanks to Owens, the Ricebirds were in the driver's seat from the very jump. Adding insult to injury for Boerne Champion was 2022 athlete DK Ward, who also had an impressive outing as he showcased his breakaway speed with both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
According to his 247Sports profile, Ward is still waiting to receive a collegiate offer. Yet, I see potential in his ability and believe that he could see a rise in his recruiting stock as the playoffs approach.
It must be noted that Boerne Champion was without seven of their starters due to injury, but El Campo absolutely handled business. Ultimately, the Chargers were able to get on the scoreboard, but it was a lopsided 55-10 loss to the state's sixth-ranked team in the 4A Division I classification.
Extra Point:
I have covered some great running backs during my time watching Texas high school football, however Owens' ability to change directions might be the best that I have seen in person. His jukes are not just effective, they are quick. Additionally, Owens is not afraid to bounce off of would-be tacklers - adding to his value as a running back. Furthermore, Owens appears to have the ability to contribute in the passing game, best evidenced by the hand skills he displayed at safety.
Miles Logged:
193 miles (Total)

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Longhorns (3-1, 1-0) scored 42 points in the first half and rode a six touchdown performance from quarterback Casey Thompson to win their conference opener over the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 0-1) 70-35.  Texas scored a touchdown on each of their five offensive possessions in the first half and managed a defensive touchdown, courtesy of cornerback Josh Thompson's pick-six on Tech quarterback Tyler Shough.
The scoring continued into the second half of play and so did the balanced offensive attack for the Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian's team amassed 639 yards of total offense, and the rushing game led by sophomore Bijan Robinson had another successful campaign.  Robinson finished with 18 carries for 137 yards and one receiving touchdown. Roschon Johnson added two touchdowns and 64 yards on 13 carries and Keilan Robinson entered the game late but rushed for a touchdown and averaged 10.5 yards on 4 carries.
Casey Thompson finished 18-23 for 303 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.  He added one touchdown on the ground and rushed 7 times for 29 yards.
True freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy led Texas in receiving yards with 100 and caught three touchdown passes.
Texas Tech backup quarterback Henri Colombi threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
The win by Texas serves as the fourth straight over Texas Tech and is Steve Sarkisian's first Big 12 victory as head coach at Texas.
GAME RECAP
Bijan Robinson started the offensive barrage with the first touchdown of the game, a 38-yard touchdown pass from Thompson.  After forcing the Red Raiders to three and out on their first possession, Roschon Johnson's 3-yard touchdown run extended the Texas lead to 14-0.  Tech answered on the Red Raiders' next drive, on Tyler Shough's 6-yard touchdown run.

Casey Thompson engineered a 12-play, 75-yard drive on the ensuing possession which he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run.  Texas defensive back Josh Thompson intercepted Shough and returned it into the end zone to extend the Longhorns' lead to 28-7.
Thompson continued his hot-hand, floating a 23-yard pass to Xavier Worthy who came down with it in the corner of the end zone for the score.  
Henry Colombi replaced Shough under center and scored his first touchdown of the game, finding Myles Price for a 40-yard touchdown strike.
Roschon Johnson's 7-yard touchdown run with :09 left on the clock gave the Longhorns a 42-14 halftime lead.
Both teams opened the second half with interceptions.  Luke Brockermeyer intercepted Colmbi's pass on a tipped ball and returned it to the Texas Tech 25-yard line.  Four plays later, Casey Thompson's pass intended for Jordan Whittington was intercepted by Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the end zone.
The first points of the third quarter came at the 9:01 mark.  Alfred Collins sacked Texas Tech Quarterback Henry Colombi at the 1-yard line, forcing the Red Raiders to punt.  D'Shawn Jamison returned Austin McNamara's punt 43 yards to the Texas Tech 7-yard line, setting up a 5-yard touchdown toss from Thompson to Jordan Whittington. Texas led 49-14 at that point.
Colombi's 69-yard touchdown pass to Loic Fouonji on the Red Raiders' next possession cut the lead to 49-21 in favor of the Longhorns.
Xavier Worthy continued his productivity, scoring his second touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Casey Thompson.
Colombi used the first play of the ensuing drive to throw a 75-yard strike to Kaylon Geiger who outran the Texas secondary for the score.  The Longhorns led 56-28 with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter.
Casey Thompson threw his fifth touchdown pass on the day, another to Xavier Worthy, at the 4:09 mark in the quarter to increase the Texas advantage to 63-28.  The touchdown was Worthy's third of the day.

Hudson Card replaced Casey Thompson and running back Keilan Robinson rushed 4 times for 42 yards, including a touchdown on Texas' opening drive in the fourth quarter. 
Tech got back on the scoreboard courtesy of redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Smith's 1-yard touchdown run at the 6:40 mark.  The score cut the Texas lead to 70-35, which is where it stayed until the game clock expired.

Texas will face TCU next Saturday in Fort Worth at 11:00 AM.  The game will be televised on ABC.