After playing Class 4A Division II No. 5 La Vega even in the second half of last week’s 38-16 loss, the Brownwood Lions and head coach Jeryl Brixey are hopeful that performance will serve as a turning point in the season with two contests remaining prior to the start of District 4-4A Division I competition.

The first of those games takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the China Spring Cougars visit the Lions (1-3) for homecoming.

“I think they’re in the same boat that we’re in having played a lot of good football teams,” Brixey said. “They lost to Springtown last week, but China Spring has been a power as of late in 4A and a really good program. They’ve lost to some good football teams, but their kids are going to come in here much like ours, hungry for a win, and I think it’s going to be a hard-fought game.”

The Cougars (1-3) opened the season with an impressive 42-28 victory over Class 3A Division I No. 2 Franklin, a game in which China Spring amassed 543 yards of total offense. Running back Chrishon Gregory led the onslaught with 337 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and he also caught a 79-yard touchdown pass.

“Like any other week you want to shut down someone’s run game and make them one dimensional,” Brixey said of the potential challenges the China Spring rush attack presents. “We’ve done a pretty good job against people’s running games this year. We’ve given up a few big plays in the passing game, but I feel like it’s another challenge for them, one that they’ll do a good job with.”

In Week 2 against Class 5A Division II Bastrop, China Spring raced out to a 34-21 halftime lead, but the wheels fell off in the second half as the Cougars turned the ball over three times and failed to score again in what turned out to be a 48-34 loss.

A 48-24 loss to 5A Division II Waco University followed, where the Cougars lost quarterback Jaxon Knapp – who passed for 213 yards and three touchdowns against Bastrop and threw for 123 yards with a touchdown and added 82 yards on the ground against Franklin – to a shoulder injury.

Knapp missed last week’s game at undefeated 4A Division I Springtown, as the China Spring offense sputtered in a 36-7 loss. Brycen Collard has taken over behind center in Knapp’s absence.

“We don’t know anything about it other than he has a shoulder injury,” Brixey said of Knapp. “We don’t know if he’ll be back or not, but regardless if they have him or not, they’ll be competitive and try to throw the football.”

Defensively, China Spring is yielding 40 points per game on average and no opponent has scored fewer than 28 points in a game this season.

In last week’s loss to La Vega, Brownwood surrendered the first 24 points and trailed 24-3 at halftime, but matched the Pirates touchdown for touchdown in the second half. The Lions were aided by three second-half takeaways – one that resulted directly in points on a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Raven Prado, and another fumble scooped up by Trent Buffington at the Pirate 7 that led to a Buffington 2-yard touchdown run.

Overall, the Lion defense yielded 355 yards – 224 passing and 131 rushing – while Brownwood’s offense netted just 148 yards – 99 through the air and 48 on the ground – with one turnover.

“The improvement is there every week,” Brixey said. “I would like it to be by leaps and bounds, but it’s not, it’s incremental. We played a really quality opponent last week and we got some opportunities provided by the defense that we didn’t capitalize on. We had two or three trips to the red zone where we came away with no points. You can’t do that and expect to win. Sometimes the kids feel like it’s miles away but it’s really not. Keep making incremental improvements and keep playing hard, and I think we have the capability of being a quality football team and a very competitive playoff football team. We just have to keep improving.”

Behind a front five of Aidan Packheiser, Jackson Rainey, Gustavo Gonzalez, Avuid Gomez, and Rylan Martin, the Lions head into Friday’s contest producing 15 points and 184 yards – 104 passing and 80 rushing – per outing, with 10 turnovers. Judson Coalson has connected on 32 of 61 passes for 418 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions, as leading receivers include Carson Noe (15-230, TD), Robbie Robinson (7-71), Connor Cornelius (4-38, 2 TDs), and Prado (3-43). The ground game is anchored by Levi Pearson (208 rushing yards) and Buffington (117 rushing yards, 2 TDs).

