Brownwood may have more storied rivalries, but rarely are there more competitive games than when the Lions cross paths with the Burnet Bulldogs, and Friday’s District 4-4A Division I shootout was no exception.
Leading by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Brownwood’s advantage vanished, still Burnet couldn’t deliver a knockout blow.
Forced into overtime for the first time since 2016, the Lions scored on their first series of plays, and also yielded a touchdown to Burnet, but Brownwood’s Noah Gonzalez stuffed Burnet’s Josiah Coronado at the line of scrimmage following a swing pass from Rhett Murray on a two-point conversion attempt, and the Lions persevered for a 31-30 victory in front of a raucous homecoming crowd.
“Our kids just showed their resilience and their character,” said Lions seventh-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “They never surrendered. They won the first, second and third quarters, made some mistakes that could have cost us the game in the fourth quarter, but they never stopped. Tonight was a testament to our kids and their character and the willingness to lay it all on the line and have faith in each other.”
Gonzalez, who lost a fumble in the fourth quarter with the Lions driving to potentially reclaim the lead, spoke about his opportunity at redemption.
“It hurt me when I fumbled because I don’t fumble a lot, but that last play, knowing that last tackle won the game felt amazing,” Gonzalez said. “I knew I was going to make a big play. I was telling myself on the sideline, ‘18, you got it, make a big play.’ And then boom, big play to end the game.”
Coronado plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out for Burnet to even the score at 30 in the extra session, but the touchdown wasn’t without controversy.
“He reaches out and then fumbles the ball, so I didn’t understand how that wasn’t our ball, but what do you do,” Burnett said. “They made a judgment call they felt was right. You just have to play the next play and boy did our kids play the next play.”
The two teams traded time outs before the two-point attempt, and Burnet (5-4, 1-2) opted for a play the Lions (4-3, 1-1) coaching staff wasn’t anticipating.
“There were about five things we thought they were going to do and they didn’t do any of the five,” Burnett said. “But I was glad they didn’t because I would have taken that play anytime. They throw a bubble screen to the running back, we penetrated and got off a block and made a big tackle. With them going for two, just bow your neck up and make a play, and what a play it was.”
The Lions got the ball first in overtime and needed just three plays to score as quarterback Judson Coalson connected with Grant Gray on a 15-yard fade route and Eli Valenciano, filling in for the injured Rory McNeese, booted the extra point to stake Brownwood to a 31-24 advantage.
“We had a play called to the right but what we saw from the box was conducive for a one-on-one fade ball,” Burnett said. “They decided they wanted to press Grant and he ran a great route, Judson throws a great ball, holds the defender up, fades away and makes the catch. It really was a beautiful play.”
Coalson, who completed 19 of 24 passes for 275 yards with three touchdowns, and also rushed for 121 yards on just six carries, said of the go-ahead scoring toss, “The corner was down and I know Grant’s a real fast guy, so if you give him a chance he’s going to catch that ball.”
The Lions entered the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead, but yielded a 10-yard touchdown pass from Murray – who was 14 of 22 for 198 yards with three scoring tosses – to Marcus Pimental to cut the deficit to 24-21 with 10:44 to go.
Burnet then opted for an onside kick which it recovered at the Brownwood 41. The Bulldogs marched all the way to the Lion 5 where the drive stalled and Marco Campos-Huerta converted a 22-yard field goal with 7:19 left to knot the score at 24.
The Lions were on the verge of regaining the lead as a 49-yard scramble by Coalson moved the ball to the Burnet 28.
“I dropped back and my receivers took the defense with them basically and I just had green grass and took it,” said Coalson, who had carries of 49 and 51 yards in the game. “I got what I could get and got out of bounds real quick and then on to the next play.”
The next snap, however, was a fumble for the Lions that Burnet recovered at its own 26 with 6:07 left.
Burnet then methodically marched the ball to the Brownwood 35 with 25 seconds left, where on fourth-and-1 the Lions defense held and got the ball back with a chance for a game-winning drive.
“They had a chance to march down the field and kick a field goal to win the game and we stopped them,” Burnett said. “We had a fumble, an onside kick, a couple of third and fourth down plays where we didn’t get off the field and Burnet turned the momentum. But the kids never let that bother them. They felt like the next play was the one we had to make to win the game, and make sure Burnet didn’t win the game.”
Gray, who finished with six grabs for 100 yards, hauled in a 20-yard reception from Coalson, and Braeden Stacks added a 16-yard catch-and-run with 3 seconds left. Valenciano’s 47-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer sailed just wide right, however, his four successful extra points and a 26-yard field goal earlier in the contest helped propel the Lions to their first district triumph of 2024.
“We marched down the field with hardly any time left to give ourselves a chance to win in regulation and it didn’t happen, but we stayed poised and stayed focused,” Burnett said. “Maybe that last kick was a little out of his range, but he bowed his neck and almost made it.”
Since falling to Burnet, 40-22, in 2006, the Lions have reeled off 10 consecutive victories over the Bulldogs, but only by an average of 8 points, and no Brownwood win has been by more than 14 points in that span.
The Lions – who last played an overtime game in 2016, where they fell to Canyon, 20-17, in the season opener and Liberty Hill, 30-29, in Week 3 – finished with 476 yards of total offense against Burnet. Behind the line of Weston Wolf, Aidan Packheiser, Isaiah Rosas, Logan Flores, and Ian Barrera, the Lions rushed for 174 yards and threw the ball for 302.
