Tonight (Friday), for the 82nd time, the Brownwood Lions and Stephenville Yellow Jackets will tangle, this year in Stephenville. Listen to the game on KOXE 101.3, KOXE.com or KOXE App. Our football coverage kicks off with the Pigskin Pick’em Show at 6, followed by Lion Talk, Countdown to Kickoff, Mic’d Up with Dallas Huston and the Pre-game prior to the 7:30 pm kickoff. After the game, listen to the Dr. Pepper High School Football Scoreboard.
The storied rivalry between the Brownwood Lions and Stephenville Yellow Jackets ranks near the top of Texas high school football clashes, but rarely – if ever – has “The Battle of 377” featured a pair of Top 5 teams.
But that will be the case at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tarleton Memorial Stadium when the Harris Ratings Class 4A Division I No. 5 Lions (4-1), winners of four straight, square off with the 4A Division I No. 1 Yellow Jackets (5-0), who bring a 21-game win streak into the contest.
“This is a great ball game for us, a great rivalry, a great atmosphere, and a great opportunity for us to go out there and prove who we are and what we’re about,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “We’re ready for the challenge and excited about it.”
The Yellow Jackets bring an offense that averages 51 points and 574 yards – 290 rushing and 284 passing – per game into the contest, while allowing 46 points and 468 yards per outing and no fewer than 34 points in any game.
The Lions, meanwhile, have been sparked by a defense that yields just 18 points and 272 yards – 195 rushing and 77 passing – per outing, with eight takeaways. Brownwood’s offense is generating 36 points and 387 yards – 209 rushing and 178 passing – and is coming off a season-high 52 points in last week’s road win over Waco Connally.
“They’re finding ways to win,” Burnett said of Stephenville. “They’re a good team, they’re well-coached, Sterling Doty and his staff do an excellent job, their kids will be prepared and ready to play and they know that they can win. They’ve won enough to know whatever the situation is they are in, they can be successful. People say they’ve won a lot of close games, but they win a lot of close games because they believe they can win.”