Lions can clinch at least a share of first district title since 2010 against Lubbock Estacado

October 20, 2022 at 6:00 am Updated: October 21st, 2022 at 9:15 am Derrick Stuckly

The Brownwood defense is allowing 19 points and 303 yards per game, with 15 takeaways, heading into Friday’s 2-4A Division I showdown with the visiting Matadors.

An opportunity presents itself Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium that the Brownwood Lions have not experienced in 12 years – the chance to earn a district championship.

While the Lions (6-2, 2-0) cannot yet clinch the District 2-4A Division I title outright or the top playoff seed, Brownwood can secure no worse than a tie for first place in the final league standings and a share of the crown if they defeat the Lubbock Estacado Matadors (4-3, 1-0) in the 7 p.m. home finale.

“The kids have taken the week very seriously,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “They’ve been focused all week and worked extremely hard to put in the game plan. We had three great days of practice. The kids’ focus is not just on Estacado but where they want to be in the future and they know to get there we have to stack days on days. I’m really proud of their focus, their intensity and their desire to get better.”

Estacado is coming off a 42-36 overtime upset of Andrews (5-3, 1-1) last week, which has resulted in even higher stakes for this week’s contest. The Matadors raced out to a 33-14 lead over Andrews last week before the Mustangs rallied to knot the score at 36 and force an extra session. There, a 17-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-10 play propelled Estacado to the victory.

“They remind me a whole lot of Waco Connally and Waco La Vega from the past,” Burnett said. “They’re coming off big overtime win over Andrews and are coming in with some momentum and feeling pretty good about themselves. It’s our job to go out there and hit them in the mouth early, try and get points on the board and get them discouraged and confused. I feel like if we can take the momentum and keep it on our side they’ll get a little demoralized. They were ahead the whole game against Andrews, it wasn’t until late in the third quarter Andrews started doing something, but as I saw that momentum shift as Andrews was able to tie it up late, I saw Estacado have a little doubt, a little stress, a little concern. Our goal is to try and give them that all night long.”

Offensively, Estacado is led by quarterback D.J. Johnson, who hurled three scoring tosses last week; running back Bobby Ross, who finished with 262 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries; and receiver Devoryea Boyd, who made the game-winning reception against Andrews.

“They’re big up front, have some big linemen, “Burnett said. “They like to run the gap pull and kick schemes a lot. They’ve got a big running back that’s about 6-3, 225 that’s a real powerful young man that’s just a sophomore but he runs the ball extremely well. Their quarterback throws the ball well and is versatile and can move. They have some big receivers, the two kids on the outside are pretty special. Our goal is to take one of those away and force them to do what we think is the lesser for them, which we think is the passing game. They run the ball well but we don’t feel like they throw it as well as they so we’ll try and take that element away.”

The Lions defense enters the contest allowing 19 points and 302 yards – 163 rushing and 139 passing – per game, while creating 15 turnovers.

Stalwarts on the defensive end include Chance Jones (72 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 punt block), Sam Kallman (70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery), Quinten McCarty (68 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 punt block), Jake Jetton (56 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Stevie Ramirez (50 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Hayden Noe (45 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU), Cole Miller (40 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Noah Barron (34 tackles), Case Markham (28 tackles, 1 interception, 1 PBU), Trent Loftin (25 tackles, 1 sack, 1 for loss), Jordyn Nickerson (25 tackles, 1 for loss), Jaylan Brown (23 tackles, 1 sack, 1 for loss), Hayden Deen (22 tackles), and Morsello Hooker (18 tackles, 1 for loss, 4 interceptions, 4 PBUs).

Brownwood will not be at full strength defensively, however, as linemen Miller and Loftin are expected to miss the game with injuries, along with secondary member Colton McMillian. Burnett stated Robert Trowbridge could be moved up from the JV this week, or Issac Gray could do double duty on both lines. Also, Burnett stated Ike Hall and Jordan Leach have worked at cornerback, and Thad Hinds and Jason Jackson have seen work at safety and nickel this week in an effort to add to the depth in the back end, if called upon.

“We got exposed a little against Big Spring and we learned something from that,” Burnett said, referring to the 333 yards through the air in the district opener. “We’ve been working hard to have the right personnel packages in and making sure our schemes are simple for the kids so they can understand and play fast.”

The Estacado defense is allowing 25 points per game, but in their three losses the Matadors have yielded at least 31 points in each contest. Kyree Baxter led Estacado with 17 tackles against Andrews and also blocked a kick, while Kei’Sean Harris tacked on 10 tackles.

