The Brownwood Lions JV football team kicked off its 2023 campaign with a resounding 34-6 victory over Class 5A Division II Abilene Wylie Thursday night at Gordon Wood Stadium.

Junior running back Kaleb Grabast rushed for three touchdowns and more than 100 yards to spark the offense.

Sophomore quarterback Dallas Shumaker connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Grant Gray. Shumaker finished 6 of 9 for 74 yards passing and Gray grabbed five receptions for 68 yards.

Sophomore kicker Eliuth Valenciano booted all four of his extra point attempts and converted both of his field goal attempts from 25 and 32 yards. The coaching staff praised the special teams unit for an outstanding game, especially for the opening game of the season.

Defensively, Gray intercepted a pass while sophomore defensive back Raven Prado recovered a fumble. The defense set the tone early with physical play with three 3-and-outs in the first half.

The JV Lions (1-0) will be back in action next Thursday at Marble Falls.

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Wylie 32, Freshman Lions 6

The Brownwood Freshman Lions came up on the short end of their season opener against Abilene Wylie.

The lone touchdown for Brownwood came on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rory McNeese to Malakai Wyatt, which trimmed the deficit to 12-6 in the first quarter.

Defensive standouts for the Lions were Tyler Shumaker with 9 tackles; Waylon Harrington with 5 tackles; JJ Lopez with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack; Conner Cornelius with 2 tackles and 2 interceptions; and Levi Moss with a forced fumble.

The Freshman Lions (0-1) will be back in action next Thursday at Marble Falls.

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Wylie 28, Combined Team 4

The Brownwood Subvarsity Combined Team yielded four touchdowns and amassed two safeties in their season-opening contest.

Standouts included Cash Pressley, Noah Grummert, and Fin Hull on offense.

The Subvarsity Combined Team (0-1) will be back in action at Comanche next week.