Brownwood’s three subvarsity football teams entered Thursday’s action with a combined 13-2 record through five weeks, but all three came up short in battles against Stephenville at Gordon Wood Stadium.

Stephenvile 23, JV Lions 14

The Brownwood JV Lions suffered their first loss of the season, despite owning the lead late in the first half.

Up 14-7, the tide began to shift on an errant snap over the punter’s head, which led to a safety that allowed Stephenville to creep within 14-9. Then, with less than a minute left in the first half, Stephenville forged in front, 16-14.

Neither team was able to establish much offensive momentum in the second half, and a late sack, strip and fumble recovery for a touchdown allowed Stephenville to extend its lead with just under three minutes left in the game.

The Lions took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a scoring toss from Braeden Stacks to Kenyan McDowell, and regained a 14-7 advantage on a short touchdown run by Noah Gonzalez.

Ross Strasner picked off a pass in the second half to foil a Stephenville scoring threat.

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Stephenville 28, Freshman Lions 14

The Brownwood Freshman Lions were dealt a second straight setback, as a pair of scoring opportunities slipped away.

First, an apparent 80-yard touchdown pass was nullified as the ball was ruled to have been fumbled out of bounds in the end zone before it was recovered, resulting in a touchback. Later, a lengthy punt return was wiped off the board due to a penalty.

Stephenville scored first, but the Lions drew even at 7 on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Robinson to Carson Noe, and the Eliuth Valenciano extra point.

Brownwood’s other touchdown was scored by Jermiah Chacon on an 11-yard pass from Aiden Driskill, coupled with Valenciano’s extra point.

Defensive standouts were Reese Bishop with 12 tackles and one for loss, along with Brinson Martin with six tackles and one for loss.

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Stephenville 13, Combined Team 6

The Brownwood Combined Team’s comeback came up one play short, as the Lions were unable to haul down an 11-yard pass into the end zone on the final snap of the game.

Dallas Shumaker scored the lone touchdown for the Combine Team, which slipped to 4-2, on an 18-yard run in the first half.

Defensive standouts were Caven Webster, Jonathan Bush, Treyvon Mitchell, and Stephen Rodriguez.

More photos from Thursday’s action can be found at PHOTOS: Subvarsity Lions vs. Stephenville | Brownwood News