Facing a defending TAPPS state champion, coming off an undefeated season, with the bulk of their roster back and a handful of kids getting looks from NCAA Division I programs wasn’t going to be easy for the Brownwood Lions.

But challenging the very best competition often allows teams to improve over the long run, and the TAPPS Division I preseason No. 1 Argyle Liberty Christian Warriors – coached by former Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten – gave the Class 4A Division I No. 7 Lions a few things to work on following Friday’s scrimmage at Gordon Wood Stadium.

All told, the Warriors reached the end zone four times to just one by the Lions by the end of the night, still Brownwood seventh-year head coach Sammy Burnett found plenty to be optimistic about after his team’s performance.

“I was proud of our kids’ effort,” Burnett said, “We ran a lot of plays, but defensively I thought we did some really, really good things. We gave up a couple of big plays, but that’s from little bitty things that we can fix easily. But for them to line up and try and run the ball down our throat and go score, they couldn’t do it. They did it on a couple of big plays.”

Offensively, the Lions – who revamped what is already a new offensive line earlier this week – improved as the scrimmage progressed.

“I thought we were right where we probably going to be,” Burnett said. “We have some good skill kids, we have some good receivers, I thought our running backs ran hard and quarterbacks are still trying to figure it out. We switched our offensive line up totally this week, moved center to tackle, tackle to guard, guard to center, so we were all discombobulated and I figured that would happen. But I saw them working hard and I saw a little growth.”

The retooled front five for the Lions Friday night featured Logan Flores at left tackle, Tristan Stephens at left guard, Luke Hagood at center, Aidan Packheiser at right guard, and Isiah Rosas at right tackle.

“What we have to do from this point on is stick with that alignment up front,” Burnett said. “I think that’s the right alignment. Our snaps were better, much improved from last week. We have them in the right seat on the bus, now we just have to get better.”

The Lions stuck to a script of plays they wanted to run to gauge the development of the offensive unit as a whole, which sometimes creates challenges in scrimmages that normally don’t occur.

“Tonight they packed the box with six and seven and they brought it and made it difficult to run,” Burnett said. “That’s difficult on our front five when they’re brand new at the positions they’re at. But again we were able to throw the ball deep when we want to and stretch the field when we want to and that’s something we’ll do when it comes time in a game, and we’ll put pressure on defenses and make them cover those balls to where it loosens up the box and we’re able to run the football.”

Both Judson Coalson and Braeden Stacks saw time at quarterback, as the battle to be the starter likely won’t be decided until Week 1, if not later into the season.

“Both had their good things, both had their bad things,” Burnett said of the quarterbacks. “We just need to focus on the things they need to fix. The game’s got to slow down for them. Right now we get under a little pressure and get in panic mode, so we just have to let the game slow down. Patience is a virtue. They have to understand that our line is going to get right, they’re going to have more time, just be patient, but while you’re doing that learn to be tough, sit in the pocket and deliver the ball. We also have to make sure we’re pulling the ball on the reads when they’re making us pull the ball and taking the running back away, so go get 5-6 yards. It’s just simple execution and the more they get in the fire the better they’ll be.”

The Lions’ one touchdown march featured a 53-yard catch and run as Coalson dumped off a screen to tailback Trey Mosley, who rumbled down to the Liberty Christian 17. Two plays later, Coalson connected with Carson Noe on a 14-yard fade in the back corner of the end zone.

“That was a good defense we faced,” Burnett said. “Their back end is really special. They gave up 96 points in 14 games last year and they’ve got the same dudes back. They’re really good. They’re as good as any defense we’ll see all year.”

While Liberty Christian quarterback Quinn Murphy – who recently committed to Baylor – did connect on four scoring tosses, mostly off RPOs which Brownwood again did not prepare for, Lion cornerback Raven Prado secured an interception on the third snap of the scrimmage. Later in the scrimmage, Case Burnett logged a sack for Brownwood.

“They scored on some quick screens and that’s what got us last year in the two games we lost, we missed tackles,” Burnett said. “We also gave up a deep ball when we didn’t get back and let them have the seam. My message to them during the scrimmage was you have to go whistle to whistle. You can’t get your guy, think you have him, and then stop. We have to finish plays when we get our hands on them and execute and not bust assignments. But all in all I thought we did some really good things.”

The Lions did receive some bad news on the injury front as Aiden Driskill suffered a lower left leg injury that could possibly keep him out for a lengthy amount of time. And Caven Webster did not suit up Friday due to a hamstring issue.

Brownwood wraps up its third week of practice Thursday at Alvarado. Between now and then, Burnett said, “We just have to keep getting better at what we do. We’re starting to hone in on Game 1, we’re starting to work on preparation for Game 1 in practice. We’re not worried about what Alvarado does in the scrimmage. We have to start getting ready for what we think we’re going to see from Wylie and the best thing for our offensive line, especially, is to get as many reps as possible.”