The Brownwood Lions wrap up pre-district action Friday night with a trek to Boerne to face the Class 4A Division II Ingleside – a tad northeast of Corpus Christi right at 340 miles away from Gordon Wood Stadium – in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Kickoff between the Lions (2-2) and Mustangs (4-1) is set for 7 p.m. at Boerne ISD Stadium, located at 1 Greyhound Lane, approximately 160 miles from Brownwood.

Ingleside is off to a 4-1 start as its opponents own a combined record of 8-16, and only one team is currently above. 500. The Mustangs collected victories over Class 4A Division II La Feria (3-2) by a 27-0 count; 3A Division I Aransas Pass (2-3) by 48-20 score; 3A Division II Banquete (2-3) by a 58-6 margin; and last week 5A Division II Corpus Christi Ray (25-21), which is winless in five outings. The lone loss for Ingleside was by a 27-9 count at the hands of 4A Division I Beeville Jones (2-3).

“They’re a solid football team, they remind me of a Wall or a China Spring, but probably more of Wall,” said Lions seventh-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “Our kids are looking forward to going to Boerne and playing an unknown team. It’s a little exciting when you get to play someone you haven’t seen before.”

The Mustangs are averaging 33 points and 337 yards – 244 rushing and 93 passing – per outing, while giving up just 15 points per contest, with the one shutout.

The offense runs through quarterback Sawyer Chalk, a dual threat who has rushed for a team-high 742 yards with 12 touchdowns, to go along with his 433 passing yards, completing 37 of 75 attempts with five touchdowns and four interceptions.

Other weapons in the backfield include Aaron Flores (206 rushing yards, TD) and Roman Davila (129 rushing yards, TD), while receiving threats include Jordan Smith (13-127, TD), Javier Solis (10-120, 2 TD), Julius Sierra (4-55, TD), Jett Hoskins (1-32, TD).

“They’re big up front and their quarterback is their go daddy,” Burnett said. “They go as he does, and he’s their offense in my opinion. They have a couple of different running backs, one a bigger kid like No. 23 from China Spring last week, then a thicker but smaller back. They like to throw quick screens and horizontal short game routes to get in space. They do try and press the field vertically at times, but I do think their M.O. is running their quarterback. He’s a more of a runner than a passer, so we have to dominate up front and keep him from making big plays.”

Defensively, the Mustangs have recorded nine takeaways – five interceptions and four fumble recoveries – and also registered five sacks.

Standouts for the unit include Isaac Freeman (44 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), David Courvier (30 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Solis (26 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception), Chalk (20 tackles), Parker Dolejsi (17 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks), Manuel Hinojosa (17 tackles), Nathan Edlin (16 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack), Brody Briggs (15 tackles, 1 for loss), Smith (7 tackles, 2 interceptions), and Adam Govea (6 tackles, 2 interceptions).

“They have pretty big guys and run a four-man front most of the time,” Burnett said. “We have to establish the run game, which will open up the pass game. Their weakness is the same as China Spring, and that’s the secondary. I don’t think they line up well to some of the things we do based on certain formations. I think we can attack some of their weaknesses based on alignment.”

The Lions are coming of their most impressive offensive outing of the season, scoring a season-high 37 points while producing 394 yards of total offense.

For the year, Brownwood now averages 17.5 points and 256 yards – 142 rushing and 114 passing – per outing, with three turnovers.

Behind a revamped offensive line of Weston Wolf, Luke Hagood, Isaiah Rosas, Aidan Packheiser and Ian Barrera, Trey Mosley continues to anchor the rushing attack with 452 yards and four touchdowns on 75 carries. Quarterback Judson Coalson has connected of 39 of 78 passes for 440 yards with four scoring strikes and a pair of interceptions, while primary receiving threats are Carson Noe (14-134, TD), Aaron Edmonds (11-151, TD), Grant Gray (7-101, TD) and Levi Pearson (7-40).

Regarding what Burnett hopes to see from the offense in their final outing before next week’s District 4-4A Division I opener at Lampasas, he said, “We’re incorporating a little bit more sprint out stuff, evolving more into that where we can move our quarterback around more and he doesn’t have to sit in the pocket. Our RPO game got us in a bind last week when the receivers were blocking instead of running the routes, so that’s a communication issue we are clearing up. We’re also focusing on the red zone where we’ve been stopped multiple times this year. We’ve put a focus on red zone play and locking in mentally. We have to focus, execute, not have penalties, and we have to move the ball forward 3-4 yards a pop when we get down close.”

Defensively, the Lions forced a season-high four takeaways last week and pitched a second-half shutout, marking the second time Brownwood held a team scoreless for a half, the first being the season opener at Wall.

Brownwood is surrendering 29 points and 354 yards – 179 through the air and 175 on the ground – while forcing five turnovers, on average.

Leading the charge are Brinson Martin (51 tackles), Noah Gonzalez (38 tackles, 2 for loss), Robert Trowbridge (26 tackles, 1 for loss), Devin Eanes (25 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 INTs), Wyatt Wolf (24 tackles, 1 FR), Jack Field (22 tackles), Weston Wolf (20 tackles, 2 for loss), Ben Wilson (20 tackles, 1 for loss), Raven Prado (17 tackles, 1 for loss), Caven Webster (15 tackles, 1 INT), Kenyan McDowell (14 tackles), Enrique Vazquez (13 tackles, 1 sack) and Julius Lara (10 tackles).

“We have to continue to grind and control the line of scrimmage up front,” Burnett said. “We need great linebacker play and then whatever coverage we’re in we need to make sure we’re all on the same page, even if it’s not the coverage we call. It can still be successful if we’re all on the same page. Simple communication, flying to the football and being extremely physical are the keys.”

If the game comes down to the wire, Rory McNeese is coming off his best outing of his young varsity career as a placekicker, converting all three of his field goal attempts, with a long of 37, against China Spring last week, as well as all four extra point tries.

“Rory has to continue to kick the ball well,” Burnett said. “He was 4 of 4 on PATs last week and that’s huge, we have to have every one of those, and then the field goal opportunities we have, we have to make, like last week.”

On the health front, Aiden Driskill (leg), Stone Ratliff (hip) and Caven Webster (ankle) will again miss Friday’s game, while Carson Noe (back), Grant Gray (back) and Levi Pearson (knee) have missed practice time this week and their status will not be determined until Friday.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 23-point favorite.