Tag: Brownwood Lions

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Late Brownwood rally falls short as Glen Rose locks up district title

BROWNWOOD — For three full quarters, visiting Glen Rose held Brownwood in a defensive vice grip in Tuesday’s District 6-4A matchup. That is, until the Lions switched to full-court defensive pressure down the stretch to put a late scare into the Tigers. 

Leading 32-14 after shutting Brownwood out in the third quarter, Glen Rose saw its lead cut to as little as six in the final minutes of a 43-34 win at BHS. 

Caden Schinagel scored 12 points and Caden Smith dropped in 10 more to pace Glen Rose (23-2, 7-0), which locked up the district title with the win. 

Continue reading “GAME STORY: Late Brownwood rally falls short as Glen Rose locks up district title” →

by Evan Ren

2020 BROWNWOOD FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Youthful Lions to rely on big offensive line to get them through

The good news for Brownwood and third-year coach Sammy Burnett is that the Lions will field a large, physical team, backed with talented, albeit, green skill people. 

The bad news is, they’ll have to demonstrate it in what many believe is Texas’ toughest 4A district. 

The Lions, as fate would have it, are stuck in District 5-4A DI — which by many coaching accounts is a league that borders on ridiculous in terms of difficulty. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: COVID-19 delay may give Brownwood’s McCarty a chance to compete at state

The “What Might Have Been” feature series is Big Country Preps’ effort to celebrate area athletes who have seen their seasons affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The series will continue through June 15 or until the UIL rules that high school athletics statewide may resume. If you have a suggested story for the “What Might Have Been” series, please contact Big Country Preps at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com.

A.J. McCarty was already injured and out of action when COVID-19 stopped UIL spring sports on March 10. He’s also one of the few athletes who could actually benefit from a lengthy delay — if spring sports do return for the 2019-2020 school year.

A four-sport athlete for Brownwood, McCarty was late joining the Lions’ track and field team this spring because he was helping the basketball team win 28 games and advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. On March 4 during his first week with the track team, McCarty fell while practicing handoffs for the 4×100-meter relay and suffered a broken wrist.

“We weren’t going full speed, and I ran up on the other guy too quick,” McCarty said. “I got too close to him, and I stepped on his heel. I couldn’t control myself and fell.”

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brownwood’s Thompson snags first award of 2020

As the Brownwood Lady Lady Lions gain momentum as a team, their offensive leader has remained steady throughout an up-and-down 13-9 season and current five-game winning streak. 

Senior forward Matyah Thompson, has been a rock of consistency thus far, but most recently her efforts placed her among the area’s elite — so much so that she has garnered our first Big Country Preps Player of the Week award of 2020. 

That’s saying a lot, considering this week’s award is the only accolade we give over the span of two weeks, to cover games played over the Christmas break. And as you’ll see, there were several great efforts from players around the area. 

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by Evan Ren

District 5-4A Division I: Week 10 Report

Stephenville 49, Gatesville 24 — Coach Sterling doty’s Yellow Jackets (5-4, 2-2) piled up 503 yards in total offense, including 386 rushing yards to lock up a playoff berth. 

Stephenville will now enjoy a bye week in preparation for the playoffs. 

Gatesville (0-9, 0-4) was mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt with the loss. 

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by Evan Ren

BCP GAME OF THE WEEK: Mistakes, La Vega speed cost Brownwood in loss

BROWNWOOD — No. 3 Waco La Vega may have been as fast and as athletic as advertised. But once the Brownwood Lions examine the videotape of Friday’s Big Country Preps Game of the Week, they may very well find that their 31-14 loss was winnable. 

Elisha Cummings rushed for 76 yards and two scores to lift La Vega (8-1, 3-0 District 5-4A DI), which clinched the district title with only 285 yards in total offense. 

Brownwood, which hurt itself with a pair turnovers, fell to 8-1 and 2-1 with its first loss of the year. 

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by Evan Ren

District 5-4A Division I: Week 7 Report

Huff

Brownwood 49, Gatesville 0 — Reece Rodgers rushed for 215 yards and three scores and Drew Huff threw for 182 yards and three scores to lead Brownwood (7-0, 1-0) which continues to play in a dominating fashion. 

The Lion defense posted its third straight shutout and fourth overall while collecting the win.

Brownwood will now move into its bye week, prior to facing archrival Stephenville on Oct. 25. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Undefeated Lions led by lightning-quick defense

2019 Brownwood Snyder

It’s not difficult to discover why the Brownwood Lions are 5-0 and ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A Division I. Their defense is allowing 6.4 points per game and has recorded two shutouts.

