The Brownwood Lions’ season opener didn’t go as planned at No. 1 Lampasas last week, but third-year head coach Sammy Burnett’s squad will attempt to redeem itself when the Class 4A Division II No. 8 Midland Greenwood Rangers visit in the home opener. Kickoff between Brownwood (0-1) and Greenwood (1-0) is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium.

Reflecting on last week’s 55-23 setback at Lampasas, Burnett said, “We made some mistakes and we evaluated that on film and addressed them Monday. We’re going to try and fix our things internally. We have to fix us and if we don’t the outcome will be sort of the same as this past Friday. We have to address our issues so we can take a step forward and climb one more step up that ladder to where we feel we can compete with anybody.”

Both the starting lineups on offense and defense will likely look different in Week 2 as Burnett and the rest of the coaching staff continue to search for the right fits at a variety of positions.

On offense, Blaize Espinoza started at quarterback but Chance Jones came on in the second half and finished the game. A similar situation could occur Friday with the increasing need for Espinoza at an inside linebacker position.

“We put (Blaize) in some on defense,” Burnett said. “We feel right now he’s our best linebacker so he’s going to pick that role up a little more, which is going to allow Chance Jones more time. When you look at those two players in that one position I think we’re almost splitting hairs. Blaize has a little bit more to offer in one area than Chance does and then Chance has a little big more to offer in another area. All in all we’ll make a decision Friday on what’s best for the team.”

Defensively, all four linebacker spots could potentially feature new faces Friday, while the defensive line will be reshuffled as well.

“We’re still trying to figure out our linebacker situation on the inside and the outside,” Burnett said. “We’re going to do some shifting, we’re going to look at a different lineup Friday night. We’ve got to find the right chemistry and the right positions to put those kids in. We’re also looking at putting Kris Hobbs back at the nose. After evaluating him, he just didn’t seem as natural as we wanted him to seem at tackle. I think we’ll move Tyler Tiner out to a tackle where he can really press their tackles and penetrate.”

The need for additional depth has also led to multiple JV players being moved to the varsity level this week.

“We’ll see some new faces Friday night on both sides of the ball,” Burnett said. “We’ll move a couple of kids up to see if they can spell us to where we’re a little bit fresher. If we didn’t feel they could play we wouldn’t have called them up to this level, so we’ll just go out there and continue to grow as a team and try and get where we need to be before district play hits.”

The Lions finished with 359 yards – 232 passing and 117 rushing – against Lampasas and turned the ball over twice. Espinoza completed 9 of 20 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns while Jones was 4 of 8 for 48 yards. Dane Johnson led all receivers with six catches for 62 yards, Jason Jackson grabbed three receptions for 64 yards and scored once, Khyren Deal caught two passes covering 48 yards and Royshad Henderson hauled in a 55-yard scoring reception.

On the ground, Henderson rushed for 107 yards with a 70-yard scoring sprint while the two quarterbacks combined for 10 yards on eight carries.

Regarding what more Burnett would like to see from the offense in Week 2, he said, “I want to see us execute. We had two good drives last week against a good defense and got into the red zone and came up with three points. When we get into the red zone we have to score, we have to put maximum points on the board.”

Defensively, the Lions were gashed for 556 yards including 434 on the ground. Deal led the Lions with 13 tackles followed by Malachi Revada with 11, Jones and Konlyn Anderson with seven each, Jordan Leach, Zach Bond, and Tiner with six apiece, Dryden Anderson with five including one for loss and Hunter Day with four tackles and one pick – the Lions’ lone takeaway in the game.

“Defensively, we have to not give up the big play, make them drive the field and earn what they get,” Burnett said in regard to what he wants to see from the defense against Greenwood.

The Rangers – who posted a 13-1 record last year and reached the 4A Division II state semifinals – are coming off a 28-12 triumph over Lubbock Estacado in their season opener.

“They’re a very well-coached football team and they understand what they’re doing,” Burnett said. “They have a lot of returners on defense, not as many on offense, but the keys they need on offense they have.”