“I think the biggest improvement for us has been up front on the offensive line because they had the biggest difference in terms of systems and how they’re being asked to play, and they have the least amount of experience and are the youngest ones across the board,” Brixey said. “They’ve gotten better every week with communication and the understanding of the offense.”

Defensively, the Lions are allowing 31 points and 301 yards – 177 passing and 124 rushing – per outing, with eight takeaways, including seven over the last two games.

Standouts include Brinson Martin (31 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Caven Webster (27 tackles, 1 interception), Durham Brown (21.5 tackles, 1 sack), Wyatt Wolf (20 tackles, 1 interception), Christian Gray (19.5 tackles, 3 for loss, 1.5 sacks), Isaac Gonzales (18 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks), Nick Rodriguez (16.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception), and Sirr Beam (13 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery).

In terms of the goals Brixey has in place for the Lions Friday night, he said, “I want to see us continue to eliminate mistakes, not have turnovers, not have penalties and play great defense. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a great opportunity to win no matter who the opponent is.”

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Lions are 5-point favorites. Harris Ratings Weekly lists Brownwood as a 3-point favorite.

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Brownwood Lions 2025 Football Season Stats

Through 4 Games (1-3)

TEAM OFFENSE

15.0 points per game (60)

184.5 yards per game (738)

80.0 rushing yards per game (320)

104.5 passing yards per game (418)

PASSING

* Judson Coalson

32 of 61 for 418 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs

* Levi Pearson

0 of 1 for 0 yards, 1 INT

RUSHING

* Levi Pearson

208 yards on 76 carries

* Trent Buffington

117 yards on 22 carries, 2 TDs

* Robbie Robinson

23 yards on 8 carries

* Daylyn Ansons

5 yards on 2 carries

* Judson Coalson

-5 yards on 20 carries

* TEAM

-28 yards on 3 carries

RECEIVING

* Carson Noe

15 catches, 230 yards, 1 TD

* Robbie Robinson

7 catches, 71 yards

* Connor Cornelius

4 catches, 38 yards, 2 TDs

* Raven Prado

3 catches, 43 yards

* Wyatt Wolf

1 catch, 22 yards

* Levi Pearson

1 catch, 11 yards

* Daylyn Ansons

1 catch, 3 yards

###

TEAM DEFENSE

31.5 points per game (126)

300.7 yards per game (1,203)

123.7 rushing yards per game (495)

177.0 passing yards per game (708)

TACKLES

* Brinson Martin

31 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Caven Webster

27 tackles, 1 interception

* Durham Brown

21.5 tackles, 1 sack

* Wyatt Wolf

20 tackles, 1 interception

* Christian Gray

19.5 tackles, 3 for loss, 1.5 sacks

* Isaac Gonzales

18 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks

* Nick Rodriguez

16.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception

* Sirr Beam

13 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery

* Raul Eberhardt

10 tackles

* Finn Hull

8.5 tackles

* Raven Prado

6.5 tackles, 1 punt block, 1 fumble recovery

* Trent Buffington

5.5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Aiden Jimenez

3 tackles

* Robbie Robinson

3 tackles

* Carson Noe

3 tackles

* Kasyn Wooten

1.5 tackles

* Maddox Mendoza

1.5 tackles

* Levi Pearson

1.5 tackles

* Eli Valenciano

1 tackle

* Ke’Shaun White

0.5 tackles

###

KICKING

Eli Valenciano

2 of 4 FGs – long of 41, 1 blocked

6 of 8 PATs – 1 blocked

12 points

15 punts, 521 yards, 34.7 average – long of 53; 3 inside opponents’ 20

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-2)

* Brownwood: 10 (6 interceptions, 4 fumbles)

* Opponents: 8 (4 interceptions, 4 fumbles)

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PENALTIES

* Brownwood: 20 for 171 yards (5.0 for 42.7 per game)

* Opponents: 28 for 249 yards (7.0 for 62.2 per game)