The Brownwood Lions 7-on-7 team, which has posted a 4-2 overall record in state qualifying tournaments at Mineral Wells and Brownwood thus far, will compete in their final qualifier at Jim Ned Saturday.
The Lions have been placed in Pool B with Lubbock Christian, who they will face at 9 a.m., and Shallowater, who they will battle at 9:40 a.m, with a 10:20 a.m. bye. If Brownwood places first or second in its pool, it will play either the first or second place team from Pool A – which consists of Jim Ned, Andrews and Levelland – at 11:40 a.m. for the right to advance to 12:20 p.m. semifinal game and a chance to play for a 24th consecutive trip to the 7-on-7 Division II state championship tournament in College June 27-28.
If the Lions finish third in their pool they will play the third-place team from Pool A at 11 a.m. to wrap up tournament play.
The other half of the bracket is being played in Clyde and consists of Breckenridge, Comanche, Mineral Wells and Clyde in Pool C, along with Graham, Ponder, Stephenville and Midland Christian in Pool D. One of those eight teams will also punch a state ticket.
Through two qualifying tournaments, the Lions offense has scored on 20 of 37 possessions – 54 percent – and is producing 23 points per contest, with four drives ending via interception.
The two Lions quarterbacks have combined to complete 93 of 151 passes – 62 percent – as Rory McNeese with 54 of 86 with 11 scoring tosses and four picks, while Braeden Stacks has connected on 39 of 65 attempts with nine touchdowns.
The receiving corps has been led by Grant Gray (25 catches, 10 TDs), Carson Noe (24 catches, 2 TDs), Aaron Edmonds (17 catches, 5 TDs), Conner Cornelius (9 catches), Stone Ratliff (7 catches, 1 TD), Levi Pearson (3 catches, 1 TD), Tre Mosley (3 catches, 1 TD), Kenyan McDowell (3 catches), Trae Jones (1 catch) and Durham Brown (1 catch).
Defensively, the Lions have yielded touchdowns on just 15 of 38 possessions – 39 percent – and are giving up only 17 points per game on average.
The Lions have recorded six interceptions – one in each game – with two returned for touchdowns. Noah Gonzalez and Raven Prado have each picked off two passes while McDowell and Noe also have one interception apiece. Noe and Prado have scored the two defensive touchdowns.