Greenwood tallied 285 total yards –186 rushing and 99 passing – as Trey Cross, a 3,000-yard rusher a year ago, finished with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. John Breeden added a 19-yard touchdown run while quarterback Ty Flowers rushed for a 1-yard score and completed 9 of 15 passes for 99 yards. Leading receivers were Izaiah Ramirez with seven catches for 89 yards and Breeden with two for 10.

“Their right guard is really good, Rolando Rodriguez,” Burnett said. “He’s a big kid, very physical. Ty Flowers is their quarterback and he understands how to run the system. He gets them in and out of formations, and they like to run a ton of formations and try and confuse you that way.

“They’re a downhill running team, they’re going to run the trap, the belly g, the toss, the buck sweep, they’re going to do a lot of the old school stuff that people aren’t really accustomed to seeing now a days. You can really compare them to Alvarado of last year. Their tailback Trey Cross is an exceptional athlete, very fast, very elusive, so we’re going to have to contain him and rally to the football well and gang tackle.”

Defensively, the Rangers surrendered 242 yards – 212 passing and just 30 rushing on 22 carries. Leading tacklers were Caleb Yarbrough and Michael Gutierrez with 10 each and Riley Butts and Gerardo Vejhar with eight apiece. Ashton Lee and Ethan Coleman recorded one sack apiece, but Greenwood did not force a turnover.

“On the defensive end they’re led by their three interior guys,” Burnett said. “Connor McDonald and J.C. Lucero are both defensive tackles, both real physical kids and really good two gap players. Michael Gutierrez is their middle linebacker and he had over 200 tackles last year so he’s really special, flies around and does a great job leading that defense.

“They’re solid in the back end, they’re more of a quarters type team and they base out of a 3-4 or 4-2-5 look at times. I think we can do some things that’ll expose those outside linebackers to loosen them up and get them out of the box which will hopefully allow us to run the football better.”

Other keys to the game, according to Burnett, “We have to win the special teams game and we didn’t do that last week. We did a good job covering kickoffs until we gave a big one up with a little fatigue. I want to see better field position off kickoff returns, we did a good job with our freshman kicking a field goal but we also have to nail every extra point.

“I want to see execute in all three phases of the game and try to be dominant in all three of those and usually when you do that you wind up where you want to be on the scoreboard. Play with confidence, play as a team, play fast, and execute what your coaches are asking you to do. If we can do that, and we can play fast and disciplined I think we’ll have an opportunity to be successful.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 14-point underdog.

Brownwood Lions Football 2020 Season Stats
Through 1 Game (0-1)

TEAM OFFENSE
23.0 points per game (23)
359.0 yards per game (359)
117.0 rushing yards per game (117)
232.0 passing yards per game (232)

PASSING
‒ Blaize Espinoza
9 of 20 for 184 yards, 2 TDs
‒ Chance Jones
4 of 8 for 48 yards

RUSHING
‒ Royshad Henderson
107 yards on 19 carries, 1 TD
‒ Chance Jones
12 yards on 4 carries
‒ Blaize Espinoza
–2 yards on 4 carries

RECEIVING
‒ Dane Johnson
6 catches for 62 yards
‒ Jason Jackson
3 catches for 64 yards, 1 TD
‒ Khyren Deal
2 catches for 48 yards
‒ Royshad Henderson
1 catch for 55 yards, 1 TD

TEAM DEFENSE
55.0 points per game (55)
556.0 yards per game (556)
434.0 rushing yards per game (434)
122.0 passing yards per game (122)

TACKLES
‒ Khyren Deal
13 tackles
‒ Malachi Revada
11 tackles
‒ Chance Jones
7 tackles
‒ Konlyn Anderson
7 tackles
‒ Jordan Leach
6 tackles
‒ Zach Bond
6 tackles

‒ Tyler Tiner
6 tackles
‒ Dryden Anderson
5 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Hunter Day
4 tackles, 1 INT
‒ Reece Bolton
4 tackles
‒ Cade Jetton
3 tackles
‒ Spencer Scull
3 tackles
‒ Ethan Pesina
2 tackles
‒ Kris Hobbs
2 tackles
‒ Royshad Henderson
2 tackles
‒ Elias Huerta
2 tackles

TURNOVER MARGIN: (-1)
Brownwood 2 — 2 fumbles
Opponents 1 — 1 INT