A unique points tiebreaker in District 4-4A Division I lands the Brownwood Lions in a must-win situation to advance to the playoffs for the 51st time in program history, and 16th year in a row, as the Marble Falls Mustangs invade Gordon Wood Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the regular season finale.

Assuming Burnet (5-4, 1-2) falls to No. 3 Stephenville (8-1, 3-0) Friday night, a three-way tie would be created if Marble Falls (2-7, 0-3) were to upset Brownwood (4-4, 1-2). There are no negative points in this district’s tiebreaker, so Burnet is at the max +18 with its 43-7 victory over Marble Falls, but the Mustangs have 0 points. Meanwhile, the Lions have +1 for their 31-30 overtime win over Burnet.

A Marble Falls win over Brownwood by just 1 point would then result in both teams at +1 in a three-way tie, and the Lions would be the odd team out having lost head-to-head the Mustangs.

But with a victory Friday night, the Lions would enter the playoffs as the third seed from 4-4A Division I – even if Burnet knocked off Stephenville, as Brownwood would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulldogs – and Brownwood would face the winner of Friday’s Big Spring-Pecos game, which will determine the District 3-4A Division I runner-up, next Friday in San Angelo in bi-district action.

“If we don’t win we don’t deserve to be in and that’s the message I shared with the kids,” said Lions seventh-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “Let’s go win and earn the opportunity to play in that third season and see what we can do. There’s still a lot to look forward to and an opportunity to redeem ourselves and not have to wait until next year to do it. That’s very enticing to us and our kids and it’s something we want and feel like we can do.”

The Mustangs’ two wins this season have come against Austin Crockett, 56-0, and San Antonio Brackenridge, 49-0. Meanwhile, Marble Falls has scored a total of 82 points in its seven losses – 12 points per outing. In District 4-4A Division I action, the Mustangs have been scored 167-14. Still, Burnett and company are not taking the challenge lightly.

“They’re a bunch of kids that play hard, no different than they have the last couple of years,” Burnett said. “They have a new coach, they have a new system, they’re trying to learn that and have stumped their toe at times. But they’re a team that can come up and win a football game. If you don’t respect them and don’t prepare for them, they’ll beat you. They’re not a horrible team, they’re just trying to learn a new system and are in the first phase of that.”

The Lions are coming off a 44-0 loss to Stephenville in which Brownwood allowed just 283 yards and held the Yellow Jackets 13 points and 98 yards in the first half. But the Lions committed a season-high three turnovers and finished with only 147 yards, an offensive performance that must be avoided going forward if Brownwood intends to keep playing.

“I say it all the time, the heartbeat of our team is our offensive line and we have to have consistency up front,” Burnett said. “We have to dominate the line of scrimmage up front, we have to be able to run the football, we have to be able to throw the football. We have to execute our pass protection and run blocking schemes, no mistakes. Running backs have to make the proper reads, quarterbacks have to make the proper reads, receivers have to block and run proper routes and when they have the opportunity to catch the ball, catch it. It simply comes down to execution.”

The Lions, who average just 22 points and 288 yards – 155 passing and 133 rushing – per outing, are facing a Marble Falls defense that gives up 30 points per game with 18.5 sacks and 9 takeaways – 5 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions. In their seven losses, the Mustangs have yielded 39 points per game on average.

Brownwood offense is sparked by quarterback Judson Coalson, who has connected on 94 of 159 passes for 1,194 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions, while rushing for 223 yards and three more scores. Top receiving threats include Carson Noe (34-446, 3 TDs), Aaron Edmonds (22-238, 3 TDs) and Grant Gray (19-294, 3 TDs), while weapons out of the backfield include Matthew Rodriguez, Noah Gonzalez and Levi Pearson.

Leading the charge for the Marble Falls defense are Noah Lyon (104 tackles, 5 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 interception), Gregory Lemon (103 tackles, 1 for loss), Brody Graham (58 tackles, 2 for loss), and Kaleb Bielfeldt (51 tackles, 13.5 for loss, 7 sacks).

On the flip side of the ball, the Mustangs average 21 points and 205 yards – 126 passing and 79 rushing – per contest.

Standouts offensively are quarterback Colten Minor (967 passing yards, 10 TDs, 3 INTs), running back Joaquin Aguilar (498 rushing yards, 6 TDs; 10-157, 2 TDs receiving), and receivers Kole Becker (42-555, 5 TDs receiving) and Lyon (17-211, TD receiving).

The Lions defense is yielding 28 points and 340 yards – 188 rushing and 152 passing – but with only seven takeaways.

Leading tacklers include Brinson Martin (110 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack), Noah Gonzalez (95 tackles, 3 for loss), Wyatt Wolf (72 tackles, 1 FR), Robert Trowbridge (66 tackles, 2 for loss), Caven Webster (55 tackles, 1 INT), Enrique Vazquez (44 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack), Jack Field (44 tackles, 2 sacks), Devin Eanes (43 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 INTs), Ben Wilson (38 tackles, 2 for loss), Weston Wolf (36 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 for loss), Julius Lara (33 tackles, 2 for loss), Raven Prado (33 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 INT, 1 FR).

Regarding what the Lions must do to pick up the win Friday, and in future weeks, Burnett said, “We have to go out and play to our potential and stack consistent weeks on top of consistent weeks. If you don’t have a consistent game from this point forward, you’re going to be out.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 35-point favorite.