ODESSA – The dominance the No. 8 Brownwood Lions displayed en route to capturing their first district championship in 12 years continued Thursday night as the program earned its first bi-district title since 2019 with a 63-0 thrashing of the El Paso Irvin Rockets.
The 2-4A Division I champion Lions (9-2) scored on the first snap of the game – a 69-yard touchdown pass from Ike Hall to Thad Hinds – and never looked back, as Brownwood’s defense yielded a mere 58 yards to District 1 fourth-seed Irvin (2-9) in the Region I bi-district encounter.
“We need to go back and fix a few little things we did wrong, but we sure did a whole lot right, and to be bi-district champions in the fashion that they did is a testament to them and their work ethic,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “It seemed like an easy game and it was easy because of the hours upon hours upon hours of work they’ve put into this season, and it became easy for them.”
The Lions finished with 403 yards of total offense – 247 rushing and 156 passing – with a pair of turnovers. Konlyn Anderson rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries while Logan McKibben tacked on 34 yards and two trips to the end zone. Through the air, Ike Hall completed 6 of 9 passes for 156 yards – both to Thad Hinds, who led all receivers with three grabs for 122 yards.
Brownwood’s defense surrendered 32 yards rushing on 37 carries, and gave up just 26 yards passing as Irvin completed 5 of 9 passes with one interception – returned 20 yards for a touchdown by Case Markham.
“I thought we were dominant all night long, did what we wanted to do and didn’t have to do much to do it, which is important because we didn’t give a bunch up on film,” Burnett said. “The defense did exactly what they were taught to do and did it with passion. Offensively, I thought we did a really good job. I know I knit pick but I want our kids to be great and I want us to be perfect. I know we’ll never reach perfection, but we’ll never stop trying. We’ll continue to watch film and see what we did wrong, celebrate what we did well, and keep growing.”
After Jordan Leach returned the opening kick to Brownwood’s 31, Hall connected on a deep slant with Hinds, who outran the entire Irvin defense to stake the Lions to a 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the contest.
“The first play was coming to me and I knew I had to make something happen and I took advantage of the opportunity and took it all the way to the house,” Hinds said.
Brownwood’s performance on the evening wasn’t flawless, as the second possession ended abruptly with an interception at the Lion 41.
“I thought we started a little rusty and that’s to be expected because we’re coming off a bye,” Burnett said. “It was important for us to get the rust off. The turnover was a great play call and run extremely well, we just threw the ball a little high and missed the ball and that was an interception. We can’t do that in the future and continue to be successful. Penalties (4 for 45 yards compared to 1 for 5 for Irvin) will also kill you in the playoffs and we have to make sure we reduce those.”
After the turnover, the Lions scored on their next six possessions – along with two of Irvin’s – as the points concluded prior to the end of the third period.
The Lions boosted the lead to 14-0 with 4:16 left in the first quarter as a nine-play, 83-yard touchdown drive ended with an 8-yard carry by Anderson.
Then, with 48 seconds remaining in the opening stanza, the Lions put the finishing touches on a five-play, 57-yard trek with another 8-yard scamper by Anderson, which padded the cushion at 21-0.
Hall and Hinds connected again from 36 yards out with 9:45 left in the first half to stretch the advantage to 28-0.
“That was simple, Ike threw it up and I went and got it, that’s all there really is to it,” Hinds said. “I’ve never won a playoff game in my high school career, it’s my first win, so it’s a big moment. It’s a thing I’ve wanted for a long time.”
The final two Brownwood touchdowns of the first half were scored by Markham, first on an 80-yard return of a 38-yard Irvin punt with 5:54 left in the half, then on a 20-yard pick six at the 4:10 mark, as the Rockets were facing a third-and-10 from their own 10.
“It feels really great but I couldn’t have done it without everyone else,” Markham said of the two non-traditional touchdowns. “We’ve been working that punt return scheme all year and for it to finally pay off feels really good. On the interception, I stayed back like the coaches taught us, read it, and just broke when the ball was thrown.”
Burnett said of the bonus scores, “It was huge and a testament to their desire to be great in all three phases of the game. That’s the first time this year we scored on special teams so that was big, but we need to rep more punt returns in practice. Case had some trouble with punt returns, but it’s not his fault, it’s our fault for not repping. I’ll take the blame for that. But when he caught that one he did a great job.”
