WAXAHACHIE – When addressing the team following their 48-14 victory over the Waxahachie Life Mustangs Wednesday night, head coach Sammy Burnett informed the Brownwood Lions they had “earned their stars” – referencing the seven-star uniforms worn in the playoffs to honor the program’s seven state championship teams.
Exactly one week since returning to practice after 47 members of the program were quarantined due to COVID-19, the Lions secured their 12th consecutive postseason berth thanks to their second win in five days.
“What a blessing because it’s never guaranteed,” Burnett said of the Lions clinching a playoff berth. “We’ve gone through a lot, our kids have gone through a lot, and I’m thankful those seniors have the chance to do it one more time. We still have two games ahead of us, a gauntlet against the two toughest teams we’ve played all year, and we’re going to go out and give it our best.”
Behind the line of Brad Robinson, Jimi Brown, Ethan Pesina, Logan Gillem and Jared Northcutt, the Lions produced 448 yards of total offense – 236 passing and 212 rushing – and did not commit a turnover. Brownwood has coughed up the ball just once the last two games after committing 10 turnovers in the two games before their 17-day quarantine.
Blaize Espinoza completed 12 of 22 passes with four scoring tosses – two each to Jason Jackson, who finished with three catches for 112 yards, and Malachi Revada, who grabbed three passes for 64 yards. Dane Johnson finished with a team-high four catches for 45 yards.
Espinoza said of the playoff-clinching win, “We couldn’t be happier to keep the streak going. To make the playoffs here in Brownwood is just like waking up in the morning, it’s just supposed to happen. We know the tradition and that it needs to happen every year.”
“Blaize did a good job, but I still think he has room to grow and that’s a positive,” Burnett said. “We just need to work on the type of ball he’s throwing in some routes. He sees the route, but then he’s not delivering the right ball. We made some big plays – Dane made a big catch and got hit hard, Malachi made a big catch and got hit hard, and Jason Jackson continues to do what he does. When you have opportunities to see what they’re doing in the secondary and you can expose it, it’s nice to be able to execute those plays.”
After picking up just 60 yards on the ground during the first half, the Lions generated 162 over the last two quarters. Konlyn Anderson, filling in for an injured Royshad Henderson, finished with 116 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries to pace the ground game. Espinoza also added a rushing score and 25 yards.
“He just gamed up, a sophomore out there doing his thing,” Burnett said of Anderson. “He loves running the football. An old coach used to tell us he’ll beat you with a burst of slow. He doesn’t look explosive out there but he’s a powerful runner and he gets yards after contact and he busted a big play after we got in the T-set.”
Defensively, Brownwood limited Life to 261 yards of total offense – 202 on the ground and 59 yards through the air on 14 completions. The Lions also forced a pair of turnovers – an interception by Revada and a fumble recovery by Zaiden Lopez created by Khyren Deal. Both turnovers turned into touchdown drives for the Lions.
Yielding two touchdowns and 161 yards in the first half, Brownwood pitched a second-half shutout and surrendered right at 100 yards.
“We did a good job of adjusting at halftime to what they showed us in the first half that we had not seen,” Burnett said. “I thought Coach (David) Jones, Coach (Brett) Mouser, Coach (Derrick) Stacks, Coach (Jesse) Villalobos and Coach (Darren) Bailey all did a great job of adjusting to what they were trying to do to us and kept them out of the end zone.”
Leading 27-14 at halftime, the Lions seized firm control of the contest in the third period.
Brownwood took the opening possession of the second half 77 yards in just five plays. Runs of 8 and 19 yards by Anderson, along with a 7-yard jet sweep by Johnson, set the stage for a 40-yard scoring toss from Espinoza to Jackson.
Leading 34-14, the Lions’ next drive stalled, but Brownwood got the ball back one play after punting it away. Deal jarred the ball loose from Kendal Barnes on a jet sweep, and Lopez pounced on it at the Life 20.
Three plays later, on third-and-11, Espinoza found Revada in the end zone to boost the lead to 41-14 with 3:28 left in the quarter.
The final points of the game came with 3:01 left in the third period on a 43-yard, student body right run by Anderson out of the T-formation. The one play scoring drive was set up by Revada’s interception of Grmela.
“I challenged them to come out and move the football on the ground and I thought we did a good job of dominating the line of scrimmage offensively,” Burnett said.
The Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their initial drive of the game, which followed a Life opening three-and-out. Eight plays and 56 yards later, Espinoza scored on a 1-yard carry and Junior Martinez booted the extra point to push Brownwood in front with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
Henderson rushed for 28 yards on the first of his two carries in the game, and Espinoza’s 8-yard carry – his longest of the night – set up the short scoring run.
