LAMPASAS – Head coach Sammy Burnett expected growing pains in his third campaign at Brownwood, and the young, inexperienced Lions certainly dealt with those during Friday night’s season opener.
Hanging with the No. 1 Lampasas Badgers through a quarter and a half, the game began to slip away from No. 10 Brownwood just before intermission as the Lions suffered a 55-23 road loss to begin the year.
The Lions produced three touchdowns in the first half, but managed just three points in the second half as Lampasas turned a 15-point halftime cushion into a 32-point triumph.
“We lost all three phases of the game,” Burnett said. “We let them return a kick, we gave up some big plays on defense, we didn’t find ways to get off the field, we busted some coverages, we missed some great opportunities on offense and we dang sure didn’t urn the football very well. All in all we have to tip our hat to Lampasas, they beat us tonight.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids on the field and they just got a dose of what it’s like to play on Friday night. They’re either gonna grow and get there or we’re going to switch some seats on that bus and get it right, I promise you that. If want to play at (Lampasas’) level, we found out what we’re going to have to do, and I think we can to be honest.”
While the Lampasas offense looked like a well-oiled machine most of the night, Brownwood rode a roller coaster between minimal gains and big plays.
The biggest difference came on the ground where the Lions generated 117 yards on 27 carries – but 70 of those yards came on a Royshad Henderson touchdown in the first period. The other 26 carries for Brownwood netted just 47 yards – 1.8 yards per rush.
Lampasas, on the other hand, gashed the Lions on the ground for 434 of their 556 total yards. The Badgers averaged 11.1 yards per rush on their 39 carries.
“I thought we did a good job, but when it breaks down and you don’t fit right, or a kid doesn’t get where he’s supposed to be, then it’s a big play,” Burnett said of the run defense. “We just have to learn to play together and hit our fits. Most of the time it’s a younger person or a young man that’s just experiencing Friday night for the first time and most of that came from our inside and outside linebackers.”
After forcing a three-and-out on Lampasas’ first drive, the Lions defense gave up a 71-yard touchdown sprint to Badger running back Jack Jerome of the second play of the next possession as Brownwood found itself in a 7-0 hole at the 7:05 mark of the first period.
Brownwood fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but dodged a bullet as Hunter Day intercepted a deflected pass by Lampasas quarterback Ace Whitehead for the Lions’ lone takeaway at their own 30.
Two plays after the turnover – and after the Lions’ first drive reached the Lampasas 42 before stalling – Henderson’s 70-yard touchdown sprint off an option pitch from starting quarterback Blaize Espinoza knotted the score at 7 following freshman Junior Martinez’s PAT at 6:51 of the opening stanza.
The Badgers marched 75 yards on their next drive as Case Brister scored from 1 yard out to stake Lampasas to a 14-7 lead at 2:32 of the first period.
Again the Lions responded, moving 64 yards in seven plays. Brownwood reached the end zone when Espinoza dumped off a swing pass to Henderson, who raced through the Lampasas defense for a 55-yard touchdown reception. A low snap on the extra point resulted in Brownwood remaining a point behind, 14-13, with 11:41 left in the first half.
A 4-yard touchdown run by Jerome capped Lampasas’ next drive, while Brownwood fumbled – its second turnover of the night – on its first play from scrimmage on the next possession. The Badgers tacked on a 19-yard scoring sprint from Brister as the Badgers scored twice in 1:16 to stretch the lead to 28-13 over the Lions with 6:41 left before intermission.
“We were throwing those punches, but that’s just part of that growing process,” Burnett said. “When we got down by two touchdowns when we had that turnover, it really killed us. Then we didn’t get off the field several times and let them score.”
The Lions were able to tack on a touchdown before halftime as Espinoza connected with Jason Jackson for a leaping 16-yard scoring grab with 3:28 left in the half. Espinoza completed 9 of 20 passes for 184 yards, Johnson grabbed three receptions for 64 yards, Khyren Deal chipped in two catches covering 48 yards, and Dane Johnson led all Lions with six grabs for 62 yards.
“Jason Jackson is just a sophomore and has a great upside and Dane Johnson played really well as well,” Burnett said. “There were a lot of bright spots but in the moments of adversity we saw some things that were good and we saw some things that weren’t good, but we can fix them.”