Leading 42-0 at halftime, the Lions needed just two plays to increase their advantage after taking over at the Irvin 47 after a punt. Anderson ran for 18 yards on the first snap and followed with a 29-yard touchdown gallop to make the score 49-0 at the 8:47 mark of the third.
“I thought we played a good game,” Anderson said. “Obviously we thought we had a good chance to win, we just had to come out and get the job done. I feel like we have one of the best defenses in 4A, so battling with them everyday just makes each other better. Going as hard as we can every day, we’re not settling, we’re just trying to get better.”
The Lions’ final two touchdowns of the game belonged to McKibben on carries of 8 yards with 6:04 to go in the third period, and 16 yards with 2:37 left before the start of the fourth quarter.
Brownwood was able to let its reserves finish off the contest and gain valuable in-game experience.
“It’s a fine line because it’s good for our twos to get in there and get some reps, but also we had an opportunity to get some of our JV kids in there and let them to experience what it’s going to be like on a Friday night in the playoffs,” Burnett said. “That’s important for the future, but that’s the fine line because you have to get reps for the guys that have been with us all year but you want those other guys to get a little taste of it, too. I thought they all handled it well and all went in and played well.”
Next week, the Lions will challenge either Canyon (9-1) or Burkburnett (7-3) – who square off at 7 p.m. Friday in Childress – in area round action. Brownwood would likely face Canyon in Midland next week, and Burkburnett at the University of North Texas in Denton.
“I’m going to the Canyon-Burkburnett game and we’re sending a group to Lubbock to watch Dumas and Wichita Falls as well, which we’ll probably match up with one of those teams if we’re fortunate enough to get past the next round,” Burnett said. “Those should be close games but we feel we have places secured no matter who we play.”
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Lions 63, El Paso Irvin 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| El Paso Irvin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – 0 |
| Brownwood | 21 | 21 | 21 | 0 | – 63 |
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SCORING SUMMARY
B: Thad Hinds 69 pass from Ike Hall (Junior Martinez kick), 11:42, 1st
B: Konlyn Anderson 8 run (Martinez kick), 4:16, 1st
B: Anderson 8 run (Martinez kick), 0:48, 1st
B: Hinds 36 pass from Hall (Martinez kick), 9:45, 2nd
B: Case Markham 80 punt return (Martinez kick) 5:54, 2nd
B: Markham 20 interception return (Martinez kick), 4:10, 2nd
B: Anderson 29 run (Martinez kick), 8:47, 3rd
B: Logan McKibben 8 run (Martinez kick), 6:04, 3rd
B: McKibben 16 run (Martinez kick), 2:37, 3rd
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| TEAM STATS | EPI | B |
| First Downs | 4 | 19 |
| Total Offense | 58 | 403 |
| Rushes-Yards | 37-32 | 23-247 |
| Passing Yards | 26 | 156 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 5-9-1 | 6-9-1 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 1 |
| Punts-Average | 9-32.2 | 0-0.0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 1-5 | 4-45 |
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PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: El Paso Irvin – Izrael Saavedra 14-22; Giovanni Soto 6-12; Angel Rodriguez 9-9; Nikolas Rivera 2-8; Marco Iniguez 1-1; Jonathan Chairez 1-(-2); Isaac Guerrero 6-(-5); Team 1-(-13). Brownwood – Konlyn Anderson 10-145, 3 TDs; Ike Hall 2-35; Logan McKibben 4-34, 2 TDs; Noah Gonzales 6-24; Case Markham 1-9.
PASSING: El Paso Irvin – Guerrero 3-7-1-14; Jesus Moreno 2-2-0-12. Brownwood – Hall 6-9-1-156, 2 TDs.
RECEIVING: El Paso Irvin – Rivera 2-12; Iniguez 2-5; Chairez 1-9. Brownwood – Thad Hinds 3-122, 2 TDs; Jordan Leach 2-33; Jason Jackson 1-1.
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KICKING – Brownwood – Junior Martinez 0 of 1 FG, missed from 52
9 of 9 PATs.
0 punts, 0 yards, 0.0 average.
