The traditional nip and tuck battles between the Brownwood Lions and Burnet Bulldogs continued Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium, and for the second consecutive season the Lions were faced with an early deficit.
Brownwood climbed out of a 14-point first-quarter hole last year for a 33-20 road victory, but this time around the No. 7 Lions needed to comeback without the services of their starting quarterback from the second series forward.
Still, Brownwood overcame a 10-7 halftime deficit by outscoring Burnet 17-0 in the second half en route to a 24-10 triumph – the third straight to start the season for sixth-year Lions head coach Sammy Burnett.
“I told them at halftime we hadn’t been in a position like this yet and we were going to see what we’re made of,” Burnett said. “After all the work that we’ve put in, are we going to get tighter as a team or are we going to fall apart and do things we’re not supposed to do? We were disciplined, they did what the coaches asked them to do, they had faith in the coaches and had faith in their teammates. If you do that you’ll be successful, and they were.”
Starting quarterback Ike Hall – the only offensive starter back from 2022 – left the game on the second series with a shoulder injury after completing 2 of 3 passes for 23 yards and rushing once for 12 yards.
Enter Braeden Stacks, who saw his first varsity action in the fourth quarter of last week’s 56-7 victory over Marble Falls. By Friday night’s conclusion, however, Stacks had completed 12 of 15 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns to keep the Lions’ flawless record intact.
“I couldn’t be any more proud of Braeden Stacks and what he did,” Burnett said. “There was a little confusion at times but that’s to be expected when a kid is thrown into the ball game and you’re behind in the first quarter. To watch him rise up and lead the offense the way he did, and for the team to get his back the way they did just proves what kind of character our kids have and the family culture we have.”
Stacks said of his performance, “It was unfortunate that Ike went down obviously, but you just have to step up when your number gets called and I’m extremely thankful that I was able to do that. I want to give credit to the offensive line for giving me a clean pocket to throw out of all night, we were able to run the ball pretty well, and our young receivers stepped up very well.”
After producing just one touchdown and 113 total yards in the first half, the Lions tacked on 156 yards in the second half – aided by excellent field position over the final two periods – to finish with 269 total yards, including 167 through the air.
Carson Noe finished with a career-best seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Lions, Aaron Edmonds added three grabs for 36 yards and a score, and Morsello Hooker pulled down a pair of receptions for 18 yards, with one coming in the end zone.
“This was the first time we’ve been down at halftime, so we had to handle adversity and I felt like we handled it well,” Noe said. “My teammates trusted me, (offensive coordinator) and Coach (Dex) Dennard trusted me by calling plays for me. But as receiver I can’t take all the credit. Stone (Ratliff) and Aaron set me up on a lot of the routes, and B Stacks deserves all the credit for stepping into a big role. That was insane.”
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, Brownwood received the open kick of the second half, which Jordyn Nickerson returned to the Burnet 41. The Lions then used a short passing game to push the ball down the field, with the five-play drive culminating with a 15-yard jump ball from Stacks to Hooker in the end zone that gave Brownwood its first lead, 14-10, at 10:19 of the third period.
“I felt like we needed a really big momentum change so I felt like that play was mine and I was going to get up and get the ball,” Hooker said. “The quarterback threw it to me, I went up for it and caught it, went to the sideline to celebrate with my teammates and I was excited we had the momentum change that got us back into the game.”
After surrendering 202 yards of total offense in the first half, Brownwood gave up just 8 yards total in the third quarter and 94 in the second half as Burnet finished with 296 overall – 188 passing and 108 rushing.
“We made adjustments to their trips that was hurting us in the first half,” Burnett said of the defensive turnaround. “(Assistant head) Coach (David) Jones and that group made great adjustments to stymie that and put them at a disadvantage, and then we kept them to no points in the second half.”
The Lions forced a three-and-out on Burnet’s first possession of the second half and took over at the Brownwood 45 following a punt. A nine-play, 55-yard, 3:55 drive ended at the 3:33 mark of the third period when Stacks floated a 19-yard touchdown to Noe on a wide open post pattern, increasing the cushion to 21-10.
“It’s a surreal experience,” Noe said of scoring his first varsity touchdown.
Burnett added, “For us to be able to spread the ball around and give it to any receiver and not let them have an opportunity to key on one receiver is very big for us, and I’m watching those sophomores grow every week.”
