WACO – The Brownwood Lions traded touchdowns with the Class 4A Division II No. 5 Waco La Vega Pirates in the second half of their encounter Friday night, but were unable to overcome a three-score halftime deficit in a 38-16 loss.
“You’ve got to find positives in the situations and there were a lot of them, but we’re also going to look at the things we need to get better at,” said Lions first-year head coach Jeryl Brixey. “Our kids battled and competed and played through the end of the game. I’m obviously disappointed in how it came out, but I’m really happy with where our defense is, and I think we have a chance to get a lot better. But we have to advance enough offensively to give them a supporting cast.”
Brownwood (1-3) forced three second-half turnovers to keep pace over the final two periods, but La Vega (3-1) still finished with 355 yards of total offense, including 224 passing.
Pirate quarterback Kourtney Parr completed 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards with three scoring tosses, as Jabarie Thornton hauled in six receptions for 108 yards with two touchdowns, and Jamarcus Daniel nabbed four receptions for 73 yards and reached the end zone once.
The Lion offense, meanwhile, generated only 148 total yards – 99 passing and 49 rushing – with a fumble lost.
Quarterback Judson Coalson completed 7 of 17 passes for 99 yards, but lost 23 yards on five carries, due in part to three La Vega sacks. Carson Noe caught a team-high four passes for 53 yards and Robbie Robinson finished with three grabs for 46 yards. On the ground, Levi Pearson amassed a team-high 44 yards and Trent Buffington chipped in 27 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“The breakdowns here and there in the blocking scheme, you just keep rowing the boat and keep coaching and keep fixing and keep tweaking,” Brixey said. “They pick up a little bit every week and each week is a little bit better, but it doesn’t always show that way when your opponent is that much better. But it’s coming, it’s there, and we’re going to keep on doing it.”
La Vega raced out to a 24-0 lead in the first half as the Pirates took the opening drive of the game 74 yards in just five plays as Jorden Walker scored on a 2-yard carry.
Brownwood’s first possession ended on a fumbled snap at the Lion 24, and eight plays later the Pirates were back in the end zone on a 1-yard plunge by Caden Roland for a 14-0 advantage at the 4:44 juncture of the first period.
Before the quarter ended, La Vega extended its advantage to 17-0 on a 35-yard field goal by Giovanni Esqueda with 18 seconds left to cap a seven-play, 43-yard drive.
La Vega padded its cushion to 24-0 with 9:26 left before halftime on a 7-yard scoring toss from Parr to Thornton, which ended a six-play scoring drive after Brownwood failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at its own 41.
The Lions were able to light up the scoreboard before intermission as Eli Valenciano converted a 41-yard field goal as time expired to reduce the Pirate lead to 24-3. Aided by a 36-yard pass from Coalson to Robinson, the Lions traveled 52 yards in 11 plays before being pushed back and settling for the field goal.
Brownwood had a couple of other opportunities to add points to its tally, but came up empty. First, with 6:08 left in the first half, a 31-yard field goal attempt by Valenciano was blocked after Brownwood moved 51 yards in seven plays, most of which came on a 39-yard connection between Coalson and Noe.
In the fourth quarter, a 77-yard touchdown run by Buffington was negated on a penalty – one of just three for 30 yards against Lions. Earlier in the third period, Sirr Beam pounced on a fumble at the La Vega 4 after Brinson Martin stripped the ball away from Walker after a short reception on a screen pass. Over four snaps, however, the Lions lost a yard and turned the ball over on downs.
La Vega, however, coughed up the ball again on the very next play, which Buffington recovered for the Lions at the Pirate 7. Three plays later, Buffington plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out to close the gap to 31-9, following a blocked extra point, with 1:27 left in the third.
“We talked at halftime about shooting ourselves in the foot, and in the second half we did better at that, but they were just more physical than we were down inside the 5 yard line,” Brixey said. “We’ve got to get that fixed and find a way to become a much more physical football team. I felt like our defense gave us a lot of opportunities in the first half, a lot of short fields.”
Brownwood tacked on its final touchdown with 7:07 left in the contest as La Vega dropped back to punt, Esqueda dropped the snap and picked up the ball, only to have it dislodged from his grasp by Lion linebacker Isaac Gonzales. Raven Prado then scooped up the loose ball and raced 31 yards to end zone for the final 22-point difference.
“I did challenge them to win the second half and we were a blocked PAT away from tying the second half,” Brixey said. “I do feel like we played a better ball game in the second half. They’re playing relentless which is a word I love when it comes to defense. The kids are getting in the backfield and creating havoc and putting pressure on the quarterback. We’ll move on and learn from this and take away lessons like we have every game so far.”
La Vega’s two second-half touchdowns came on a 26-yard pass from Parr to Thornton in the third period, and a 25-yard toss from Parr to Daniel in the fourth.
Next week is homecoming for the Lions, who welcome China Spring to Gordon Wood Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Cougars (1-3) are coming off a 36-7 loss to Springtown (4-0) Friday night.
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La Vega 38, Brownwood 16
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Brownwood | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | – 16 |
| La Vega | 17 | 7 | 7 | 7 | – 38 |
***
SCORING SUMMARY
LV: Jourden Walker 2 run (Giovanni Esqueda kick), 10:24, 1st
LV Caden Roland 1 run (Esqueda kick), 4:44, 1st
LV: Esqueda 35 FG, 0:18, 1st
LV: Jabarie Thornton 7 pass from Kourtney Parr (Esqueda kick), 9:26, 2nd
B: Eli Valenciano 41 FG, 0:00, 2nd
LV: Thornton 26 pass from Parr (Esqueda kick), 7:32, 3rd
B: Trent Buffington 2 run (kick blocked), 1:27, 3rd
LV: Jamarcus Daniel 25 pass from Parr (Esqueda kick), 11:17, 3rd
B: Raven Prado 31 fumble return (Valenciano kick), 7:07, 4th
***
| TEAM STATS | B | LV |
| First Downs | 7 | 20 |
| Total Offense | 148 | 355 |
| Rushes-Yards | 33-49 | 26-131 |
| Passing Yards | 99 | 224 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 7-17-0 | 18-25-0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 3 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-30 | 9-93 |
| Punts-Average | 4-37.5 | 3-36.0 |
***
PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: B – Levi Pearson 17-44; Trent Buffington 9-27, TD; Daylyn Ansons 1-2; Robbie Robinson 1-(-1); Judson Coalson 5-(-23). LV – Marcus Jackson 7-46; Tristan Tyler 5-36; Kourtney Parr 5-23; Jourden Walker 5-20, TD; Malachi Williams 1-3; Benjamin Thompson 1-2; Caden Roland 2-1, TD.
PASSING: B – Coalson 7-17-0-99; LV – Parr 17-24-0-202, 3 TDs; Jabarie Thornton 1-1-0-22.
RECEIVING: B – Carson Noe 4-53; Robbie Robinson 3-46. LV – Thornton 6-108, 2 TDs; Jamarcus Daniel 4-73, TD; James Degrate 3-14; Walker 2-12; Jackson 1-13; Roland 1-3; Keith Spratt 1-1.
KICKING: B – Eli Valenciano 1 of 2 PATs. 1 of 2 FGs – long of 41, 1 blocked
4 punts, 150 yards, 37.5 average – 0 inside 20
