The Brownwood Lions are looking for a bounce back performance following last week’s loss to Class 4A Division II No. 2 Glen Rose in the home opener, as the former district rival Waco La Vega Pirates invade Gordon Wood Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last week, the Lions (1-1) suffered a 44-16 defeat to Glen Rose, a game in which Brownwood finished with just 194 yards of total offense, while yielding 480 yards – 327 through the air and 153 on the ground.

“Sometimes kids can’t see tomorrow, they’re living through the emotions of today, but we’ve got to go out there and get better as a team. We have to continue to grow,” said Lions second-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “My message to the team is ‘we are where we are, but where are we going to be Friday? Where are we going to be in a week? Where are we going to be when district gets here? Where are we going to be when the playoffs get here?’ We’re 1-1 right now. We took one on the chin last week and we’re going to do everything in our power this week to not do that again.”

La Vega (1-2) comes into the contest on a two-game skid, but those losses came at the hands of 4A Division I No. 4 Celina, 49-27, and Houston-area power West Orange-Stark, 35-27. The Pirates defeated Kennedale, 45-15, in their season opener.

“They’re 1-2 but don’t let that deceive you,” Burnett said. “They’re no different than we are, they shy away from no one and will play anybody. They have the same mindset we do. Who cares what your pre-district record is, it’s when you get to district, that’s when it all counts, and being prepared when district comes. They played Kennedale the first game and beat them really bad. Then I watched them on film against Celina, and then they played another historic power in West Orange-Stark, and they were very big up front.”

In their opening-week victory over Kennedale, the Pirates finished with 231 yards of total offense – 185 rushing and 46 passing. Ray’quan Kennedy led the way on the ground with 93 rushing yards and two scores, Bryson Roland tacked on 65 yards and two trips to the end zone, and Jabarie Thornton scored on a 12-yard carry. Through the air, Jayven Hernandez connected on 3 of 8 passes for 44 yards, all to Thornton.

Kourtney Parr has also seen time at quarterback throughout the season for La Vega, and in last week’s loss against West Orange-Stark he completed 14 of 20 passes for 159 yards and two scores. Bryson Roland rushed for a team-best 120 yards and two touchdowns, and Thornton added five grabs for 90 yards with a trip to the end zone.

Caden Roland led the Pirates defense with 13 tackles.

Against Kennedale, Brydrick Scott tallied 15 tackles trailed by 12 from Caden Roland and 11 from Cade Balch. Roland and Jeremiah Jones, who logged seven tackles, also recorded one sack apiece.

“Offensively, they’re led by their running back,” Burnett said. “He’s not a big kid at all, but very shifty and gets behind a big offensive line that’s foot to foot and finds a little crease and can go into a hole sideways, literally. He has great lateral movement, great burst and great top end speed, so we have to corral him and fly to the football. We can’t assume one person is going to tackle him. Their quarterback is not just athletic, he can throw the ball really well. Watching film at first my assumption was he was just going to be an athlete, but he’s not only that, he can really throw the football and he’s pretty accurate.

“Defensively, they’re going to be in a seven-man box. They’re a 4-3 football team that likes to stay in the box as much as possible and play a lot of man coverage. They’re successful in doing that cause they have a lot of speed. The linebackers can redirect and get where they need to be quickly if it’s not a run, so the play action game for us will be important, but we have to establish the run. Their D-line and linebacker corps are good, maybe not quite as good as they’ve been in the past when we played them three or four years ago, but they were a different football team then, playing for state titles. They’re a team that can still make a long run, a really talented team.”

The Lions counter with an offense that averages 16.5 points and 246.5 yards – 178.5 on the ground and 68 through the air – with only one turnover.

Behind the line of Logan Flores, Luke Hagood, Isaiah Rosas, Aidan Packheiser and Ian Barrera, tailback Trey Mosley anchors the ground game with 309 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Through the air, quarterback Judson Coalson has completed 15 of 34 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Receiving threats early on have been Carson Noe (7-58), Aaron Edmonds (5-27, TD), Levi Pearson (2-16), Devin Eanes (2-15), Grant Gray (1-15) and Caven Webster.

“I think we have a really good scheme for them, simple execution is the key,” Burnett said. “We have to be able to throw our quick game, play action’s going to be big and we have to go get 3-4 yards a pop on the ground. Offensively we graded as a 72.5 percent as a team last week and we have to increase that. If the other team is grading at 80 percent, we better be grading at 80 percent as a team. I want to see growth across the board with that, in all positions.”

Defensively, the Lions are surrendering 25.5 points and 308.5 yards – 210.5 passing and 98 rushing – per game, with one takeaway.

Leading the charge are Brinson Martin (23 tackles), Noah Gonzalez (21 tackles, 2 for loss), Webster (15 tackles, 1 INT), Weston Wolf (13 tackles, 2 for loss ), Eanes (13 tackles), Jack Field (12 tackles), Robert Trowbridge (11 tackles), Ben Wilson (10 tackles, 1 for loss), and Raven Prado (7 tackles).

On the health front, Burnett said, “It’s probably the worst it’s been all year. We’re banged up but it has to be next man up and we’re going to make no excuses. We’re going to get out there and play and do the best we can and see if we can come up with a win.”

Aiden Driskill (broken leg) and Stone Ratliff (avulsion fracture) will miss Friday’s game for sure, along with Webster (ankle). Edmonds has been battling a staph infection and Noe has a double inner ear infection, so their status for Friday is currently unknown. Wyatt Wolf has been moved up from the JV and will take Webster’s place in the secondary Friday.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is an 8-point underdog.