It took the young Brownwood Lions a while to find their footing as the end of their scrimmage against the Godley Wildcats Thursday night at Gordon Wood Stadium produced much better results than the start.
After squaring off for 40 plays in controlled scrimmage action – where both teams scored once and both coughed up the ball once – the Lions outscored Godley, 20-7, in a live half, tallying the final three touchdowns of the night.
“All in all I think we grew from the start of the scrimmage to the end and we persevered late in the scrimmage which is good for us,” Burnett said. “I was proud of the way we finished, but wasn’t pleased with the way we started.
“I preach to our kids all the time ‘you’re going to play how you practice’ and we’re trying to get them set and get them lined up and ready to go with a sense of urgency. Godley came out in their Indy tempo and we weren’t ready for it and they marched down the field because we were slow lining up and not recognizing formations and that hurt us. When we finally sped up and played to the game speed we were fine, but there’s a lesson to be learned there.”
The Lions yielded the first touchdowns in both the controlled scrimmage and the live half. Godley competed a 35-yard pass on its first play of the day, then added a 34-yard completion ahead of a 1-yard scoring toss on the Wildcats’ set of 10 plays for the first-team offense.
In the live quarters, Godley moved the ball 59 yards in nine plays on its first possession, converting an 11-yard scoring toss to a take a 7-0 lead with 8:24 left in the opening period.
“We stopped the run game where they had to throw the football,” Burnett said. “We did a great job doing what we were supposed to do other than a couple of plays deep, but I thought we were in pretty good coverage, we just have to finish the play. Again the start of the game we were playing slow, but that’s a learning process and I think they grew as the scrimmage went on and settled in to the speed of the game.”
Case Markham picked off a pass for the Lions during the controlled portion of the scrimmage, while Kris Hobbs recorded a sack during the live half, and Zach Bond took down the quarterback on the final play of the controlled scrimmage. The Lions also tallied three tackles for loss during the live half.
On the offensive end, the Lions’ touchdown in the controlled scrimmage came the second unit as Trevor Evans scored on a 4-yard carry. The first-team offense advanced no further than midfield in its 10 snaps, with one being a Baylor Tidwell pass that was intercepted.
In the two live quarters, the Lions fumbled the ball away on their first possession as Royshad Henderson was stripped at the Godley 41, which led the Wildcats’ touchdown drive.
Brownwood’s next drive reached the Godley 14 but stalled on downs after an errant fourth-and-2 slant pass.
The Lions’ defense forced a three-and-out, which allowed the offense to take over at the Godley 43. Six plays later, aided by a pass interference penalty call on a fade to Khyren Deal, Tidwell scored on a 6-yard quarterback keeper. Noah Barron’s PAT attempt deflected off the cross bar, leaving the Lions in a 7-6 hole at the 2:15 mark of the first period.
The next three combined drives yielded no points, then Brownwood took over at its own 39 with 9:02 remaining. On the second play of the possession, Tidwell connected with Jason Jackson on a fly route, who adjusted to the ball in mid-air, then juked away from A Godley defender for a 58-yard touchdown that pushed the Lions in front 13-7.
“We made some good catches,” Burnett said. “I saw some good plays from Jason Jackson, who made a great play where he set in in a window, made a great catch, extended the play. We did a good job running our RPOs with what they were giving us.”
Godley used a 42-yard pass on its next drive to move to the Brownwood 22, but there a Hobbs sack and a couple of offensive penalties ended the march.
The Lions took over at their own 4 and traveled 96 yards in just eight plays, as Chance Jones took a quarterback keeper 56 yards to start the possession. Henderson carried the ball the next seven snaps, reeling off runs of 22 and 13 yards before scoring from a yard out with 3:38 to go.
“I always watch their cardio and later in the game I thought we started mashing them with our big boys up front” Burnett said.
Along with cardiovascular conditioning, Burnett also credited the late surge on the Lions finding a comfort level.
“They started understanding the speed of the game, and that’s why it’s important those younger kids be out there and experience this,” Burnett said. “This isn’t a Thursday night atmosphere, this is a Friday night atmosphere and it’s more physical and a lot faster game and a more detailed game. Be a master at what you do, be a master of your craft and make sure we line up right and execute right on both sides of the ball and we can have success, don’t let the Lions beat the Lions. If we can do that we’ll have great opportunities to win ball games.”
The Lions, ranked No. 15 in Class 4A Division I by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine, visit the third-ranked Lampasas Badgers at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 in the regular season opener.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” Burnett said when asked if the Lions are where he wants them at this point in the season. “We’ve still got to educate our young ones and make sure we go evaluate this scrimmage and make sure we have the right people on the field in the right spots in every phase of the game — offense, defense and special teams. We also have to make sure we have a game plan put in the place where we can play fast and execute properly.”
