Coming off their first shutout loss since 2011, the Brownwood Lions have pushed the reset button on the 2024 season this week in practice, focusing on the next two weeks in their effort to right the ship before the start of District 4-4A Division I competition.

The first leg of their journey takes the Lions (1-2) to China Spring, where the Cougars (1-3) await in a 7:30 p.m. Friday non-district tilt.

“We’re going to wipe out the past,” said Lions seventh-year head coach Sammy Burnett. “We’re 0-0 right now. We have to focus on today to have a better tomorrow. The only way to do that is to go back to work and block out what’s happened in the past. Let’s start over by going to China Spring with a lot of excitement and faith and energy and play like Brownwood Lions.”

Brownwood is still trying to find its footing on offense as the Lions are producing just 11 points and 210 yards – 134 rushing and 76 passing – per game, on average.

Among the changes this week, Weston Wolf has moved to the offensive line and will take over one of the tackle positions.

“We have to solidify our offensive line if we want to be better,” Burnett said. “We made a decision this week to make that move, and Weston’s done a good job this week in practice. He’s been playing tight end which is the same type position so he has a good understanding. He’s a captain of our football team and said he’d do whatever it takes for us to get back in the win column and he’s more than willing to take on that task.”

Quarterback Judson Coalson has completed 22 of 56 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, leading receivers are Carson Noe (10-103), Aaron Edmonds (5-27, TD) and Grant Gray (4-63), and the backfield is led by Trey Mosley (309 yards, 3 TDs) – who is anticipated to be back in the lineup this week – and Levi Pearson (45 yards).

Last week, the Lions finished with just 137 yards – 45 rushing on 26 carries, and 92 through the air on 7 of 21 passing.

“We’ve got to establish the line of scrimmage, without a doubt,” Burnett said. “We’ve got to protect the quarterback when he’s throwing, and we have to be able to run the ball, period. Having Trey back will be a benefit, but we have to start dominating on both side of the ball.”

Defensively, the Lions are yielding 31 points and 351 yards – 206 through the air and 145 on the ground – and opponents are completing 68 percent of their passes, with only one turnover.

Leading the charge on the defense are Brinson Martin (37 tackles), Noah Gonzalez (29 tackles, 2 for loss), Jack Field (21 tackles), Ben Wilson (18 tackles, 1 for loss), Devin Eanes (18 tackles, 1 for loss), Weston Wolf (16 tackles, 2 for loss), Robert Trowbridge (16 tackles), Caven Webster (15 tackles, 1 INT), Raven Prado (13 tackles, 1 for loss), Wyatt Wolf (13 tackles), Kenyan McDowell (13 tackles), and Enrique Vazquez (11 tackles, 1 sack).

Trowbridge has been unable to practice all week, according to Burnett, and Pearson and Mosley may see time on the defensive line this week if there is a void that needs to be filled.

“We put them in there this week to try and plug some holes, and they’ve picked up the position really fast,” Burnett said.

Trowbridge is not the only walking wounded Lion as Aiden Driskill, Stone Ratliff and Caven Webster will again be out Friday night, while Jack Field, Raven Prado, and Robbie Robinson have missed practice time this week as well.

China Spring enters the contest with just one win in its first three outings – that over Bastrop, 27-24 – with losses to Franklin, 46-30; Waco University, 31-21; and last week at Springtown, 28-23. But like La Vega a week ago, Burnett cautioned not to let the opponent’s record fool you.

“They’ve played some big schools and some worthy opponents,” Burnett said. “They’re in the same boat we are in trying to find themselves, but they may be a step ahead of us in that area.”

The Cougar offense is led by quarterback Matthew Battles, who in last week’s loss to Springtown rushed for 176 yards on 22 carries and completed 9 of 24 passes for 152 yards with a scoring toss and an interception. Battles also ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns against Bastrop and finished with 160 yards on the ground and another score against Waco University.

Another weapon for China Spring is Chrishon Gregory, who chipped in 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground against Springtown, and also rushed for 159 yards and a score in the Cougars’ lone win over Bastrop earlier this year.

“Their quarterback reminds you a little of Major Bowden, who was here and moved to China Spring and took them to the state championship,” Burnett said. “They go as he goes and they really like the option. They do some motion stuff where he keeps the ball and some power read stuff, sort of similar to what we did in the past with Ike Hall. He throws the ball well, but he’s more of a runner and they like to sprint him out.

