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BRIDGE CITY – The well-rested Bridge City Cardinals should be chomping at the bit come Friday night when they welcome the Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns to Ward Stadium to start their District 11-4A Division II season.

The Cardinals (0-1) have had just one game under their belts, a tough 28-21 overtime home loss to Anahuac, as they will look to corral the Longhorns (2-2, 0-1), who absorbed a 37-7 loss at the hands of West Orange-Stark in their district opener last week.

The Cardinals will look to slow down a versatile H-F attack that is averaging 300 yards a game, sparked by freshman quarterback D’onte Zeno.

Zeno has completed 36-of-62 passes for 632 yards and three touchdowns.

The Longhorns have a hard-running and swift back in the form of Khegian Heckaman. Heckaman has bruised his way to 318 yards and six TDs on 66 car and Jordan Joiner and Jordan Denson have combined for 132 yards on 22 carries and three scores.

Denson is the district’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 108 yards. Garrett Picou has eight catches for 145 yards and a TD while Colin Dorsey (7-111-1), Evan Viator (5-84-0) and Heckaman (4-114-1), who had an 89-yard touchdown reception against WO-S, can also haul them in.

The Cardinals will look to bounce back after the tough loss against Anahuac. The Cardinals outgained Anahuac 274-259 in the loss.

Quarterback Ethan Oceguera completed 12-of-21 passes for 173 yards and two TDs. Austin Richardson had three catches for 80 yards and caught both of Oceguera’s TD tosses, while Joey Murty had three catches for 53 yards.

Oceguera led the ground game with 85 yards and a TD on 19 carries as the Cardinals will try to pile up yardage against a Longhorns’ defense that is allowing a district-high 370 yards a game.