The Class 4A Division I No. 9 Brownwood Lions provided quite the show for the homecoming crowd Friday night at Gordon Wood Stadium, securing their most lopsided victory since Sept. 6, 2019 with a 66-0 rout of the San Angelo Lake View Chiefs in District 2-4A Division I action.
The 66-point margin of victory was the largest for the reigning district champion Lions (7-1, 2-0) since Brownwood mauled Snyder, 70-3, at Gordon Wood Stadium in the second week of sixth-year head coach Sammy Burnett’s second year in charge of his alma mater.
“I thought our kids played well and thank the good Lord for a win like this,” Burnett said. “They don’t come easy, they’re not easy, but tonight was a good night.”
The Lions compiled a season-high 655 yards of total offense – 442 rushing and 213 passing – on 61 snaps, an average of 10.7 yards per play. Friday’s outing was the third time this season Brownwood eclipsed 500 yards of total offense with the first being a 555-yard tally in a 46-34 road victory at Glen Rose on Sept. 15, while last week the Lions produced 543 yards in a 56-7 pummeling of Big Spring to kick off district competition.
“We struggled a little bit in the first half with accuracy with our quarterbacks and we had a couple of penalties that kept us out of the end zone,” Burnett said. “I went in at halftime and challenged them to use this as an opportunity in a fun setting to get better at what we do and execute better.”
In the first shutout for Brownwood since last year’s 63-0 bi-district playoff victory over El Paso Irvin, the starting defense exited the game with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter and had surrendered only 32 yards of total offense – including -6 rushing yards on 17 carries – and two first downs to that point.
By the end of the game, Lake View (1-7, 0-2) reached 128 total yards – 79 through the air and 49 on the ground – but the Lions also forced their first turnover since the trip to Glen Rose.
“At the start we played well but weren’t flying to the football like we needed to, but they fixed that,” Burnett said. “They played assignment football, everybody did their job and everybody made plays. I was really pleased, and I also thought we did a good job in the back end covering.”
The Lions scored eight touchdowns on the ground and five different players rushed for at least one score. Behind the blocking of Quinten McCarty, Cole Miller, Davis Le, Aidan Packheiser and Logan Knight, quarterback Ike Hall generated 185 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on just six carries. Logan McKibben chipped in 86 yards with two trips to the end zone, Xavier Zepeda ran for 72 yards and a score, Levi Pearson contributed 52 yards and two touchdowns, and Jaylan Brown added 12 yards and six points. Second-string quarterback Braeden Stacks rushed for 35 yards.
“It’s nice to see Logan get more reps tonight,” Burnett said. “He’s battled a lot in terms of injuries from the first game trying to get back in playing shape. Xavier, Jaylan and Levi all did a great job, and we did a great job, too, up front. There wasn’t nearly as many busted assignments. We dominated and did it because we executed the way we should have, not because we played a lesser opponent.”
Eight different Lions caught passes as Hall completed 10 of 16 attempts for 176 yards with a touchdown, while Stacks connected on 2 of 4 attempts for 37 yards with one interception. Aaron Edmonds led the way with five grabs for 55 yards, Stone Ratliff finished as the yardage leader with 59 on two catches, and Carson Noe hauled in the lone touchdown pass on a 13-yard reception.
“We had an opportunity to get some next-man-ups in and they did a great job moving the ball down the field, throwing and catching, and putting the ball in the end zone,” Burnett said. “Some of those same guys also helped keep Lake View out of the end zone late and that was really big.”
The Lions opened the game with the ball and needed just two plays and 18 seconds to find the end zone as, after Hall rushed for 35 yards on the first play from scrimmage, Pearson scored on a 23-yard scamper and Brownwood was off to the races, 7-0, at 11:42 of the opening stanza.
Brownwood tacked on two more first-quarter touchdowns on a 1-yard plunge by Brown – back in the lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury – that capped a seven-play, 54-yard trek.
With 31 seconds left in the initial frame, the Lions put the finishing touches on an 11-play, 82-yard journey with Pearson’s second touchdown on a 2-yard carry.
Brownwood’s second-quarter scoring began with another two-play trek as, after an incompletion, Hall broke free for a 71-yard sprint to the end zone and a 28-0 Lions’ cushion with 10:42 left before halftime.
