Two teams who have displayed stellar defenses over the past month clash with a berth in the Class 4A Division I Region I championship game at stake, as the Brownwood Lions and Wichita Falls Coyotes cross paths at 7 p.m. Friday at Abilene Christian University in a regional semifinal tilt.
The Lions (10-2), fresh off a 31-10 area championship victory over Canyon, have allowed just 13 points over their last games and an average of 179 yards per game during that span.
Wichita Falls (8-4) is in the midst of a season-best four-game win steak and has given up 45 points in that span – an average of 11 per game – and no team has scored more than 14 points against the Coyotes in the past month. For the season, the Coyotes are giving up 25 points with 23 sacks and 34 takeaways – 19 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries.
Last week, District 3 runner-up Wichita Falls – led by former Brownwood offensive coordinator and basketball head coach Grant Freeman – advanced to the third round with a 31-7 over the Lions’ District 2 rival Big Spring as the Coyotes yielded just 194 yards – 160 through the air and 34 on the ground – but did not force a turnover.
“They’ve run several defenses, so it could be a challenge because we’ll have to see what they get in,” said Lions fifth-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “They’ve been in a 5-1 bear front, they’ve been in a 4-2-5, and they’ve been in a 3-3 stack, which is really similar to what we do. We’ll have to decipher what they’re trying to do and how they’re trying to attack us and adjust our game plan accordingly during the game. I think we have a solid game plan that’ll challenge any defense that they’re in.
“They’re not big, but they’re fast and fly around. They have a really good linebacker in Cameron Gould. He’s a good athlete that we have to make sure we get blocked. In the back end their kids run around and cover well. They play a lot of zone, they’ll play some man free, and our job is to dominant the line of scrimmage and win up front with the offensive line and establish the run game. That could be vital with the fact that the weather could be bad and the wind could be blowing up to 20 miles an hour and that could affect the passing game.”
District 2 champion Brownwood enters the contest averaging 41 points and 400 yards – 240 rushing and 160 passing – behind the play of offensive linemen Slayde Espinoza, Isaac Gray, Chris Robinson, Roan Aguinaga and Damian Sanchez – with 14 turnovers on the year.
Quarterback Ike Hall has completed 104 of 188 passes for 1,709 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 891 yards and 12 more scores. Konlyn Anderson anchors the ground game with 1,509 yards and 25 touchdowns while Logan McKibben has chipped in 282 yards and six scores. Receiving threats include Thad Hinds (40-704, 7 TDs), Jordan Leach (25-375, TD), Jason Jackson (19-413, 9 TDs), Taylor Bessent (10-117, TD), and Brayden Daub (9-149).
Offensively, the Coyotes are averaging 32 points and 365 yards – 184 rushing and 181 passing – per outing. During their four-game win streak, however, Wichita Falls is producing 29 points per contest.
The Coyote offense is led by quarterback John Ledesma (2,027 passing yards 20 TDs, 8 INTs), running backs Cameron Gould (1,346 rushing yards, 13 TDs; 19-354, 2 TDs receiving) and Eric Powell (715 rushing yards, 7 TDs; 12-224, 3 TDs receiving), and receivers Ke’ondrae Fleeks (41-622, 8 TDs), Caden Justice (34-447, 4 TDs), Jaeden Williams (19-246, 1 TD), and Zage Gravitt 16-153, 1 TD).
“You can compare them to anybody in our district offensively, and you can compare them to Canyon,” Burnett said. “Wichita Falls is pretty balanced, they’re about 50 percent run and 50 percent pass. They have two good running backs, and two big tall kids on the outside that can go get the football. For us, we have to try and take one of the elements away. We have to figure out what we want to stop and try and make them beat us with something else. They’re not in the regional semifinals for no reason, they’re a good football team and very well-coached.”
For the season, Brownwood’s defense yields just 15 points and 267 yards – 144 rushing and 123 passing – on average, with 21 takeaways.
Standouts include Sam Kallman (114 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery), Chance Jones (112 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 interception, 1 punt block), Quinten McCarty (110 tackles, 15 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 punt block), Jake Jetton (95 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Stevie Ramirez (72 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Cole Miller (53 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Hayden Noe (53 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU), Davis Le (44 tackles), Jaylan Brown (43 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 for loss), Noah Barron (43 tackles), Case Markham (42 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 PBU), Jordyn Nickerson (41 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 interception), Daub (35 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), Hayden Deen (28 tackles, 1 for loss), Azariah Dillard (28 tackles), and Morsello Hooker (27 tackles, 1 for loss, 6 interceptions, 10 PBUs).
