The Brownwood Lions have never lost a game to the Burnet Bulldogs, but that doesn’t mean the series has been as one-sided as one might imagine. Brownwood is 8-0 all-time against Burnet, but a year ago the Lions trailed 14-0 in the first quarter before rallying for a 33-20 win – Brownwood’s second-largest margin of victory ever against the Bulldogs. The Lions’ largest win, 36-22, occurred in 2020 as four of the eight contests have been decided by five points or less.

“They always play us really well and if we don’t show up they’ll beat us and that’s a fact,” said Lions sixth-year head coach Sammy Burnett, who added the closeness of the games could have to do with, “the proximity and awareness of each other. It doesn’t matter how good or bad a certain team is that year, Brownwood vs. Burnet is always going to be a good ball game. I’d like to keep this game on the schedule if possible because you know you’re going to get the best of both teams.”

Kickoff between the Harris Ratings Weekly Class 4A Division I No. 7 Lions (2-0), playing their second of six home games, and Burnet (1-1) is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium.

The Bulldogs opened the season with a 49-27 loss at LaVernia but bounced back with a 47-12 victory at home against Llano last week.

“The difference in the LaVernia game is the fact that LaVernia had some big plays against them throughout the course of the four quarters and the difference in the Llano game is that Burnet had some big plays against Llano,” Burnett said.

In their 35-point win over Llano, Burnet jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead and scored the first 33 points of the contest en route to producing 400 yards of total offense – 252 on the ground and 138 through the air.

Dash Denton rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns, including a 76-yarder, on just 10 carries, Khris Kassner added 64 yards and two scores, with one coming from 61 yards out, on just three rushes. Josiah Coronado finished with 30 yards on the ground and Trenton Park chipped in 11. As a team, Burnet averaged 15.4 yards per carry on its 17 rush attempts.

Through the air, Rhett Murray completed 6 of 9 passes for 129 yards with a 73-yard scoring strike to Grant Jones. Marcus Pimentel added a 9-yard completion on his only pass attempt, and Jones attempted a pass that fell incomplete as well. Conner Crow caught two passes for 14 yards, Garner Krause added two grabs for 13 yards, and Peyton Shirley (25 yards) and Will Johnson (13 yards) added one reception each.

In two games this season, Murray has completed 18 of 24 passes for 261 yards with three touchdowns and one interception; Pimental is 7 of 18 for 92 yards with a touchdown and a pick; Denton has rushed for 192 yards and three scores; Kassner has chipped in 109 yards and a touchdown; and Jones leads all receivers with eight grabs for 200 yards and three trips to the end zone.

“They were dominant against Llano offensively and they’re going to try getting Grant Jones the ball at quarterback or put him in motion and give him the ball, or put him at slot, wide out, anywhere they can,” Burnett said. “He’s a dynamic football player along with a couple of others. They’ve got a couple of junior quarterbacks that do a good job and they both bring a different element to the game. They have a running back that plays both ways and does a good job and they’re good up front. They like to throw the ball vertically, get the ball to their tall receivers, but they also like to go horizontal with the quick screens and out throws. They’ll take advantage of whatever you’re giving them.”

The Lions enter the contest allowing just 14 points and 232.5 yards – 137 passing and 95.5 rushing – per game with three takeaways. Brownwood’s defense is also yielding less than 2.5 yards per carry this season.

Standouts include Sam Kallman (39 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks), Stevie Ramirez (28 tackles, 1 INT), Noah Gonzalez (19 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack), Jaylan Brown (13 tackles, 1 for loss), Julius Lara (12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 for loss), Jordyn Nickerson (12 tackles, 1 PBU), Weston Wolf (10 tackles, 1 for loss), Zakk Zebecki (10 tackles), and Jake Jetton (10 tackles).

Asked about the key to the defense’s early success in 2023, Burnett said, “Sam Kallman, Stevie Ramirez and Jaylan Brown are phenomenal linebackers and I give them credit for making tackles and the reason they’re making tackles is because our D-line is keeping them off the ball. Those guys doing their jobs and letting the linebackers play is huge, along with getting support from the back end where Noah Gonzalez is doing a phenomenal job of coming downhill and playing the run.

“We have some plans for them on the defensive side, and we’ll continue to adjust those things as the come progresses to try and always keep them off balance. It’s always a chess match about what they’re doing and how we’re going to counter.”

Against Llano, Burnet’s defense yielded just 289 yards of total offense – 148 passing and 141 rushing – and created four turnovers, including three interceptions. Lew Laidler led the Bulldogs with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery, followed by Park with 12 tackles, Will Johnson with 10 and Denton with 9. Colt Stanford intercepted two passes and Jacob Atkinson picked off the other.

But in their loss Week 1 to LaVernia, the Bulldogs allowed quarterback Keegan Hajek to complete 8 of 10 passes for 294 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 94 yards and an additional score. Second-team all-state receiver Colten Schmidt caught six passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns against the Bulldog defense in Week 1.

