When the long-anticipated start of the 2020 high school football regular season arrives Friday, the Brownwood Lions will find themselves in an opening night Top 10 battle.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly – a service that has been ranking Texas high school football programs since 1963 – the Lions enter the season at No. 10 in the Class 4A Division I poll. However, Brownwood’s foe, the Lampasas Badgers possess the No. 1 ranking in the state.

The trip to Lampasas is one of six games on the Lions’ schedule against ranked foes this season.

“If you want to be the best you have to play the best,” said Brownwood third-year head coach Sammy Burnett, who guided the Lions to an 11-2 record and trip to the regional semifinals a year ago. “They’re going to expose your weaknesses, they’re going to show you your strengths and sometimes you find out you’re a lot better than what you that you were, or maybe you still have a long way to go. But what a great measuring stick at the first of the year to see where we’re at.

“A lot of people get wrapped up in wins and losses, and I want to win as much as anybody, there’s not a greater competitor than I am, but our mission is to raise young men, and football and athletics is the tool we use to do that. Facing adversity and watching kids grow into something they didn’t even realize they could become is really the goal for us as a coaching staff, that’s our mission.”

Lampasas is coming off a 13-2 season, a trip to the state semifinals and is the District 13-4A Division I favorite, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, over Austin LBJ, Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg, Burnet and Taylor. The Badgers are also projected to meet Waco La Vega – a District 5-4A Division I rival of the Lions – in the state championship game.

The Badgers return six offensive and five defensive starters, including quarterback Ace Whitehead, the DCTF 4A Cover Athlete who has committed to pitch for the University of Texas baseball team.

Whitehead, who stands 5-foot-11, completed 260 of 373 passes for 4,259 yards with 54 touchdown passes and just six interceptions in 2019. He also rushed for 723 yards added 21 touchdowns on the ground.

Whitehead isn’t the lone weapon for the Badgers though, as running back Jack Jerome rushed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago while receiver Mike Murray netted 1,014 receiving yards and 15 scores.

“They’re very explosive on offense so we’re going to have to be sound in what we do defensively, be clear minded and play fast, but we’re up to the challenge,” Burnett said. “They’re very big up front on the offensive line, some kids are about 6-5 and 280 to 300 pounds, and they do a great job protecting the quarterback.

“Their quarterback is a very special kid, a left-handed kid with a great arm. He does a great job operating their offense, and he’s also their kicker, just an outstanding athlete. Their running back is not a big kid, not a tall kid, but very powerful in the legs, a very fast kid. And their receiver is a tall kid can really stretch the field.”

The defense is anchored by linebacker Case Brister, who amassed 207 tackles, including 22 for loss, with a dozen sacks in 2019.

“The key to their defense is their two linebackers, Brister and Keagan Richardson,” Burnett said. “They have very good inside linebackers, their defensive end is very good, and their outside linebackers are strong.

“If there is an opportunity for us to expose them it’s in the secondary. They pretty much play an old school 50 front—nose tackle, two outside linebackers, two linebackers in the box and they’re going to play zero coverage most of the time, which is straight man with no safeties. If we can protect enough to expose them I think we have the big play capability. The issue you have there is protecting when they’re going to bring seven. Their philosophy is get to the quarterback before you can get it to the receivers.

“We also feel like we have a strong run game and if we can get by those stunt backers and get to the next level I think we can have some success.”

While Lampasas returns several key cogs from last year’s playoff run, Brownwood welcomes back just four offensive and three defensive starters from the 2019 squad. Much of the preseason has been spent evaluating talent and determining a starting 11 on each side of the ball.

Friday night offensive starters will consist of Blaize Espinoza at quarterback; Royshad Henderson at running back; Jimi Brown, Brad Robinson, Ethan Pesina, Slayde Espinoza – filling in for Logan Gillem – and Jared Northcutt along the line; slot receiver/H-back Elias Huerta; and receivers Dane Johnson, Khyren Deal and Jason Jackson.

Defensively, the ends will feature Kris Hobbs and Spencer Scull, while Tyler Tiner and Zach Bond will share time at nose tackle. Dryden Anderson and Konlyn Anderson will man the inside linebacker positions with Cade Jetton and Hunter Day on the outside. The secondary will feature Henderson and Malachi Revada at the corners, with Deal and Jordan Leach at the safety positions.

“Most of the time we’re probably not the most athletic team that steps on the field but we play with great passion, we play with a great tradition that we try to uphold and we try and do it with great character,” Burnett said. “Our mentality is we’re going to do the work and we’re going to prepare ourselves so we can go out and play. It doesn’t matter who we play, it’s how we play. I told our kids don’t get caught up in the hype, don’t look at rankings. For our kids it’s just trust your coaches and your teammates, do your job at the position you play knowing the guy beside you is going to do his job. If we carry that mentality and just play like Brownwood Lions play, I think we’ll have a great opportunity to be in the ball game. Play with great passion, play with great character and play with great discipline.”

Conditioning could also play a role in the outcome, especially with temperatures expected to exceed triple digits Friday.

“We’re going to take 32 kids over to Lampasas, and even though they have a lot of returning starters that are really good football players they only have 29 so it could be a battle of attrition and who has the best cardiovascular conditioning,” Burnett said. “Our goal is to stay close, keep it close. The start of any football game is very physical, very fast and both teams are amped up, but once you settle into the game I think conditioning is a big part of it. If you can be mentally tough enough to persevere through the fatigue, that’s where teams start to separate.”

As for what the Lions will need to do to position themselves for an opening victory, Burnett said, “We have to win all phases of the game, not just offense and defense, we have to win the special teams game. Sometimes the best offensive play is a punt that reverses the field that keeps the opponent from having a short drive. Also, we have to put points on the board every opportunity we get, whether it’s a touchdown, extra point or field goal.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 14-point underdog. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Lampasas.