A 13th consecutive postseason berth is within the grasp of the Brownwood Lions, who with a win at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium over the Waxahachie Life Mustangs, coupled with an Alvarado loss to Waco La Vega, would punch their playoff ticket.

The Lions (3-5, 1-2) are coming off a 56-35 victory at Alvarado that put them in the driver’s seat for the fourth playoff berth from District 5-4A Division I. Waxahachie Life (1-7, 0-3), meanwhile, has only defeated North Dallas, 35-0, in Week 3, with losses at the hands Waco Connally (57-6), Athens (40-7), Caddo Mills (58-17), Texarkana Liberty Eylau (54-17), Alvarado (35-14), Midlothian Heritage (64-0) and Stephenville (49-6).

“Their record doesn’t show it but they have athletes,” said Lions fourth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “They’re just waiting for an opportunity to be confident. They’ve been behind most games, but they’re athletic as they can be.”

Prior to Friday’s 49-6 loss to Stephenville, Life was generating 13 points and 237 yards – 149 rushing and 88 passing – per game, while giving up 45 points on average. Against the No. 2 Yellow Jackets, Life finished with 206 yards – 118 passing and 88 rushing – with a pair of turnovers, while allowing 462 yards – 315 on the ground and 147 through the air.

Colby Grmela (576 yards, 4 TDs, 6 INTs) has served as quarterback most of the season, but Kaleb Mayfield has recently taken the reins of the offense. Leading rushers include Kordell Berry (413 rushing yards, 4 TDs), Jeremy Brantley (352 rushing yards, 1 TD), and Zion Smith (188 rushing yards). Top receivers are Dreylon Dequire (12-119, 2 TDs), Smith (8-183), and Cason Rogers (6-127, TD).

“They changed their quarterback from what I can see,” Burnett said. “Kaleb Mayfield is an athletic young man, throws the ball well, runs really well, he’s also their punter and they’ve run several fakes. They do a lot of stuff on offense. They like to run the triple option out of the spread where they motion a guy in and run inside zone and the quarterback can keep it and pitch it off that. They’ll run some reverses and really each week you don’t know what they’re going to get in, they’ll always come out with something new.”

Brownwood’s defense enters the contest yielding 42 points and 485 yards – 294 rushing and 191 passing – per outing, with 13 takeaways.

Standouts include Dryden Anderson (71 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 FR), Quentin Thompson (66 tackles, 1 FR), Jaylan Brown (59 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 FR), Jordan Leach (47 tackles, 0.5, 1 FR, 1 INT), Quinten McCarty (41 tackles, 4.5 for loss), Cole Miller (30 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 INT), Owen Huntsinger (29 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT), Brandon Holland (27 tackles, 1 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 FR), Ethan Pesina (27 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 FR), and Case Markham (27 tackles).

The Life defense has forced eight takeaways – six fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Leading the charge for the Mustangs are Clinton Reese Jr. (79 tackles, 5.5 for loss), William Brewer (42 tackles, Dequire (29 tackles), and Darrin Jackson (26 tackles, 2 INTs).

“Defensively, they’re big up front, and they’ve got some skill kids that can run in the back but our MO is we’re going to run the football, and that’s something we think we can do on them well,” Burnett said. “We’ll probably be the only group to consistently run the ball at them other than Alvarado. When we need to throw the ball we will, but we’ve stressed this week to pound the rock, pound the rock and throw it for fun. Hopefully we don’t get behind the chains where we’re forced to throw, but if we need to we’ll do just fine doing that. They play a lot of man coverage but they mix it up and play some zone.”

Behind the front of Pesina, Damian Sanchez, Brandon Still, Alex Reyna, Slayde Espinoza, Roan Aguinaga, and Riley Soto, the Lion offense is churning out 33 points and 398 yards – 273 on the ground and 125 through the air – with seven turnovers.

Quarterback Chance Jones has completed 76 of 156 passes for 996 yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for 551 yards and six scores. Konlyn Anderson has amassed 1,472 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 241 carries, while leading receivers include Jason Jackson (32-532, 8 TDs), Elias Huerta-Doud (22-240, TD), Thad Hinds (9-113, 3 TDs), Anderson (6-38), and Markham (3-47 TD).

“We need to continue to do what we’re doing on offense, on defense the kids need to play fast, play hard, play physical, and win the special teams game and if we do that I think we’ll be victorious,” Burnett said. “Hopefully we’ll be in position to play those top notch teams because that’s what’s coming next. Just use this as an opportunity, have confidence in who we are and know if we go out and play well we’ll win.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 29-point favorite.

***

Brownwood Lions Football 2021 Season Stats
Through 8 Games (3-5, 1-2)

TEAM OFFENSE
33.1 points per game (265)
397.9 yards per game (3,183)
273.4 rushing yards per game (2,187)
124.5 passing yards per game (996)

PASSING

‒ Chance Jones
76 of 156 for 996 yards, 13 TDs, 1 INT

RUSHING
‒ Konlyn Anderson
1,472 yards on 241 carries, 15 TDs

‒ Chance Jones
551 yards on 109 carries, 6 TDs

‒ Jaylan Brown
169 yards on 28 carries

‒ Jason Jackson
2 yards on 1 carry

‒ Joshua Hennington
2 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING
‒ Jason Jackson
32 catches for 532 yards, 8 TDs

‒ Elias Huerta-Doud
22 catches for 240 yards, TD

‒ Thad Hinds
9 catches for 113 yards, 3 TDs

‒ Konlyn Anderson
6 catches for 38 yards

‒ Case Markham
3 catches for 47 yards, TD

‒ Brayden Daub
2 catches for 19 yards

‒ Taylor Bessent
2 catches for 9 yards

***

TEAM DEFENSE
41.9 points per game (335)
485.5 yards per game (3,884)
293.9 rushing yards per game (2,351)
191.6 passing yards per game (1,533)

TACKLES
‒ Dryden Anderson
71 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 FR

‒ Quentin Thompson
66 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Jaylan Brown
59 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 FR

‒ Jordan Leach
47 tackles, 0.5, 1 FR, 1 INT

‒ Quinten McCarty
41 tackles, 4.5 for loss

‒ Cole Miller
30 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 INT

‒ Owen Huntsinger
29 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT

‒ Brandon Holland

27 tackles, 1 for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 FR

‒ Ethan Pesina
27 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 FR

‒ Case Markham
27 tackles

‒ Noah Barron
25 tackles, 0.5 for loss

‒ Azariah Dillard
24 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 FR

‒ Zaiden Lopez
19 tackles

‒ Jason Jackson
18 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Taylor Bessent
16 tackles, 1 sack

‒ Elias Huerta-Doud

14 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Christian Chambers

9 tackles

‒ Thad Hinds
8 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Logan Posey
7 tackles

‒ Morsello Hooker
5 tackles

‒ Brayden Daub
3 tackles, 1 FR

‒ Chris Robinson
3 tackles

‒ Uriah King
3 tackles

‒ Tobey Yeats

3 tackles

‒ Konlyn Anderson

2 tackles

‒ Slayde Espinoza
1 tackle, 1 for loss

‒ Jakson Yoder
1 tackle

‒ Slayde Espinoza

1 tackle

‒ Joshua Hennington

1 tackle

***

TURNOVER MARGIN: (+6)
Brownwood 7 — 6 fumbles, 1 INT
Opponents 13 — 9 fumbles, 4 INTs

***

PENALTIES

60 penalties for 533 yards

(7.5 flags for 66,6 yards per game)