The Lions offense is producing 45.5 points and 397.5 yards – 200 through the air and 197.5 on the ground – per contest, with two turnovers, behind the line of Quinten McCarty, Cole Miller, Davis Le, Aidan Packheiser, and Logan Knight.

Ike Hall has completed 17 of 27 passes for 394 yards with four touchdowns and one interception while rushing for a team-best 225 yards and three more scores. Levi Pearson has chipped in 68 yards and a score on the ground while Brown has tallied 66 yards and three touchdowns. Receiving threats include Hayden Noe (4-119, TD), Carson Noe (4-24), Aaron Edmonds (3-60), Stone Ratliff (2-61, TD), Wolf (2-45, TD), Pearson (1-32), Morsello Hooker (1-29, TD) and Xavier Zepeda (1-21).

The Lions have scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives in both games this season.

“The offensive line is holding each other accountable and Ike’s understanding of Friday night football and where he is last year at this time to where he is now is very important,” Burnett said of the offense’s early success. “He’s very confident and he’s letting go of the ball a lot quicker and putting balls in smaller windows and giving our receivers opportunities to make plays. Our run game, behind the front five we have Jaylan and Levi getting more of the carries and Levi is still learning while Jaylan is more of a veteran guy.”

A year ago, however, Burnet owned a two-touchdown advantage over Brownwood at the end first quarter. Continuing the trend of hot starts from the first two weeks of this season will be among the keys to a Lions victory again Friday.

“You don’t want that to happen early, and you don’t really want it to happen at all, but when you get hit with two jabs in the face and you’re down 14-0 with eight minutes left in the first quarter it’s not good and we don’t want that to happen again,” Burnett said. “For us, our kids understand it’s a four-quarter ball game whether you’re up or you’re down. At some point, we know teams are going to score but we don’t know when that’s going to happen. Our goal is to keep teams under 17 points and if we can do that we feel like it’s going to be a victorious night for us. We just need to stay calm, see what they’re doing to us when we have the ball, and go out there and put points on the board. We know defensively when they have the ball they’re going to do things we haven’t seen, so we need to adjust quickly and play fast and get off the field. Setting the tone early either offensively or defensively is going to be important for the outcome.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is an 18-point favorite.

***

Brownwood Lions 2023 Football Season Stats

Through 2 Games (2-0)

TEAM OFFENSE

45.5 points per game (91)

397.5 yards per game (795)

197.5 rushing yards per game (395)

200.0 passing yards per game (400)

64.2 completion percentage (18 of 28)

PASSING

* Ike Hall

17 of 27 for 394 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT

* Braeden Stacks

1 of 1 for 6 yards

RUSHING

* Ike Hall

225 yards on 18 carries, 3 TDs

* Levi Pearson

68 yards on 20 carries, TD

* Jaylan Brown

66 yards on 11 carries, 4 TDs

* Case Burnett

27 yards on 7 carries

* Braeden Stacks

17 yards on 3 carries, TD

* Logan McKibben

12 yards on 4 carries

RECEIVING

* Hayden Noe

4 catches, 119 yards, TD

* Carson Noe

4 catches, 24 yards

* Aaron Edmonds

3 catches, 60 yards

* Stone Ratliff

2 catches for 61 yards, TD

* Weston Wolf

2 catches, 45 yards, TD

* Levi Pearson

1 catch, 32 yards

* Morsello Hooker

1 catch, 29 yards, TD

* Xavier Zepeda

1 catch, 21 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

14.0 points per game (28)

232.5 yards per game (465)

95.5 rushing yards per game (191)

137.0 passing yards per game (274)

51.1 opponents completion percentage (22 of 43)

TACKLES

* Sam Kallman

39 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks

* Steve Ramirez

28 tackles, 1 INT

* Noah Gonzalez

19 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Jaylan Brown

13 tackles, 1 for loss

* Julius Lara

12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 for loss

* Jordyn Nickerson

12 tackles, 1 PBU

*Weston Wolf

10 tackles, 1 for loss

* Zakk Zebecki

10 tackles

* Jake Jetton

10 tackles

* Hayden Noe

9 tackles, 1 PBU

* Robert Trowbridge

8 tackles

* Morsello Hooker

6 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU

* Quinten McCarty

4 tackles

* Ricky Vasquez

4 tackles

* Kenyan McDowell

3 tackles, 1 INT

* Cole Miller

3 tackles

* Jamaria Harmon

2 tackles, 1 for loss

* Yovani Figueroa

2 tackles

* Davis Le

1 tackle

* Xavier Zepeda

1 tackle

* Case Burnett

1 tackle

* Isaiah Rosas

1 tackle

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KICKING

* Junior Martinez

0 of 1 FGs, missed from 44

13 of 13 PATs

13 points

5 punts, 201 yards, 40.2 average – long of 52; 1 inside opponents’ 5

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+1)

* Brownwood: 2 (1 fumble, 1 interception)

* Opponents: 3 (3 interceptions)

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PENALTIES

* Brownwood: 13 for 110 yards (6.5 for 55 per game)

* Opponents: 17 for 107 yards (8.5 for 53.5 per game)