Brownwood’s next touchdown came with 9:45 left in the second period as an 11-play, 62-yard trek ended with a 2-yard Anderson scoring plunge. The Lions converted a trio of third downs on the drive – a 4-yard run by Anderson on third-and-1 at the Brownwood 47, a 26-yard toss from Espinoza to Johnson on third-and-9 from the Life 22, and the scoring play.
Trailing 13-0, Life immediately answered with a six-play, 78-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 4-yard Elyjah Berry touchdown run. A 46-yard carry by Jalen Mann – who finished with 119 yards on seven carries – moved the ball into the red zone.
After Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the Life 43, the Lions needed just one play to return to the end zone. Following an offsides call on the Mustangs, Espinoza connected with Revada on a 38-yard scoring toss to stretch the lead to 20-7 with 6:16 before the half.
The Mustangs notched their final touchdown with 1:30 left in the second quarter as Mann hauled in an 11-yard reception from Colby Grmela on fourth-and-4. Mann again eluded the Lions defense for a 54-yard gallop down to the Brownwood 17 to set up the score.
Anderson’s 39-yard kick return set up the Lions at the Brownwood 49, and following a false start penalty, Espinoza hit Jackson on a 56-yard fade route to boost the lead to 27-14 with 64 seconds left before intermission.
“I thought we struggled a little bit in the first half, but got some momentum going scoring at the end of the half,” Espinoza said. “It worked out to throw the ball tonight, I was feeling good, and the receivers did well.”
By virtue of the win, the Lions improved to 4-4 on the season and 2-1 in District 5-4A Division I action. Life (2-7, 1-4) wrapped up their season Wednesday night, as did Alvarado (2-8, 0-5), which fell to La Vega (6-2, 3-1), the next foe on the Lions’ revamped schedule.
“We’re going to give the kids tomorrow off, but we have to prepare as a coaching staff in a hurry,” Burnett said regarding Monday’s 7:30 p.m. contest at La Vega. “We usually have three days to do that this time we have one to get it done. We’ll give them the afternoon off so their bodies can recover a little bit before we get back at it on Friday and Saturday, and then play again on Monday.”
Wednesday’s victory was not without its costs, as Henderson – the Lions’ leading rusher with 973 yards – and defensive lineman Zach Bond both exited the game with left ankle injuries in the first half. Neither returned, and both left the field with the aid of crutches.
“We lost a couple of key guys tonight, hopefully it’s not for good,” Burnett said. “I don’t know about Royshad, it’s going to be tough, and then Zach Bond has a bad ankle. Khyren was limping a little bit, but it is what it is and it’s next man up and we’re going to go out here and try and play like Lions next Monday.”
Brownwood 48, Waxahachie Life 14
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Brownwood 7 20 21 0 – 48
Waxahachie Life 0 14 0 0 – 14
SCORING SUMMARY
B: Blaize Espinoza 1 run (Junior Martinez kick), 7:21, 1st
B: Konlyn Anderson 2 run (kick failed), 9:45, 2nd
L: Elyjah Berry 5 run (Kennedy Hartman kick), 6:38, 2nd
B: Malachi Revada 38 pass from Espinoza (Martinez kick), 6:16, 2nd
L: Jalen Mann 11 pass from Colby Grmela (Hartman kick), 1:30, 2nd
B: Jason Jackson 56 pass from Espinoza (Martinez kick), 1:04, 2nd
B: Jackson 40 pass from Espinoza (Martinez kick), 9:11, 3rd
B: Revada 21 pass from Espinoza (Martinez kick), 3:28, 3rd
B: Anderson 43 run (Martinez kick), 3:01, 3rd
TEAM STATS
Bwd Life
First Downs 20 10
Total Offense 448 261
Rushes-Yards 22-212 26-202
Passing Yards 236 59
Comp-Att-Int 12-22-0 14-23-1
Punts 3-36.2 5-36.5
Fumbles Lost 0 1
Penalties-Yards 7-50 4-35
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: Brownwood – Konlyn Anderson 17-116, 2 TDs; Royshad Henderson 2-28; Blaize Espinoza 6-25, TD; Baylor Tidwell 4-24; Khyren Deal 1-12; Dane Johnson 1-7. Life – Jalen Mann 7-119; Elyjah Berry 7-38; Kyng Hughes 7-28; Kendrick Green 5-24; Jamal Whitman 1-3; Kendal Barnes 1-0; Colby Grmela 1-(-10).
PASSING: Brownwood – Espinoza 12-22-0-236, 4 TDs. Life – Grmela 14-23-1-59.
RECEIVING: Brownwood – Johnson 4-45; Jason Jackson 3-112, 2 TDs; Malachi Revada 3-64, 2 TDs; Elias Huerta 1-11; Henderson 1-4. Life – Chris Gillespie 6-17; Darius Fuller 3-28; Mann 3-9; David Gonzales 1-5; Dreylon Dequire 1-1.