“Our quarterback did a phenomenal job in his decision making,” Burnett said. “We ran the ball well and our offensive line did a good job up front. You go as your quarterback goes and you go as your offensive line goes and they both stepped up tonight. We also had two running backs step in tonight and do a really great job and I’m proud of all of them.”
Defensively, Brownwood surrendered 361 yards – 199 through the air and 162 on the ground – without a takeaway.
Caven Webster led the Lions with 24 tackles followed by Brinson Martin with 15, Wyatt Wolf with 14, Gonzalez with a dozen, and Robert Trowbridge with 10 takedowns.
After forcing a Burnet punt to start game, the Lions moved 56 yards in 11 plays, with 10 coming on the ground, as Gonzalez scored on a 4-yard carry to give Brownwood a 7-0 lead with 5:51 left in the first period. Coalson connected with Carson Noe – who caught a game-high seven passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns – for 6 yards on a fourth-and-3 at the Burnet 16 to keep the drive alive.
Burnet answered with a 25-yard scoring toss from Murray to Colt Stanford to knot the score at 7 with 3:07 left in the opening stanza.
The Lions then responded with an eight-play, 85-yard drive that was capped by a 40-yard scoring toss from Coalson to Noe.
“It was awesome but I can’t take all the credit,” Noe said of his best outing of the season. “Coach (Dex) Dennard called some great plays, and Judson put some air under the ball and put balls in places where I could go make a play. Coach Burnett says this, and Coach Wood said this, it’s about players trusting players, players trusting coaches, coaches trusting players and coaches trusting coaches, and it feels good to get back in the win column.”
Burnet failed to convert a fourth-and-5 at the Brownwood 13 on its next drive, and the Lions stormed back with an 87-yard, seven-play scoring trek. A 51-yard scamper by Coalson moved the ball into Burnet territory, and facing fourth-and-15 at the Bulldog 29, Coalson found Noe in the end zone again for a 21-7 lead with 2:11 left before the break.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 21-14 before halftime on a 32-yard scoring toss from Murray to Coronado.
The only points in the third quarter came from Valenciano’s leg on a 26-yard field goal at the 3:46 mark. Brownwood moved into scoring position thanks to a 35-yard connection between Coalson and Noe.
Friday’s victory not only puts the Lions in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth, but could also serve as a catalyst for the kind of season Burnett and company had originally envisioned.
“Let this game be the game where we get over the top of that hill,” Burnett said. “Let’s get over the hill, get going down hill and running. We’re going to have our hands full next week, but so what? Let’s go play that game and play our best game. Let’s use this to roll the stone and get the momentum going so that when we get to the playoffs we’ll be where we want to be. I still believe this, and I’ve said it for a while, we still haven’t played our best football yet but we’re getting there, and what a great time to peak.”
Next week, Brownwood ventures to Stephenville (8-1, 3-0) – which is coming off a 42-31 victory over Lampasas (7-2, 2-2) – for the 84th Battle of 377.
***
Brownwood 31, Burnet 30 (OT)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Burnet | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 6 | – 30 |
| Brownwood | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | – 31 |
***
SCORING SUMMARY
BWD: Noah Gonzalez 4 run (Eli Valenciano kick), 5:51, 1st
BUR: Colt Stanford 25 pass from Rhett Murray (Marco Campos-Huerta kick), 3:07, 1st
BWD: Carson Noe 40 pass from Judson Coalson (Valenciano kick), 11:52, 2nd
BWD: Noe 29 pass from Coalson (Valenciano kick), 2:11, 2nd
BUR: Josiah Coronado 32 pass from Murray (Campos-Huerta kick), 0:47, 2nd
BWD: Valenciano 26 FG, 3:46, 3rd
BUR: Marcus Pimental 10 pass from Murray (Campos-Huerta kick), 10:44, 4th
BUR: Campos-Huerta 22 FG, 7:19, 4th
BWD: Grant Gray 15 pass from Coalson (Valenciano kick), OT
BUR: Coronado 1 run (pass failed), OT
***
| TEAM STATS | Burnet | Brownwood |
| First Downs | 22 | 22 |
| Total Offense | 361 | 476 |
| Rushes-Yards | 36-162 | 20-174 |
| Passing Yards | 199 | 302 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 14-23-0 | 21-26-0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4-20 | 7-80 |
| Punts-Average | 2-32.5 | 1-31.0 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: BUR – Josiah Coronado 23-108, TD; Lew Laidler 4-34; Colt Stanford 1-11; Rhett Murray 2-4; Peyton Lopez 4-3; Khris Kassner 1-2; Marcus Pimental 1-0. BWD – Judson Coalson 6-121; Noah Gonzalez 9-37, TD; Matthew Rodriguez 4-21; Team 1-(-5).
PASSING: BUR – Murray 14-22-0-199, 3 TDs; Pimental 0-1-0-0. BWD – Coalson 19-24-275, 3 TDs; Carson Noe 1-1-0-21; Gonzalez 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING: BUR – Stanford 3-54, TD; Pimental 3-43, TD; Coronado 2-52, TD; Matthew Williams 2-20; Riley Howell 2-18; Kassner 2-12. BWD – Noe 7-131, 2 TDs; Grant Gray 6-100, TD; Aaron Edmonds 5-28; Gonzalez 1-21; Braeden Stacks 1-16; Raven Prado 1-6.
KICKING: BWD – Eli Valenciano 1 of 2 FGs. 4 of 4 PATs.
Eli Valenciano – 1 punt for 31 yards, 31.0 average – 0 inside 20.