Trailing 28-20 in the closing minutes of the first half, the Lions surrendered an eight-play, 72-yard scoring drive as the Badgers increased their lead to 35-20 before the break, thanks to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Whitehead – who completed 14 of 19 attempts for 122 yards – to Michael Murray.
Brownwood began the second half with the ball and after a three-and-out, Lampasas ventured 63 yards in eight plays with Jerome – who amassed 193 rushing yards on 22 carries – scoring from 7 yards out.
The Lions’ next possession advanced to the Lampasas 2, but Brownwood was turned away. Four plays later, Whitehead – who rumbled for 188 yards on 12 carries – scored on a 92-yard sprint that boosted the Badger lead to 48-20 with 40 seconds to go in the third period.
The only second-half points for Brownwood came on the next drive as Chance Jones engineered a 65-yard journey to Lampasas 12, where again the drive stalled. The Lions’ settled for a 35-yard field goal from Martinez, making the score 48-23 with 8:55 left.
“We got in the red zone twice in the second half and only came out with three points,” Burnett said. “I’ll take that blame as a coaching staff. We were having issues getting kids in the right spot. We’re a family, it’s all our faults. When we get inside the red zone we need to score. We march all the way down the field and get in the red zone and can’t finish, that’s on us.”
Lampasas put the finishing touches on its victory on the very next play as Brister returned the kick 90 yards for a touchdown and the final points of the contest at the 8:39 mark of the fourth period.
Burnett listed some additional silver linings he saw in Friday’s contest.
“Our quarterback play was decent,” Burnett said. “Chance Jones came in and operated pretty well. I was really pleased with our resiliency with some of our seniors who were lining up both ways and playing every play on offense, defense, and special teams and just grinding. And I thought we did a good job defensively on the back end to be honest, but like I said we have a long way to go.”
Brownwood will attempt to bounce back in next week’s home opener against the Midland Greenwood Rangers, a Class 4A Division II state semifinalist from a year ago. The Rangers opened their season with a 28-12 triumph over Lubbock Estacado.
“A lot of those younger kids, they’re just going to have to pick it up and continue to grow,” Burnett said. “This is what we have and what we’re going to play with. All in all we’ll learn from our trials, lick our wounds and get ready to play a good Midland Greenwood team, and we’re going to get after them.”
Lampasas 55, Brownwood 23
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Brownwood 7 13 0 3 – 23
Lampasas 14 21 13 7 – 55
SCORING SUMMARY
L: Jack Jerome 71 run (Ace Whitehead kick), 7:05, 1st
B: Royshad Henderson 70 run (Junior Martinez kick), 6:02, 1st
L: Case Brister 1 run (Whitehead kick), 2:32, 1st
B: Henderson 55 pass from Blaize Espinoza (kick failed), 11:41, 2nd
L: Whitehead 2 run (Whitehead kick), 7:57, 2nd
L: Brister 19 run (Whitehead kick), 6:41, 2nd
B: Jason Jackson 16 pass from Espinoza (Martinez kick), 3:28, 2nd
L: Michael Murray 15 pass from Whitehead (Whitehead kick), 1:17, 2nd
L: Jerome 7 run (Whitehead kick), 8:14, 3rd
L: Whitehead 92 run (kick failed), 0:40, 3rd
B: Martinez 35 FG, 8:55, 4th
L: Brister 90 kick return (Whitehead kick), 8:39, 4th
TEAM STATS
Brownwood Lampasas
First Downs 14 32
Total Offense 359 556
Rushes-Yards 27-117 39-434
Passing Yards 232 122
Comp-Att-Int13-28-0 14-19-1
Punts 4-42.0 1-26.0
Fumbles Lost 2 0
Penalties-Yards 4-35 5-50
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: Brownwood – Royshad Henderson 19-107, Chance Jones 4-12, Blaize Espinoza 4-(-2). Lampasas – Jack Jerome 22-193, Ace Whitehead 12-188, Case Brister 4-27, Ethan Moreno 1-21, Peyton Underwood 1-5.
PASSING: Brownwood – Espinoza 9-20-0-184, Jones 4-8-0-48. Lampasas – Whitehead 14-19-1-122.
RECEIVING: Brownwood – Dane Johnson 6-62, Jason Jackson 3-64, Khyren Deal 2-48, Henderson 1-55, Elias Huerta 1-5. Lampasas – Lane Haviland 6-34, Michael Murray 5-59, Moreno 3-29.
