Brownwood posted a 3-1 record at the Ponder qualifier last weekend, held at Justin Northwest High School, with victories over Graham (33-6), Sanger (19-7) and Decatur (19-13) to clinch a trip to Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College June 23-24, site of the state event.
In Burnet Saturday, the Lions will square off against Llano at 9 a.m., reigning Class 3A Division I state champion Lorena at 10:30 a.m. and Somerset at noon. Brownwood cannot advance past pool play have already locked up a state berth.
Llano, a member of District 13-3A Division I, is coming off an 8-3 campaign; Lorena, a member of District 11-3A Division I, posted a 14-2 mark en route to defeating Brock in the state championship last game; and Somerset, which is located southwest of San Antonio resides in District 14-4A Division I and is coming off a 8-3 season a year ago.
Brownwood Lions head coach Sammy Burnett said of the goals for the weekend, “I just want to see consistency and execution on offense. Regardless of the play call, whether it’s a great play call or not as great of a play caller, it shouldn’t matter, you should still be able to execute. I want to see receivers getting off the line of scrimmage, getting off the ball. At times, we get a little tired and we don’t want to get off the ball like we should and it can really make (quarterback) Ike (Hall) look bad and makes it difficult for him to read the defense and pick up a read in a four-second period.
“On defense, just knowing what we’re supposed to be doing in every cover and not blow coverages. We need to have real strong discipline with our eyes, make sure we’re watching what we’re supposed to be watching instead of the quarterback. Usually if you’re looking at the quarterback you’re going to get in trouble.”
Last week at the Ponder tournament, Ike Hall, who is taking over the duties at quarterback, led Brownwood to the end zone on 12 of 25 possessions as the Lions scored on 48 percent of their drives. Hall connected on 56 of 96 passes – a 58 percent completion rate – in four games with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions – three of which came in the first half of the second contest. Hall was also whistled for 18 four-second calls, the equivalent of a sack in 7-on-7, as he scanned over opposing defenses.
Leading the way in the receiving corps was Jason Jackson with 22 receptions and six touchdowns, trailed by Case Markham with 10 grabs and three scores; Konlyn Anderson with 10 catches and one trip to the end zone; Brayden Daub with four receptions and one touchdown; Jordan Leach with four grabs; Jake Jetton with three catches and one score; Thad Hinds with two receptions; and Jordyn Nickerson hauled in a reception.
Defensively, the Lions allowed just 38 points in four games (Sanger’s only points came on the defensive end) and yielded six touchdowns on 25 possessions by the opponent – a success rate of just 24 percent. The Lions also intercepted a pair of passes as Noah Barron picked off a deflection in the opener against Graham, and Jetton pulled down an errant attempt by Sanger. The Lions broke up a handful of other passes that could have resulted in turnovers as well.
The other pool in the eight-team tournament Saturday – which will send just one team to College Station – features host Burnet, Gatesville, McGregor, and Taylor.