Following losses of 43-25 to Midlothian Heritage and 49-33 to Waco La Vega, the Lions (2-5, 0-2) visit the Alvarado Indians (2-5, 1-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday needing to win two of the last three games to reach the playoffs for the 13th year in a row. A visit from Waxahachie Life (1-6, 0-2) comes next week, while the regular season finale is at No. 2 Stephenville (7-0, 2-0).
“We’re not disappointed in the kids at all, we’re really pleased with how far they’ve come, but for us to get to the playoffs we have to win Friday,” said Lions fourth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “Our backs are against a wall, against a team that is sort of balanced like we are. They’ve scored about as many as we have and given up about as many as we have. It’s going to be a knock down drag out that comes down to whoever wants it more and whoever is the more disciplined.”
Friday’s matchup features the strength of the Alvarado offense – the ground attack – against the what the Brownwood defense struggled most to stop last week. The Lions gave up 413 yards on the ground to La Vega, including 317 in the second half alone.
“After watching film, what it boils down to is real simple, we have to be gap controlled and gap sound,” Burnett said. “What happens is kids have the tendency to want to leave their gap and go make a play and when they do they’re taking someone else’s gap which doesn’t allow them to make a play and then the ball carrier runs through their gap. I tell kids all the time discipline is playing your gap and allowing someone else to make the play. You may not have made the tackle yourself, but you allowed someone else to make the tackle because you did your job. Friday night after watching the film, that’s simply what it was. Our scheme was gap sound, but we did not play gap sound.”
Alvarado produces 29 points and 412 yards – 310 rushing and 102 passing –
per game. Running backs Kameron Webb (1,023 yards, 11 TDs) and Jayden Bridgewater (894 yards, 7 TDs) shoulder the workload on the ground, while the biggest threat through the air is the connection between quarterback West Conner (690 passing yards, 8 TDs, 5 INTs) and receiver Logan McDaniel (18-353, 5 TDs).
The Lions defense is yielding 43 points and 485 yards – 286 rushing and 199 passing – per outing, with 10 takeaways.
Standouts include Dryden Anderson (62 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR), Quentin Thompson (59 tackles), Jaylan Brown (51 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 FR), Jordan Leach (38 tackles, 0.5, 1 FR, 1 INT), Quinten McCarty (31 tackles, 4.5 for loss), Owen Huntsinger (29 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT), Cole Miller (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 1 INT), Noah Barron (25 tackles, 0.5 for loss), Brandon Holland (24 tackles, 1 for loss, 0.5 sacks), Case Markham (23 tackles), Azariah Dillard (22 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 FR), Ethan Pesina (16 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 FR), Taylor Bessent (16 tackles, 1 sack), and Zaiden Lopez
16 tackles.
“Their offense is pretty potent so we’re going to have stop the run and don’t bite on the bootlegs and the play-action,” Burnett said. “They’re going to have a bunch of trick plays, I know they haven’t shown them, but I know they have them every year so we have to be sound in what we do.”
On the flip side of the ball, the Lions are coming off a 504-yard effort – 344 rushing and 160 passing – as quarterback Chance Jones rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown and passed for 160 yards and another score; Konlyn Anderson added 151 yards and two scores on the ground; and Jason Jackson hauled in four receptions for 127 yards with a trip to the end zone.
Behind the blocking of Ethan Pesina, Brandon Still, Damian Sanchez, Slayde Espinoza, Alex Reyna, Roan Aguinaga, and Riley Soto, the Lions generate 30 points and 394 yards – 268 rushing and 128 passing – per game with seven turnovers.
Jones has completed 68 of 146 passes for 883 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 480 yards and five scores. Anderson has amassed 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground while top receivers include Jackson (31-527, 8 TDs), Elias Huerta-Doud (18-204, TD), Thad Hinds (8-84, 2 TDs), and Anderson (6-38).
Alvarado’s defense is giving up 38 points per game with nine takeaways, led the by the play of Derian Rodriguez (61 tackles, 3 sacks), Kaden Ford (59 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 2 FRs), Camden Brown (34 tackles), Carter Thomas (27 tackles) and Gavin Rios (21 tackles).
But the Indians’ best defense is potentially their ball control offense.
“We average anywhere from 75 to 85 plays a game and they allow about 50 plays a game, which reduces the amount of touches you have,” Burnett said. “For us, we have to have a sense of urgency and every time we touch the ball we need to put points on the board of some sort and maximize our opportunities and don’t give them away because they’ll take advantage of those.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 13-point favorite.
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Brownwood Lions Football 2021 Season Stats
Through 7 Games (2-5, 0-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
29.9 points per game (209)
394.2 yards per game (2,760)
268.1 rushing yards per game (1,877)
126.1 passing yards per game (883)
PASSING
‒ Chance Jones
68 of 146 for 883 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT
RUSHING
‒ Konlyn Anderson
1,242 yards on 207 carries, 10 TDs
‒ Chance Jones
480 yards on 98 carries, 5 TDs
‒ Jaylan Brown
160 yards on 26 carries
‒ Jason Jackson
2 yards on 1 carry
‒ Grant Hennington
2 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
‒ Jason Jackson
31 catches for 527 yards, 8 TDs
‒ Elias Huerta-Doud
18 catches for 204 yards, TD
‒ Thad Hinds
8 catches for 84 yards, 2 TDs
‒ Konlyn Anderson
6 catches for 38 yards
‒ Brayden Daub
2 catches for 19 yards
‒ Taylor Bessent
2 catches for 9 yards
‒ Case Markham
1 catch for 4 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
42.8 points per game (300)
484.5 yards per game (3,392)
285.7 rushing yards per game (2,000)
198.8 passing yards per game (1,392)
TACKLES
‒ Dryden Anderson
62 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR
‒ Quentin Thompson
59 tackles
‒ Jaylan Brown
51 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 FR
‒ Jordan Leach
38 tackles, 0.5, 1 FR, 1 INT
‒ Quinten McCarty
31 tackles, 4.5 for loss
‒ Owen Huntsinger
29 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT
‒ Cole Miller
25 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 1 INT
‒ Noah Barron
25 tackles, 0.5 for loss
‒ Brandon Holland
24 tackles, 1 for loss, 0.5 sacks
‒ Case Markham
23 tackles
‒ Azariah Dillard
22 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 FR
‒ Ethan Pesina
16 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 FR
‒ Taylor Bessent
16 tackles, 1 sack
‒ Zaiden Lopez
16 tackles
‒ Jason Jackson
14 tackles
‒ Elias Huerta-Doud
12 tackles, 1 FR
‒ Christian Chambers
9 tackles
‒ Thad Hinds
6 tackles, 1 for loss
‒ Morsello Hooker
5 tackles
‒ Brayden Daub
3 tackles, 1 FR
‒ Chris Robinson
3 tackles
‒ Uriah King
3 tackles
‒ Slayde Espinoza
1 tackle, 1 for loss
‒ Jakson Yoder
1 tackle
‒ Tobey Yeats
1 tackle
‒ Konlyn Anderson
1 tackle
‒ Slayde Espinoza
1 tackle
‒ Joshua Hennington
1 tackle
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TURNOVER MARGIN: (+3)
Brownwood 7 — 6 fumbles, 1 INT
Opponents 10 — 7 fumbles, 3 INTs
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PENALTIES
52 penalties for 458 yards
(7.4 flags for 65 yards per game)