Special teams have played a key factor for the Lions this season, and in last week’s win against Canyon. Brownwood returned two punts more than 20 yards to set up scoring drives, pinned a punt on the 1-yard line, made a field goal and all four extra-point attempts, and returned a kick off 70 yards to shift the momentum back in the Lions’ favor in the fourth quarter of their three-touchdown triumph.
“Our kids have taken special teams seriously, we’ve spent a lot more time working on it and that’s why we’ve been successful,” Burnett said. “The wind could play a big factor Friday night with field position and we’ve worked on some things with our kicker. We’ve also looked at ways to defend them and their good punt returner that will go get it and return it at any moment. Reversing the field when we can will be huge. We were able to do that last week, and our kids understand even more so the importance of special teams after what we were able to accomplish against Canyon.”
The Coyotes’ four losses this season have come at the hands of 5A Division II Wichita Falls Rider in the season opener (58-10), Graham (45-31), Canyon Randall (44-38), and Decatur (31-27) – the last two teams being the other half of the Region I semifinals, with their game slated for 1 p.m. Friday at Abilene Christian.
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 17-point favorite.
***
Brownwood Lions 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 12 Games (10-2, 4-0)
TEAM OFFENSE
41.3 points per game (496)
399.9 yards per game (4,799)
239.8 rushing yards per game (2,877)
160.1 passing yards per game (1,922)
55.8 completion percentage (114 of 204)
PASSING
* Ike Hall
104 of 188 for 1,709 yards, 15 TDs, 5 INTs
* Chance Jones
10 of 16 for 213 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
RUSHING
* Konlyn Anderson
1,509 yards on 249 carries, 25 TDs
* Ike Hall
891 yards on 116 carries, 12 TDs
* Logan McKibben
282 yards on 52 carries, 6 TDs
* Jaylan Brown
84 yards on 12 carries
* Case Markham
30 yards on 5 carries
* Jason Jackson
26 yards on 1 carry
* Noah Gonzales
24 yards on 6 carries
* Chance Jones
17 yards on 3 carries
* Jordan Leach
15 yards on 2 carries
RECEIVING
* Thad Hinds
40 catches, 794 yards, 7 TDs
* Jordan Leach
25 catches, 375 yards, 1 TD
* Jason Jackson
19 catches, 413 yards, 9 TDs
* Taylor Bessent
10 catches, 117 yards, TD
* Brayden Daub
9 catches, 149 yards
* Konlyn Anderson
8 catches, 56 yards
* Morsello Hooker
2 catches, 8 yards
* Hayden Noe
1 catch, 10 yards
###
TEAM DEFENSE
15.2 points per game (182)
267.5 yards per game (3,210)
144.5 rushing yards per game (1,734)
123.0 passing yards per game (1,476)
56.4 opponents completion percentage (140 of 248)
TACKLES
* Sam Kallman
114 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery
* Chance Jones
112 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 for loss, 1 interception, 1 punt block
* Quinten McCarty
110 tackles, 15 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 punt block
* Jake Jetton
95 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries
* Stevie Ramirez
72 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Cole Miller
53 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
* Hayden Noe
53 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 PBU
* Davis Le
44 tackles
* Jaylan Brown
43 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 for loss
* Noah Barron
43 tackles
* Case Markham
42 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 PBU
* Jordyn Nickerson
41 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 interception
* Brayden Daub
35 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Hayden Deen
28 tackles, 1 for loss
* Azariah Dillard
28 tackles
* Morsello Hooker
27 tackles, 1 for loss, 6 interceptions, 10 PBUs
* Trent Loftin
25 tackles, 1 sack, 1 for loss
* Tristan Salinas
19 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack
* Logan Knight
19 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Logan McKibben
11 tackles
* Colton McMillian
10 tackles
* Jordan Leach
8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 PBU
* Bryan Osbourn
7 tackles
* Xavier Zepada
5 tackles
* Isaiah Rodriguez
5 tackles
* Robert Trowbridge
4 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Antwuan Valencia
2 tackles
* Junior Martinez
1 tackle
* Dryden Anderson
1 tackle
###
KICKING
* Junior Martinez
10 of 14 FGs – long of 45; 1 blocked
64 of 65 PATs
94 points
24 punts, 965 yards, 40.2 average – long of 58
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (+7)
* Brownwood: 14 (7 fumbles, 7 interceptions)
* Opponents: 21 (10 fumbles, 11 interceptions)
###
PENALTIES
* Brownwood: 81 for 795 yards (6.7 for 66.3 per game)
* Opponents: 69 for 598 yards (6.1 for 49.8 per game)