Kickoff between the Lions (0-1) and Marble Falls (1-0), a 5A Division II team last season that advanced three rounds deep into the playoffs, is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mustang Stadium.
Marble Falls is coming off a 52-7 victory over Pflugerville Connally this past Thursday, a game in which the Mustangs surrendered a long touchdown pass on the second play of the contest and dominated the rest of the night.
In their Slot-T offensive attack, the Mustangs churned out 279 rushing yards on 64 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per tote. Jaseal Ruiz rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns 19 carries to pace Marble Falls while other key rushers included Jamie Castillo with 60 yards on 12 carries, Josh Deberand with 26 yards and a score, Kole Becker with 22 yards and two touchdowns, and Cameron Graham with 21 yards and two trips to the end zone.
“You can compare them to a Liberty Hill-type team,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “Their offensive coordinator is from Liberty Hill so he’s a disciple of the Wing-T and Slot-T. They’re really good at what they do. They’re trying to get 3 yards and don’t mind going for it on fourth down. They’re going to keep the ball out of your hands if they can. Defensively, we’re going to do what we can do to try and force some three-and-outs and get off the field.”
Brownwood a week ago surrendered 349 total yards – 210 rushing and 139 passing – to Abilene Wylie in a 30-24 loss, but gave up just 58 yards and no points in the second half. Top tacklers were Sam Kallman with 11, Chance Jones with 10 and a punt block, Quinten McCarty with six and a punt block, Hayden Noe and Steve Ramirez with five apiece, Cole Miller with three and Brownwood’s only sack, Jordyn Nickerson with three tackles, and Davis Le and Jake Jetton with two takedowns apiece. Also, Morsello Hooker broke up four passes and recorded the Lions’ lone takeaway on an interception.
“I want us to be physical, of course, but I want to see us be sure tacklers,” Burnett said. “The first half of last week’s game we missed plenty of tackles and gave Wylie great opportunities. We have to know what our assignment is, do your job and know that your teammate beside you is doing his. Don’t start second guessing and trying to do someone else’s job because that’s when the rest of the team gets hurt by it.”
Burnett continued, “Marble Falls is under center, and they run a lot of trickery, a lot of eye candy with motion and things like that. Our kids have to be really disciplined and read their keys and do what they’re asked to do. The few times they do throw the football you better be prepared. They get a lot of people on it because they lull you to sleep and pop you with a big passing play.”
The Marble Falls defense, meanwhile, forced numerous turnovers which resulted in short fields for the Mustangs offense, which allowed the game to get out of hand. The Lions lost the ball twice a week ago and suffered from an errant snap on a punt that resulted in a safety, along with a missed field goal. Still, Brownwood generated 375 total yards – 203 through the air and 172 on the ground.
“Marble Falls played overwhelming defense and they forced a lot of turnovers,” Burnett said. “Pflugerville Connally fumbled probably six or seven times and Marble Falls capitalized on it. When you give them a 20-yard field, it doesn’t take them long to score. They were very opportunistic when they got those turnovers. They have some good linemen up front and a lot of fast kids in the secondary. They really force the run and drop and cover their zones. We’ll have our hands full but we’re ready for the opportunity and the challenge.”
Brownwood quarterback Ike Hall, in his varsity debut last week, completed 15 of 31 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while adding 33 yards on the ground. Jason Jackson caught four passes for 73 yards, Jordan Leach added four grabs for 58 yards, Konlyn Anderson pulled down four receptions for 24 yards, Thad Hinds caught two passes for 37 yards and Brayden Daub snagged an 11-yard reception.
Behind the line of Isaac Gray, Roan Aguinaga, Chris Robinson, Damian Sanchez and Slayde Espinoza, the Lions churned out 172 rushing yards led by Anderson with 113 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, and Logan McKibben tacked on 26 yards and a score on four rushes.
“Offensively, we’re going to have to capitalize on our opportunities and that’s something we didn’t do last Friday night,” Burnett said. “We had multiple opportunities last week in the second half and just didn’t get it done and we’re going to have to fix that this week if we want to have an opportunity to be in the game and be successful.”
While Burnett was pleased with the ground game for the most part against Wylie, a crisper passing attack is on the wish list for the Marble Falls contest.
“We have to quit stepping on our own feet,” Burnett said. “Don’t bust assignments up front, and make sure we’re protecting when we want to throw the ball. We also have to make sure we’re running our routes properly and carrying those to the right distances. If they aren’t at the right distances, it can mess up the timing of the quarterback and gives the defense a better chance to be successful and close on the receivers. Every snap we have to be focused on what our job is.”
On the injury front, linebacker Jaylan Brown is expected to be back in at least a limited role while starting nickel back Dryden Anderson, the leading tackler from 2021, is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Burnett listed Hall, Jackson and Konlyn Anderson as “banged up” but the trio is expected to take the field Friday night.
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 6-point underdog.
“We had a great week, we’re excited and we’re going down there to win just like we thought we were going to win last week,” Burnett said. “We let it slip away, that’s our fault, we take ownership in that and it’s our job to go and fix that.”
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Brownwood Lions 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 1 Game (0-1)
TEAM OFFENSE
24 points per game (24)
375 yards per game (375)
172 rushing yards per game (172)
203 passing yards per game (203)
48.3 completion percentage (15 of 31)
PASSING
* Ike Hall
15 of 31 for 203 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RUSHING
* Konlyn Anderson
113 yards on 24 carries, 1 TD
* Ike Hall
33 yards on 12 carries
* Logan McKibben
26 yards on 4 carries, 1 TD
RECEIVING
* Jason Jackson
4 catches, 73 yards, 1 TD
* Jordan Leach
4 catches, 58 yards
* Konlyn Anderson
4 catches, 24 yards
* Thad Hinds
2 catches, 37 yards
* Brayden Daub
1 catch, 11 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
30 points per game (30)
349 yards per game (349)
210 rushing yards per game (210)
139 passing yards per game (139)
52.6 opponents completion percentage (10 of 19)
TACKLES
* Sam Kallman
11 tackles
* Chance Jones
10 tackles, 1 punt block
* Quinten McCarty
6 tackles, 1 punt block
* Hayden Noe
5 tackles
* Steve Ramirez
5 tackles
* Cole Miller
3 tackles, 1 sack
* Jordyn Nickerson
3 tackles
* Davis Le
2 tackles
* Jake Jetton
2 tackles
* Morsello Hooker
1 tackle, 1 interception, 4 PBUs
* Noah Barron
1 tackle
* Dryden Anderson
1 tackle
* Brayden Daub
1 tackle
* Hayden Deen
1 tackle
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KICKING
* Junior Martinez
1 of 2 FGs, long of 30
3 of 3 PATs
1 punt, 26 yards, 26.0 average
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TURNOVER MARGIN (-1)
* Brownwood: 2 (1 fumble, 1 interception)
* Opponents: 1 (1 interception)
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PENALTIES
* Brownwood: 7 for 60 yards (7-60 per game)
* Opponents: 10 for 73 yards (10-73 per game)