Burnet reached the Brownwood 35 with 7:39 left in the contest, but the drive stalled as the Lions’ bend-but-don’t-break defensive philosophy continued to hold true when it mattered most throughout the night.
Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter after Grant Jones caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Rhett Murray, Jones hauled in a 29-yard reception but the ball was jarred lose and recovered by Jake Jetton at Brownwood’s 28, thwarting a potential scoring drive.
Still down 7-0 with 9:55 left in the first half, the Lions witnessed Burnet advance to the Brownwood 28, only for the drive to be quashed by a Weston Wolf fourth-down sack.
“It’s always the next play,” Burnett said of the key defensive stands. “You have to learn from the play before, don’t make the same mistake and play the next play with great passion. Whoever wins the most amount of plays throughout the course of the game is the one that’s going to be victorious. We told them to go out there and have faith in your teammates, fight hard and be the most physical team in the second half and they were.”
Immediately after the Wolf sack, the Lions ventured 67 yards in six plays as Stacks hit Noe for a 24-yard gain the play prior to Edmonds hauling in a 28-yard touchdown reception that knotted the score at 7 with 7:11 left in the first half.
“I can remember one read that was bad but other than that I thought Braeden made some really good reads,” Burnett said. “He got some confidence and started throwing the ball in small windows and he got a little faith. But if you don’t build him up and his teammates don’t build him up throughout the week in practice even though he’s a back up, he’s never going to step into the game and have confidence in himself. That’s what we preach to the kids all the time, believe in you, you’re the next man up, and he led us tonight. I’m so pleased with him and happy for him.”
Next week, the Lions venture to Glen Rose (1-2), which is coming off a 45-21 road loss at Graham Friday night. The Tigers defeated Gatesville, 21-20, in Week 2 after dropping their opener to Grandview, 35-7.
Regarding the status of Hall next week, Burnett said, “We’ll see how Ike is. I don’t know what his prognosis is right now. It’s not something that’s going to end his season, but I’ll decide in the middle of week whether he’s going to play or not.”
***
Lions 24, Burnet 10
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Burnet | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – 10 |
| Brownwood | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | – 24 |
***
SCORING SUMMARY
Bur: Grant Jones 61 pass from Rhett Murray (Aden Sanchez kick), 11:09, 1st
Bwd: Aaron Edmonds 28 pass from Braeden Stacks (Junior Martinez kick), 7:11, 2nd
Bur: Sanchez 26 FG, 1:59, 2nd
Bwd: Morsello Hooker 15 pass from Stacks (Martinez kick), 10:19, 3rd
Bwd: Carson Noe 19 pass from Stacks (Martinez kick), 3:33, 3rd
Bwd: Martinez 33 FG, 1:05, 4th
***
| TEAM STATS | Bur | Bwd |
| First Downs | 17 | 15 |
| Total Offense | 296 | 269 |
| Rushes-Yards | 26-108 | 27-102 |
| Passing Yards | 188 | 167 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 17-30-0 | 14-18-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 1-5 | 10-88 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Punts-Average | 2-31.0 | 4-41.5 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: Burnet – Dash Denton 12-62; Khris Kassner 7-26; Grant Jones 3-14; Lew Laidler 2-9; Trenton Park 1-2; Rhett Murray 1-(-5). Brownwood – Jaylon Brown 10-37; Levi Pearson 10-27; Braeden Stacks 6-26; Ike Hall 1-12.
PASSING: Burnet – Murray 11-17-0-157; 11 6-11-0-31; Jones 0-2-0-0. Brownwood – Stacks 12-15-0-144, 3 TDs; Hall 2-3-0-23.
RECEIVING: Burnet – Park 7 -72; Jones 3-87, TD; Conner Crow 2-14; Will Johnson 2-9; Colt Stanford 2-2; Denton 1-4. Brownwood – Carson Noe 7-100, TD; Aaron Edmonds 3-36, TD; Morsello Hooker 2-18, TD; Xavier Zepeda 1-13; Hayden Noe 1-10; Pearson 1-(-2).
KICKING: Brownwood – Junior Martinez 3 of 3 PATs. 1 of 1 FG attempts, long of 33 yards. 4 punts, 166 yards, 41.5 average.