“They run a 3-3 stack but they do a lot of stunting, stemming and trying to confuse you up front,” Burnett said. “If we can run the football and sift out what they’re trying to do and get to the second level we can pick up yards. In the back end they play a lot of man free, they’ve got some real talented secondary kids that get in your face and play press man and challenge you to throw the ball down the field. They try to take the pass game away from you and force you to run the ball and try and confuse your offensive front to get you behind the chains.”

Brownwood’s offense hung 52 points on Lake View in one half last week and, behind the front line of Slayde Espinoza, Damian Sanchez, Chris Robinson, Roan Aguinaga and Gray, the Lions are generating 38 points and 401 yards – 222 rushing and 179 passing – per outing, with 11 turnovers.

Hall has completed 78 of 139 passes for 1,218 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions, while rushing for 527 yards and eight scores. Konlyn Anderson is closing in on another 1,000-yard season with 967 yards and 16 touchdowns through eight games. Receiving threats include Hinds (28-525, 5 TDs), Leach (23-342, TD), Jackson (13-310, 5 TDs), Brayden Daub (8-124), Anderson (8-56), and Taylor Bessent (5-46).

“I want to see consistency,” Burnett said of the goals Friday night. “I want to see us come out and play with the same passion. Our goal is to play to our level and use the gifts the Lord has given us to the fullest. We’re trying to maximize our potential and be as consistent as possible week in and week out. We feel like we have a great plan and if we can execute in all three phases we feel like we’ll be successful.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 13-point favorite.

***

Brownwood Lions 2022 Football Season Stats

Through 8 Games (6-2, 2-0)

TEAM OFFENSE

37.9 points per game (303)

400.6 yards per game (3,205)

221.8 rushing yards per game (1,774)

178.8 passing yards per game (1,431)

56.8 completion percentage (88 of 155)

PASSING

* Ike Hall

78 of 139 for 1,218 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs

* Chance Jones

10 of 16 for 213 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs

RUSHING

* Konlyn Anderson

967 yards on 172 carries, 16 TDs

* Ike Hall

527 yards on 77 carries, 8 TDs

* Logan McKibben

182 yards on 39 carries, 3 TDs

* Jaylan Brown

62 yards on 8 carries

* Case Markham

20 yards on 3 carries

* Chance Jones

17 yards on 3 carries

RECEIVING

* Thad Hinds

28 catches, 525 yards, 5 TDs

* Jordan Leach

23 catches, 342 yards, 1 TD

* Jason Jackson

13 catches, 310 yards, 5 TDs

* Brayden Daub

8 catches, 124 yards

* Konlyn Anderson

8 catches, 56 yards

* Taylor Bessent

5 catches, 46 yards

* Morsello Hooker

2 catches, 8 yards

* Hayden Noe

1 catch, 10 yards

###

TEAM DEFENSE

19.4 points per game (155)

302.8 yards per game (2,422)

163.4 rushing yards per game (1,307)

139.4 passing yards per game (1,115)

58.9 opponents completion percentage (102 of 172)

TACKLES

* Chance Jones

72 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 punt block

* Sam Kallman

70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery

* Quinten McCarty

68 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 punt block

* Jake Jetton

56 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries

* Stevie Ramirez

50 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Hayden Noe

45 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU

* Cole Miller

40 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery

* Noah Barron

34 tackles

* Case Markham

28 tackles, 1 interception, 1 PBU

* Trent Loftin

25 tackles, 1 sack, 1 for loss

* Jordyn Nickerson

25 tackles, 1 for loss

* Jaylan Brown

23 tackles, 1 sack, 1 for loss

* Hayden Deen

22 tackles

* Morsello Hooker

18 tackles, 1 for loss, 4 interceptions, 4 PBUs

* Davis Le

16 tackles

* Azariah Dillard

16 tackles

* Brayden Daub

11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Logan McKibben

10 tackles

* Logan Knight

10 tackles

* Tristan Salinas

7 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Colton McMillian

7 tackles

* Jordan Leach

6 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 PBU

* Bryan Osbourn

6 tackles

* Xavier Zepada

5 tackles

* Isaiah Rodriguez

3 tackles

* Junior Martinez

1 tackle

* Dryden Anderson

1 tackle

###

KICKING

* Junior Martinez

7 of 9 FGs – long of 45; 1 blocked

38 of 39 PATs

59 points

14 punts, 573 yards, 40.9 average – long of 58

###

TURNOVER MARGIN (+4)

* Brownwood: 11 (5 fumbles, 6 interceptions)

* Opponents: 15 (9 fumbles, 6 interceptions)

###

PENALTIES

* Brownwood: 55 for 544 yards (6.9 for 68.0 per game)

* Opponents: 55 for 458 yards (6.9 for 57.3 per game)