The Lions’ next possession covered 90 yards in seven plays, the last 52 of those coming on another scramble from Hall that boosted the advantage to 35-0 with 7:31 left in the second period.
An interception by Morsello Hooker – his second of the year – on Lake View’s ensuing snap set the stage for five-play, 49-yard march then ended with Hall’s 13-yard scoring toss to Noe and a 42-0 Brownwood lead with 5:42 remaining before intermission.
The Lions capped their first-half scoring as time expired with a 40-yard field goal by Junior Martinez, who added nine extra points as well. For the second week in a row, Martinez did not punt the ball at all.
Leading 45-0 at halftime, the Lions tacked on three second-half touchdowns as McKibben scored on a 7-yard carry at 7:21 of the third period, and again on a 14-yard run on the first snap of the fourth quarter.
Zepeda’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:53 left in regulation served as the final points of the game, as the Brownwood defense turned away Lake View – which advanced inside the Lion 10 for the final two snaps of the game – to preserve the shutout.
“We didn’t put the ball on the ground but we did have the one interception and some nuisance penalties that kept us from being even more successful,” Burnett said. “That’s something we’re going to have to focus on if we want to continue to excel as we get further along in the season and into the playoffs.”
Next week, the Lions venture to Lubbock Estacado (6-1, 1-0) – which picked up a 52-14 victory over Andrews (4-4, 1-1) Friday night – for a 7 p.m. Thursday tilt that will likely determine the District 2-4A Division I championship. With a victory next week, the Lions will clinch at least a share of their second consecutive district crown.
“We’re going to have to get prepared,” Burnett said of the Lions facing their biggest threat to a district championship repeat on a short week. “We’re going to have to come up with a great game plan, be simple yet go out and execute and play fast. Estacado is a good football team with a lot of talent, speed and athletes. We’re going to have to go over there and the play our ‘A’ game if we’re going to put ourselves one step closer to being district champions again.”
***
Lions 66, Lake View 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Lake View | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – 0 |
| Brownwood | 21 | 24 | 7 | 14 | – 66 |
***
SCORING SUMMARY
B: Levi Pearson 23 run (Junior Martinez kick), 11:42, 1st
B: Jaylan Brown 1 run (Martinez kick), 7:01, 1st
B: Pearson 2 run (Martinez kick), 0:31, 1st
B: Ike Hall 71 run (Martinez kick), 10:47, 2nd
B: Hall 52 run (Martinez kick), 7:31, 2nd
B: Carson Noe 13 pass from Hall (Martinez kick), 5:42, 2nd
B: Martinez 40 FG, 0:00, 2nd
B: Logan McKibben 7 run (Martinez kick), 7:01, 3rd
B: McKibben 14 run (Martinez kick), 11:55, 4th
B: Xavier Zepeda 2 run (Martinez kick), 4:53, 4th
***
| TEAM STATS | LV | B |
| First Downs | 7 | 31 |
| Total Offense | 128 | 655 |
| Rushes-Yards | 27-49 | 38-442 |
| Passing Yards | 79 | 213 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 7-14-1 | 14-23-1 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-15 | 4-45 |
| Punts-Average | 7-40.4 | 0-0.0 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: LV – Izaiah Rios 11-44; Ian Cortez 4-10; Jalen Chavez 10-4; Esaias Salazar 1-(-2); Francisco Ramirez 1-(-7). B – Ike Hall 6-185, 2 TDs; Logan McKibben 7-86, 2 TDs; Xavier Zepeda 11-72, TD; Levi Pearson 9-52, 2 TDs; Braeden Stacks 2-35; Jaylan Brown 3-12, TD.
PASSING: LV – Chavez 7-14-1-79. B – Hall 12-19-0-176, TD; Stacks 2-4-1-37.
RECEIVING: LV – Michael Duran 2-37; Wyatt Henry 2-19; Ramirez 1-17; Isaac Monreal 1-4; Cortez 1-2. B – Aaron Edmonds 5-55; Stone Ratliff 2-59; Morsello Hooker 2-25; Wyatt Wolf 1-21; Hall 1-20; Jordyn Nickerson 1-17; Carson Noe 1-13, TD; Pearson 1-3.
KICKING: B – Junior Martinez 9 of 9 PATs. 1 of 1 FG, long of 40 yards.
0 punts.
