The Class 4A Division I No. 7 Brownwood Lions will hold their first football scrimmage of the preseason Friday evening as they welcome the 2023 TAPPS Division II state champion Argyle Liberty Christian Warriors, coached by former Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten, to Gordon Wood Stadium.
Subvarsity action kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity to follow at 6:30 p.m.
Liberty Christian is coming off a 14-0 season and returns seven offensive and eight defensive starters. The Warriors are ranked No. 1 by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football in the preseason as they have moved to TAPPS Division I, and will provide a stern test for Lions squad that faces perhaps its most difficult pre-district schedule in head coach Sammy Burnett’s seven seasons.
“We traded film and they got our Decatur game and we got their state game and they’re really good,” Burnett said. “They’re well coached, multiple on defense and do a lot of good things offensively. They’re a big RPO team which is good for us. But we’re going into this scrimmage like it’s a practice, it’s just not against our guys.”
The Liberty Christian offense is led by junior quarterback Quinn Murphy, who recently committed to Baylor.
Last season Murphy threw for 3,030 yards and 52 touchdowns with just eight interceptions while completing 70% of his passes. He also ran for 242 yards and five touchdowns. As a freshman, Murphy passed for 2,406 yards and 33 touchdowns, with just three interceptions, and completed 67% of his passes.
The Warriors also feature Oklahoma baseball commit Brady Janusek, who was a first-team all-state receiver and defensive back a year ago with 54 catches for 984 yards and 13 touchdowns, to go along with 55 tackles and five interceptions.
Sophomore tight end/safety Cooper Witten is also considered a top 25 tight end for the Class of 2027.
With that said, Friday’s scrimmage is more about what the Lions can gain for the future as they continue their preparations for the Aug. 30 season opener against Class 5A Division II Abilene Wylie.
“We’re going to go out there and do what we do,” Burnett said. “We have to see our kids on film on and see how they perform under pressure. We’re not going to scheme Liberty Christian. It may not be be conducive offensively to what they do defensively, but we have to see kids get touches and do things to see where we need to be. Our goal is to go out there and get better as team. If we score more points than them, so be it, but that’s not the main goal.”
The varsity format will feature 10 plays with the first-team offense, 10 plays with the first-team defense, 8 plays with the second-team offense, and 8 plays with the second-team defense, then repeat. If the teams decide to run additional plays afterwards, they’ll do so, Burnett said.
“We have multiple quarterbacks, multiple running backs and multiple receivers and we’re trying to get them all on film,” Burnett said. “If we were in a game we’d be marching down the field trying to score and do different things based on what they do.
“Defensively, same thing. We’re going to get in our base defense we’re going to play and try and play fast. We’re not going to get in a bunch of different things, we want to be sound in what we do and see how they perform.”
Coming out of the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, an area the coaching staff will be watching closely is the offensive line, particularly center where the snap exchange was an issue at times.
“I want to see growth on the offensive line,” Burnett said. “I don’t really know what they’re going to do, whether they’ll do a lot of stunting or stemming, but we’ll figure it out. I want to see our kids sift out what they’re doing and figure it out themselves. Defensively, I want to see us fly around and play fast and physical, get to the football. Offensively, I want to see simple execution, do what we ask you to do whether it’s run the football or throw the football, and make sure we’re blocking. I want to see when we come in and look at film on Saturday that we’ve grown from last Saturday.”
On the injury front, receiver Carson Noe has a finger issue, receiver Aaron Edmonds is battling a groin injury, and nickel Caven Webster is dealing with a hamstring issue, but Burnett anticipates all three will be able to compete Friday night.
Also, Friday night will serve as “Our Day to Shine” for Brownwood, as money will be collected from those who wish to donate for the Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation’s Benevolence Fund. “Our Day to Shine” allows the THSCEF to present permanent injury and memorial benefits policies to help student athletes with hardship cases.