[VIDEO – Konlyn Anderson (2) puts the Lions on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the first half]
The District 5-4A Division I opener didn’t end the way the Brownwood Lions had preferred, but fourth-year head coach Sammy Burnett is hopeful his squad’s effort catapults them into a successful stretch run of the regular season.
The Lions dropped a 43-25 decision to No. 10 Midlothian Heritage Friday night, a game in which Brownwood (2-4, 0-1) spotted the visiting Jaguars (5-1, 1-0) the first 22 points at Gordon Wood Stadium. But a spirited effort throughout allowed Brownwood to remain within striking distance, though the Lions – as 31-point underdogs – were unable to pull off the upset.
“We grew tonight,” Burnett said. “We grew as a team No. 1, and bought into each other and what our coaches are trying to teach them. We challenged them to come out and play and fight and show heart and play like a Lion and play with passion and I thought we did that. That’s a top-tier team, they’re ranked in the Top 10 for a reason, and our kids not one time gave up. We had kids playing hurt and not one time wanted to tap, they just wanted to get out there and play with their brothers. I saw our team draw closer together, I saw them encouraging each other, and that’s growth.”
Another slow start plagued the Lions as they didn’t light up the scoreboard until 18 seconds remained in the first half, facing a three-touchdown deficit. Brownwood has scored first in just one game this season.
Defensively, the Lions fell victim to a multitude of big plays as five of Heritage’s six touchdowns covered at least 30 yards.
“You take away the big plays, just eliminate the big plays and we’re right in the ballgame,” Burnett said. “Then take away a couple of penalties in the first half that stopped drives, and we would have had more opportunities to put points on the board. But I couldn’t be more proud of our guys and the way they played tonight and how they showed character and passion.”
Heritage was able to produce 512 yards behind a balanced attack of 260 passing yards and 252 rushing yards. Quarterback Kaden Brown rushed for a team-high 111 yards with touchdown carries of 2 and 66 yards, and connected on 15 of 21 passes for 260 yards and three scoring strikes – 33 and 31 yards to T.J. Price, who finished with six grabs for 77 yards, and a 43-yard hook up with Xavier Moten. Mason O’Neal chipped in 78 yards on the ground, including a 30-yard scoring sprint.
Meanwhile, the Lions finished with 331 yards of total offense – 208 on the ground and 123 through the air. Konlyn Anderson led the ground game with 142 yards and a touchdown while Jaylan Brown and quarterback Chance Jones, who also rushed for score, chipped in 33 yards apiece.
Jones also completed 10 of 18 passes for 123 yards with a pair of scoring tosses to Jason Jackson, who finished with five grabs for 100 yards. At halftime, Brownwood had thrown for just 8 yards as Jones was nursing a thumb injury sustained in the first half.
“Chance Jones really stepped up,” Burnett said. “At one point he couldn’t feel his thumb but not at one point did he say he was going to tap, he said he’d find a way to get it done. We taped him up and it was hurting him. We talked to him at halftime about what plays he thought he could throw and I thought he did a great job of leading us and going out there and showing courage while playing hurt.”
After holding Heritage to a three-and-out on the first series of the game, the Lions were approaching the red zone on their first possession with a holding call and a false start derailed the drive. Brownwood finished with six penalties for 50 yards.
Brownwood punted the ball back to Heritage where a 71-yard screen pass from Brown to Jason Barela set up Brown’s 2-yard touchdown plunge that gave the Jaguars a 7-0 edge with 5:44 left in the first period.
Heritage tacked on two more scores on a 66-yard scamper by Brown, then a 33-yard connection from Brown to Price. The Jaguar touchdowns were separated by 57 seconds as the Lions committed their only turnover on the second snap after Brown’s long run, which set up a one-play scoring strike.
Down 22-0, thanks to a Brown two-point run, with 6:42 left in the half, the Lions eventually pieced together a 71-yard, 12-yard drive that culminated in Anderson scoring from 2 yards out following a direct snap and a sprint around the left side of the line.
The Lions then struck first in the second half as Jones scrambled and found Jackson near the end for a 37-yard scoring strike, as Brownwood crept within 22-13 at the 6:52 mark of the third period. The extra point was blocked, however, as the Lions came up short on three PATs Friday – two blocks and a miss to the left.
Heritage was run down before being able to convert the blocked PAT into two points, but the Jaguars rode that momentum to two more touchdowns, which put Brownwood in a 36-13 hole with 1:52 left in the third period. Heritage scored on a 31-yard pass from Brown to Pride and O’Neal’s 30-yard gallop.
Before the third period ended, the Lions responded with a 54-yard scoring toss from Jones to Jackson, closing the gap to 36-19.
The final points for Heritage came with 8:18 left on a third-and-16 pass from Brown to Moten that covered 43 yards. The key to the score, however, was a pair of Lion defenders ran into and knocked each other over.
Brownwood added its last touchdown with 2:31 to go on Jones’ 4-yard run, which capped a 76-yard, 18-play drive that chewed 5:47 off the clock.
The Lions then recovered an onside kick as Junior Martinez’s effort landed in the waiting arms of Brayden Daub, but Brownwood was unable to punch in additional points in the waning seconds.
Next week, the Lions welcome No. 5 Waco La Vega (3-3, 0-1) – coming off a 35-7 loss to No. 3 Stephenville (6-0, 1-0) Friday night.
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Midlothian Heritage 43, Brownwood 25
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Heritage | 7 | 15 | 14 | 7 | -43 |
| Brownwood | 0 | 7 | 12 | 6 | -25 |
SCORING SUMMARY
H: Kaden Brown 2 run (Dylan Riggins kick), 5:44, 1st – 0-7
H: Brown 66 run (Riggins kick), 7:39, 2nd – 0-14
H: T.J. Pride 33 pass from Brown (Brown run), 6:42, 2nd – 0-22
B: Konlyn Anderson 2 run (Junior Martinez kick), 0:18, 2nd, – 7-22
B: Jason Jackson 37 pass from Chance Jones (kick blocked), 6:52, 3rd – 13-22
H: Pride 31 pass from Brown (Riggins kick), 4:47, 3rd – 13-29
H: Mason O’Neal 30 run (Riggins kick), 1:52, 3rd -13-36
B: Jackson 54 pass from Jones (kick failed), 1:14, 3rd – 19-36
H: Xavier Moten 43 pass from Brown (Riggins kick), 8:18, 4th – 19-43
B: Jones 4 run (kick blocked), 2:31, 4th – 25-43
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| TEAM STATS | H | B |
| First Downs | 20 | 21 |
| Total Offense | 512 | 331 |
| Rushes-Yards | 35-252 | 55-208 |
| Passing Yards | 260 | 123 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 15-21-0 | 10-18-0 |
| Punts | 1-32.0 | 6-32.2 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 8-79 | 6-50 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: Heritage – Kaden Brown 9-111, 2 TDs; Mason O’Neal 11-78, TD; Jason Barela 14-55; Brandon Thomas 1-8. Brownwood – Konlyn Anderson 29-142, TD; Chance Jones 18-33, TD; Jaylan Brown 8-33.
PASSING: Heritage – Brown 15-21-0-261, 3 TDs. Brownwood – Jones 10-18-0-123, 2 TDs
RECEIVING: Heritage – T.J. Pride 6-77, 2 TDs; Trevor Atwell 3-21; Xavier Moten 2-51, TD; Damian Alexander 2-22; Barela 1-71; Sam Hopkins 1-18. Brownwood – Jason Jackson 5-100, 2 TDs; Elias Huerta-Doud 2-16; Anderson 2-11, Thad Hinds 1-(-4).