“We have to be able to stop the run and stop the quarterback, that’s the goal. Make him throw the football, make him uncomfortable, don’t give him any choices. If they run the option, we need to make him pitch it. We have to take that away from them.”

Defensively, the Cougars have surrendered 32 points per game on average and no team that has faced China Spring has mustered fewer than 24 points.

“I think the strength of their team is their defensive line and their linebackers,” Burnett said. “They’re solid toward the run so we really have our hands full there. They do a lot of pinching and try to make things go sideline to sideline, but we feel like we have a good scheme for that. They have good players in the secondary, but play a softer back end which is different that what we’ve seen, so hopefully we’ll be able to have some success throwing the ball.”

Burnett is also hopeful to see a more consistent performance out of the special teams Friday night, which could prove to be the difference if the game is close.

“We’re growing in the special teams,” Burnett said. “Our coverage is pretty good, our returns have been pretty good, if we pick up a couple more blocks we have a chance to break a big one. We’ve punted the ball pretty well, but we’d like to not punt. We need more consistency with our kicking game with field goals and extra points. We’ve had an extra point blocked and missed several field goals, so we’ve been working to try and get that fixed.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Brownwood is a 7-point underdog.

***

Brownwood Lions 2024 Football Season Stats

Through 3 Games (1-2)

TEAM OFFENSE

11.0 points per game (33)

210.0 yards per game (630)

134.0 rushing yards per game (402)

76.0 passing yards per game (228)

40.9 completion percentage (25 of 61)

PASSING

* Judson Coalson

22 of 56 for 212 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

* Braeden Stacks

2 of 5 for 11 yards

* Julius Lara

1 of 1 for 5 yards

RUSHING

* Trey Mosley

309 yards on 53 carries, 3 TDs

* Levi Pearson

45 yards on 27 carries

* Judson Coalson

30 yards on 20 carries

* Braeden Stacks

26 yards on 2 carries

* Julius Lara

0 yards on 1 carry

* TEAM

-8 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Carson Noe

10 catches, 103 yards

* Aaron Edmonds

5 catch, 27 yards, 1 TD

* Grant Gray

4 catches, 63 yards

* Levi Pearson

3 catches, 15 yards

* Devin Eanes

2 catches, 15 yards

* Caven Webster

1 catch, 5 yards

###

TEAM DEFENSE

31.3 points per game (94)

351.0 yards per game (1,053)

144.7 rushing yards per game (434)

206.3 passing yards per game (619)

67.9 opponents’ completion percentage (53 of 78)

TACKLES

* Brinson Martin

37 tackles

* Noah Gonzalez

29 tackles, 2 for loss

* Jack Field

21 tackles

* Ben Wilson

18 tackles, 1 for loss

* Devin Eanes

18 tackles, 1 for loss

* Weston Wolf

16 tackles, 2 for loss

* Robert Trowbridge

16 tackles

* Caven Webster

15 tackles, 1 INT

* Raven Prado

13 tackles, 1 for loss

* Wyatt Wolf

13 tackles

* Kenyan McDowell

13 tackles

* Enrique Vazquez

11 tackles, 1 sack

* Ian Barrera

7 tackles

* Treyvon Mitchell

3 tackles

* Julius Lara

3 tackles

* Levi Pearson

2 tackles, 1 sack

* Wesley Isquirdeo

2 tackles

* Grant Gray

1 tackle

* Keedan Brooks

1 tackle

* Kaleb Grabast

1 tackle

* Robbie Robinson

1 tackle

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KICKING

* Rory McNeese

2 of 5 FGs – long of 26

3 of 4 PATs – 1 blocked

9 points

3 punts, 93 yards, 31.0 average – long of 48; 1 inside opponents’ 20

* Eli Valenciano

13 punts, 414 yards, 31.8 average – long of 51; 2 inside opponents’ 20

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-1)

* Brownwood: 2 (2 interceptions)

* Opponents: 1 (1 interception)

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PENALTIES

* Brownwood: 14 for 122 yards (4.7 for 40.7 per game)

* Opponents: 19 for 185 yards (6.3 for 61.7 per game)