Two teams still searching for the win column for the first time in 2025 will clash at 7 p.m. Friday as the Brownwood Lions visit the Class 4A Division II Glen Rose Tigers.

The Lions (0-2) have opened the season with losses to 5A Division II Abilene Wylie (25-0) and Harris Ratings Weekly 3A Division II No. 1 Wall (35-10), while Glen Rose (0-2) has been upended by Grandview (28-14) and Gatesville (30-7).

Brownwood finished with 169 yards of total offense against Wall – up from 92 in the season opener – and produced its first points of the season. The defense yielded 321 yards, but just 72 on the ground, and the special teams unit blocked a punt to set up the first points of the season, as first-year head coach Jeryl Brixey saw signs of improvement between the first two outings of the season.

“I’m very encouraged with how our defense is playing, and what we’re getting done in the special teams, we just have to continue to improve on offense,” Brixey said. “One of our goals is on first down to gain 4 yards and we actually averaged 8.3 yards on first down against Wall, but the second and third downs killed us. We’d get 8 yards on first down and then turn someone loose and they tackled us for a 3-yard loss. Things like that are correctable and the point I’m making with our kids is we’ve played two really good football teams and I don’t think you can point to any single play where we were outmatched. The plays people make on us are when we don’t block a guy and just turn him loose in the backfield untouched. The encouraging part is that is all correctable, we just have to become better football players.

“Defensively, we had a long yardage situation where our defensive end went inside when we should have went outside and let the quarterback get outside and make some yardage, and later in the game they had a deep post and one of our safeties should have been in the middle of the field and he wasn’t. Things like that are correctable, and I feel like we’re becoming a better football team, we’ve just got to keep improving and keep a good attitude about what we’re doing. We are playing really well against the run, people are going to hit some passes on you, but we’re improving in that area. If you’re good against the run you give yourself a chance to win football games I feel like.”

The Tigers return just 12 of 32 lettermen, including four offensive and five defensive starters, from a 10-3 team a year ago.

Along with its 10.5 points per game, Glen Rose averages 222 yards of total offense – 134 rushing and 88 passing – with four giveaways, two each game.

Quarterback Judd Connally has connected on 15 of 34 passes for 177 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Leading receivers include Ryder Ribitzki (5-96) and Luke Males (4-21, TD). Connally (76 yards) is also the team’s leading rusher followed by Cross Littlejohn (59 yards, TD), Tyson Sullivan (18 yards) and Males (16 yards, TD).

“Watching them against Gatesville, they moved the ball down the field and got in the red zone multiple times, but would get a penalty and get pushed back and not finish the drive, which is a familiar tune, but they have moved the ball well,” Brixey said.

The Lions counter with a defense that allows 30 points and 282.5 yards – 149 passing and 133.5 rushing – per game, with one takeaway.

Leading the charge defensively for Brownwood have been Caven Webster (20 tackles, 1 INT), Christian Gray (13 tackles, 1 sack), Brinson Martin (11 tackles), Durham Brown (11 tackles), Isaac Gonzales (9.5 tackles, 1 for loss), Sirr Beam (8 tackles) and Nick Rodriguez (7 tackles, 1 for loss).

Regarding what he hopes to see from the Lions defense in Game 3, Brixey said, “Defensively, our front seven is playing really well against the run but I think we have to get a little bit more pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t have any sacks against Wall, we came close on a couple of plays, and we always have to be disciplined. One of our phrases is ‘know you job, do your job,’ and we have to do that play in and play out. You can’t be the lone ranger and try and go make a play, you have a job to do and you have to do it. We have to be more consistent with that, and it doesn’t take many times doing that for it to hurt you, it could be just one.”

The Tigers, defensively, are yielding 29 points per game with a pair of takeaways – both in the season opener against Grandview.

Standouts on the Glen Rose defense thus far have included Ribitzki (19 tackles, 1 for loss), Gage Douglas (13 tackles, 1 for loss), Alexis Muro (10 tackles), Jacob Wiley (9 tackles, 1 interception), Deansdale Magana (8 tackles), and Kaiden Shannon (8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery).

“Defensively, they show some odd fronts, some bear fronts, you name it they’re in it,” Brixey said. “Looks like they base out of an odd but they get in four down, they get in what we call mad dog which is the center and both guards covered. They slant and move and try and create chaos and get a guy loose and that’s worked for them some. That’s also where we have to continue to improve.”

Brownwood’s offense thus far has produced just 5 points and 130.5 yards – 72.5 passing and 58 rushing – per outing on average, with five turnovers.

The Lions’ rushing attack is led by Levi Pearson (123 yards on 29 carries), while Judson Coalson has completed 15 of 24 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, and Carson Noe has pulled down nine receptions for 113 yards, including one in the end zone.

As for his expectations from the Lion offense at Glen Rose, Brixey said, “I want to see the offensive line continue to get better with communication. We probably had three or four plays the other day where we just had a lineman go the wrong way, and we can’t have that. We also need to eliminate busted assignments, and communicating will help with that because you’re telling each other what to do.”

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Lions are 11-point underdogs, while Harris Ratings Weekly lists the Lions as 2-point underdogs.

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Brownwood Lions 2025 Football Season Stats

Through 2 Games (0-2)

TEAM OFFENSE

5.0 points per game (10)

130.5 yards per game (261)

58.0 rushing yards per game (116)

72.5 passing yards per game (145)

PASSING

* Judson Coalson

15 of 24 for 145 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs

* Levi Pearson

0 of 1 for 0 yards, 1 INT

RUSHING

* Levi Pearson

123 yards on 39 carries

* Trent Buffington

17 yards on 4 carries

* Robbie Robinson

14 yards on 6 carries

* Daylyn Ansons

3 yards on 1 carry

* Judson Coalson

-16 yards on 9 carries

* TEAM

-25 yards on 2 carries

RECEIVING

* Carson Noe

9 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD

* Robbie Robinson

3 catches, 18 yards

* Connor Cornelius

2 catches, 11 yards

* Daylyn Ansons

1 catch, 3 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

30.0 points per game (60)

282.5 yards per game (565)

133.5 rushing yards per game (267)

149.0 passing yards per game (298)

TACKLES

* Caven Webster

20 tackles, 1 INT

* Christian Gray

13 tackles, 1 sack

* Brinson Martin

11 tackles

* Durham Brown

11 tackles

* Isaac Gonzales

9.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Sirr Beam

8 tackles

* Nick Rodriguez

7 tackles, 1 for loss

* Finn Hull

5.5 tackles

* Raul Eberhardt

5 tackles

* Raven Prado

4.5 tackles, 1 punt block

* Wyatt Wolf

4.5 tackles

* Aiden Jimenez

2.5 tackles

* Carson Noe

1 tackle

* Levi Pearson

1 tackle

* Trent Buffington

1 tackle

* Maddox Mendoza

0.5 tackles

* Robbie Robinson

0.5 tackles

* Eli Valenciano

0.5 tackles

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KICKING

Eli Valenciano

1 of 2 FGs – long of 26

1 of 1 PATs

4 points

8 punts, 267 yards, 33.4 average – long of 46; 2 inside opponents’ 20

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-4)

* Brownwood: 5 (4 interceptions, 1 fumble)

* Opponents: 1 (1 interception)

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PENALTIES

* Brownwood: 7 for 51 yards (3.5 for 20.5 per game)

* Opponents: 14 for 113 yards (7.0 for 56.5 per game)