JUSTIN – Last summer, the 7-on-7 state tournament fate for the Brownwood Lions was decided on the final snap of the final game in their final qualifying tournament. In 2022, however, the Lions have already made reservations for their 22nd consecutive 7-on-7 state tournament appearance, needing just one outing to do so.
At Saturday’s Ponder qualifier – held at Justin Northwest High School – Brownwood first posted a 2-1 record to capture its pool, then fought off Decatur, 19-13, in one of two semifinal contests to clinch a spot in the 32-team 7-on-7 Division II State Tournament June 23-24 at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station.
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.
“Ike did some great things, but it’s tough for a kid that’s just learning some things to go out there and call the offense, but I thought he did a good job,” said Lions head football coach Sammy Burnett, who observed Saturday’s action. “When it came time to rise up he sure did that. He’s a confident kid and as soon as he learns the offense and understands his reads and understands defenses and what people are doing, he still has some questions with that, but once he figures that out he’s going to be just fine.”
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.
“Coach (David) Jones did a lot of research this offseason about what our kids needed, what would benefit our kids the most so we changed our defense and it’s become simpler,” Burnett said. “For the time that we’ve had to put that defense in and to see our kids execute it the way they did, it’s really exciting. Sometimes it takes a long time to make those kinds of changes, but our kids have picked it up well and performed well.”
In the semifinal game against Decatur, the Lions raced out to a 13-0 lead, scoring on their first two possessions as Hall first connected with Markham and then Anderson. Decatur rallied to pull even at 13 late in the second half, and the Lions had a chance to surge back in front, but couldn’t convert a goal-to-go situation. The defense came through for the Lions, however, and got the ball back in Hall’s hands, who led Brownwood to the winning touchdown – on a short toss to Jackson with less than 30 seconds left – to seal the victory.
“We had an opportunity to play that championship game and they started off that game well and set the tone,” Burnett said. “Really, I don’t think there was a time when we didn’t feel like we were in control. We made plays when we had to, and the defense made some really good plays.”
To reach the semifinals, the Lions rolled past Graham, 33-6, in the opener, and overcame some hiccups to knock off Sanger, 19-7. With a spot in the semifinals clinched, the Lions slept walk through a 19-13 loss to Burkburnett in the pool play finale.
“I thought we came out really good against a good Graham team that’s 7-on-7 savvy and we dominated them,” Burnett said. “Then we played Sanger the second game and slowed down a little bit offensively, but played good defense. We had a mental letdown and it showed against Burkburnett, who hadn’t won game. It’s no different than what we did Monday night in our 7-on-7 league.”
Against Graham, after failing to score on two of their first three drives, the Lions reached the end zone of each of the last four possessions. Hall put forth his best performance, completing 15 of 26 attempts with five touchdowns – including three of the maximum 45 yards to Jetton, Markham and Jackson.
In the win over Sanger, Jetton started the scoring with a pick six. The Lions stretched the lead to 13-0 on a scoring toss from Hall to Jackson, then labored the rest of the contest. Hall later rebounded from a pick six and again connected with Jackson in the end zone late in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Against Burkburnett, the Lions gave up a 45-yard touchdown pass on the first snap, and the struggles continued from there. Burkburnett took a 12-7 halftime lead, scoring after the Lions were called for pass interference on a play that looked to have ended the first half. Brownwood failed to score on its first possession of the second half, while Burkburnett found the end zone again to put the Lions in a 19-7 hole they were unable to escape. Hall completed just 7 of 15 attempts in that game.
With qualifying out of the way, Burnett said the Lions will focus on improvement and preparing for the fall season over the next three weeks, with tournaments upcoming at Burnet May 28, in Brownwood June 4, and at Jim Ned June 10.
“Just get better at what we do and don’t get into a mental lapse and step down a rung on that ladder,” Burnett said of the goals over the next month. “Just keep stepping up on that ladder and keep getting prepared for August, that’s what the goal is. Yes, we’re going to College Station and good for that, but that’s not the goal. The ultimate goal is to be prepared come Aug. 2 and that’s what we’re going to be focused on.”
