BURNET – A week after earning their 22nd straight trip to the 7-on-7 state tournament, the Brownwood Lions produced a near polar opposite performance, dropping all three of their contests at the Burnet qualifier Saturday.
Scoring touchdowns on just four of 22 possessions, the Lions lost to Llano (12-6), Lorena (14-13) and Somerset (15-9). A combination of misfires, drops and four-second calls throughout the duration of Saturday’s action resulted in just 28 points – the fewest ever scored by Brownwood in a qualifying tournament.
“We didn’t show up offensively,” said Lions head football coach Sammy Burnett, who observed Saturday’s action. “Four of 22 possessions scoring in three games is not very good. There were too many drops, four-second calls, things like that. We were all off, we’re all at fault. We had plenty of opportunities to score today, we just didn’t.”
The Lions reached the end zone on just 18 percent of their drives as quarterback Ike Hall completed 33 of 66 passes with four touchdowns and four inceptions, and was whistled for four seconds – the equivalent of a sack in 7-on-7 football – 10 times.
Leading receivers were Jason Jackson with 11 grabs; Case Markham with six and one touchdown; Konlyn Anderson with six receptions; Thad Hinds with three catches and two scores; Jordan Leach with three grabs and a trip to the end zone; Brayden Daub with three receptions; and Jake Jetton hauled in a pass.
But the Lions also let seven passes slip through their fingers, including four in the end zone.
On the positive side, the Lion defense yielded touchdowns on just six of the opponents’ 21 possessions – a 29 percent success rate – with a pair of interceptions and a rare 7-on-7 safety. Through seven 7-on-7 qualifying games, the Lions have given up two touchdowns or less in six of those outings. No team has scored more than three times in a game against Brownwood thus far.
“I thought our defense played well enough to give us opportunities to win,” Burnett said. “The defense gave us plenty of chances to win today, we just didn’t get it done offensively.”
Among the defensive highlights, Noah Barron picked off a pass in the second game against Lorena, and Colton McMillan yanked down an interception in the finale against Somerset, giving the Lions a chance to win the game on their final possession. Brownwood also recorded a safety against Somerset, but gave up one just two plays later.
The Lions will attempt to bounce back next weekend as they host their own 16-team qualifier. Brownwood’s three pool games will be played at Gordon Wood Stadium Saturday morning. Official brackets will be released early next week.
“It’s 7-on-7, it is what it is, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what’s going on,” Burnett said. “We have to learn from why we were where we were today, but with 7-on-7 you have days like we had today.”
