Eight days before the regular season opener at Class 5A Division II Abilene Wylie, the Brownwood Lions will hit the field for their final scrimmage at Gordon Wood Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, where they welcome the Lampasas Badgers.

Among the goals and objectives of Thursday’s exhibition is finalizing contributors on both sides of the ball, whether they be starters or otherwise.

“We’re 99 percent sure who is going to be on the bus, we just have to get them in the right positions, the right seats,” said Lions sixth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “We’re going to use some different guys at the start and see if they can play. Saturday is the last day I can evaluate them and determine what level they should be at, and we need to see those guys on film. We want to see how many guys we can get on the field that will help our team be successful. We know some guys can do certain things, so let’s put some guys on the field and see if they can play for us. The more kids we have going one way the better our team is going to be and that’s the mentality.”

The Lions coaching staff is also looking at players who can spell others early in the season. Burnett stated it takes players about three to four games to get into full game shape where they can play an entire contest without coming out, so depth will be of extra importance out of the gate.

Among the positions Burnett referred to were the trenches, where Quinten McCarty, Davis Le and Cole Miller – last year’s starting defensive line – now comprise the left half of the starting offensive line. Those three will see more time on defense as the season wears on, and in Thursday’s scrimmage, but the play of Robert Trowbridge, Julius Lara, Weston Wolf and Dominick Moseley has instilled confidence in the coaches.

“Quinten McCarty, Davis Le and Cole Miller are on the offensive side right now and we know for a fact they can play defense, and when they get in game shape, which takes a while, they’ll have their moments when they get in and play defense,” Burnett said. “They’re dominant and we have to have them, but we have some younger guys who I feel can be just as good that can go play and do a good job for us.”

Burnett also spoke of Jaylan Brown, who is currently penciled in as the starter at running back and a linebacker position, and lessening his workload particularly in the backfield where Logan McKibben, Noah Gonzalez and Jake Jetton have seen time. The receiver and secondary positions could be in a similar situation with the likes of Morsello Hooker, Jordyn Nickerson and Hayden Noe possibly seeing extended time on both sides of the ball.

“We want to see if we have someone else not playing every rep at linebacker that can run the football for us,” Burnett said. “We’re also going to look at moving some receivers around.”

Burnett stated he was pleased with the defense’s effort in last week’s scrimmage against Decatur, as the starters allowed just one touchdown – a 5-yard pass – in 29 snaps. The offense, however, sputtered throughout much of the scrimmage and a more consistent performance is sought against Lampasas.

“We did a good job defensively last week but I want to see the offensive line grow and maturate more as a unit,” Burnett said. “I want to see us move the ball more on the ground and when we have opportunities to complete a pass make sure we do that without drops.”

The scrimmage will feature a controlled and live format. Controlled action will feature two series of eight plays for each starting offense, and two series of six plays for each second-team offense. A 15-minute live quarter will follow consisting of special teams with the exception of kick coverage.

As for what the Lions expect from Lampasas, Burnett said, “I know they’re going to be in an odd front and they were in an even front last year, and offensively they’ll be a spread team like their teams in past. That’s about it, but I’ll be watching the JV and freshmen teams to pick up on other things they do.”

The JV and freshman squads will take the field at 5 p.m. and alternate between offense and defense in eight-minute intervals until 6 p.m.

“Our younger groups are working hard and I like the way they’re playing together,” Burnett said. “They all performed well at that Decatur scrimmage and from the get-go I’ve been impressed with them and still am. The JV played really well and getting to see the freshmen really for the first time at this level last week get out there and get after, I was really pleased with what I saw. There’s a lot of fight in those guys.”