GRAHAM – The Brownwood Lions didn’t lead until the final snap of their Graham 7-on-7 state qualifying tournament pool play opener, then were unable to hold to second-half advantages in their final two outings as they finished with a 1-2 record Saturday.
The Lions rallied to upend Krum, 22-14, then fell to Wichita Falls Hirschi, 26-20, and Dumas, 33-27.
“We played undisciplined,” said Lions head coach Sammy Burnett, who observed Saturday’s action. “That’s reason we were 1-2. I told the kids afterwards no one beat us, we beat ourselves. Still, I’m extremely excited about the potential, I’m excited about the chemistry, and I’m excited about their work ethic and their desire to compete. All in all I’m pleased. It’s a start and we now know where we’re at and what we need to do.”
Brownwood scored on 50 percent (10 of 20) of its offensive possessions, but reached the end zone just 33 percent (4 of 12) of the time in the second half. The Lions’ foes converted 60 percent (12 of 20) of their drives into touchdowns, including 86 percent (6 of 7) in the second half of the two losses.
“We were in every ball game and had an opportunity to win them all, we just didn’t,” Burnett said. “They have to learn as youngsters how to get over the hump and find a way to win those games.”
Quarterback Chance Jones connected on 46 of 84 passes (55 percent) with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Case Markham and Jason Jackson led the receiving corps with 14 catches apiece, as Markham hauled in four touchdowns and Jackson made three scoring receptions. Elias Huerta finished with seven grabs and a touchdown, Konlyn Anderson caught six passes out of the backfield and scored once, Thad Hinds tallied two catches with a touchdown, Brayden Daub hauled in a pair of receptions, and Jaylon Brown caught a pass as well.
Defensively, the Lions picked off five passes – two by Jordan Leach and one apiece by Noah Barron, Owen Huntsinger, and Hinds. Three of the interceptions occurred in the end zone with the opponent facing a goal to goal situation.
Referring to the biggest positives he witnessed Saturday, Burnett said, “Our willingness to trust our receivers and put the ball in some tight windows and let them go make plays, and they did that for the most part. We didn’t have many drops. Chance looked really good throwing the football. We’re still working on his timing making quicker decisions and that comes from reading the defense and not watching your receivers, and he’ll learn that. But we’re far, far ahead of where we were last year, even going into the season.”
In the opener against Krum, the Lions pulled even at 7 on a touchdown pass from Jones to Jackson with the extra point catch by Markham, and again at 14 as Markham scored and Jackson added the PAT reception. Then, on the last snap of the game, Jones connected with Huerta on the game-winner. Huerta also added the two-point catch afterwards as conversions are allowed due to possible points tiebreakers.
Against Hirschi, the Lions built a 20-6 lead on Jones’ touchdown tosses to Jackson, Anderson and Hines, but Brownwood failed to score on its final three possessions. Meanwhile, Hirschi found the end zone on three of its last four attempts, scoring on the final snap to snatch the victory.
The Lions led 21-14 at halftime against Dumas thanks to a pair of scoring receptions by Markham and a 45-yard bomb from Jones to Jackson.
Dumas pulled even at 21, but the Lions regained a 27-21 edge on Markham’s third touchdown reception of the game. Again, however, Brownwood went scoreless on its final two drives while Dumas scored on its last three marches to steal the win.
The Lions will take their second crack at earning a 21st straight appearance in the 7-on-7 state tournament next week as they take part in the Burnet qualifier.
As for what Burnett hopes to see improved upon between now and then, he said, “The discipline and doing what their coaches ask them to do. In 7-on-7 you play a lot of man coverage and I think we were looking in the backfield instead of locking in our receivers on defense. Offensively, I want to see a little bit more execution, a little bit more understanding of the scheme so when we see how defenses line up we’re able to call plays accordingly.”