“We’re thrilled, obviously,” said David Jones, Brownwood’s second-year defensive coordinator. “It gets harder to defend teams every year with the way they spread the field and the number of snaps they’re getting.

“But we believe that if each player will take care of his business, we’ll be tough to score on.”

Brownwood is fresh off its second shutout this year — a 33-0 win Friday over Class 5A DII Abilene Wylie — a game in which the Lions’ defense allowed only 109 total yards. The other shutout was 10-0 over 3A DI state-ranked Brock in the season opener. Sandwiched between the shutouts are wins overs Snyder (70-3), Graham (28-14) and Wichita Falls Rider (37-15). Brownwood will play its final nondistrict game Friday against Conroe Grand Oaks, a new program that will join the UIL next season.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Brownwood senior Ellett tosses two no-nos to take award

No-hitters are fairly common in fastpitch softball, but they are to be respected, nonetheless — especially when someone throws two of them in one week. 

Chyanne Ellett, Brownwood’s senior ace who has been among the area’s top hurlers since her freshman year, accomplished the feat last week in a 5-0 win over Chisholm trail and a 1-0 loss to Granbury that saw GHS pitcher Alison Been match Ellett’s no-no with one of her own. 

Continue reading “Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Brownwood senior Ellett tosses two no-nos to take award” →

by Evan Ren

PHOTO GALLERY: Evan Ren’s Top 100 football photos for 2018

FEATURED SCHOOLS: Albany, Anson, Baird, Breckenridge, Brock, Brownwood, Clyde, Coahoma, Colorado City, Comanche, Cross Plains, Dublin, Eastland, Forsan, Hamlin, Haskell, Jim Ned, Merkel, Snyder, Stamford, Stephenville, Wall and Winters.

Photos may be purchased for $7 each by pushing the small shopping cart emblem below the lower right corner of the gallery.

by Daniel Youngblood

Brownwood runs away from Wylie in second half (w/ photo gallery)

BROWNWOOD — The Brownwood Lions weren’t perfect in the second half of their 53-21 win over Wylie on Friday night, but they were pretty darn close.

Trailing 14-13 at halftime, coach Sammy Burnett’s squad outscored the Bulldogs 40-7 over the final two quarters — including a 26-0 fourth period — to defeat Wylie for the first time since 2010.

The Lions intercepted Harrison Atwood four times in the second half and finished with 594 total yards in winning their third straight game to improve to 3-2 on the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

District 5-4A Division I: Week 1 Report

Argyle 45, Stephenville 35 — The top-ranked Eagles put Stephenville  in some uncomfortable situations Friday night, but they couldn’t put the Yellow Jackets away until a fourth-quarter field goal made it a two-score game late.

Argyle bottled up running Krece Nowak like few teams have, holding the senior standout to 56 yards on 16 carries, and the Eagles limited quarterback Cole Stanley to just 13-of-37 passing. But the new Stephenville signal caller hit enough big plays to keep his team in the game, finishing with 304 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

The Jackets, who also got a defensive touchdown from Colton Accomazzo, may see 0-1 on their record, but there’s little reason to be discouraged by their opener. A competitive showing on the road against an elite team shows the type of group they have, and with some improvement, they’ll be a dangerous team come playoff time once again.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 10: Al Pickett joins guys to talk “Brother’s Keeper” movie, more

Al Pickett
Al Pickett

In his more than 30 years as a part of Abilene’s sports scene, Al Pickett has done a little bit of everything. In addition to serving as the sports editor of the Abilene Reporter-News for 15 years, Pickett has been the play-by-play voice for numerous local high school and college teams, hosted his own radio show, “Let’s Talk Sports,” and authored five books about sports in Abilene and Texas.

Pickett, who is both the founder and a member of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame, took some time this week to talk about his career in sports journalism, seeing his book “Brother’s Keeper” being made into a feature film and what his future holds on this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood discuss the situations each of the area’s seven 11-man coaches taking over new programs face in 2018.

by Daniel Youngblood

Brownwood coach Sammy Burnett thrilled to be home

In describing what he expects from the players in his program, first-year Brownwood coach Sammy Burnett speaks often about “the Brownwood way.” Growing up in the town and suiting up for legendary coaches Gordon Wood and Randy Allen has earned him that right.

When Burnett talks about Lion pride and living up to the Brownwood tradition, it’s not a gimmick. It’s personal.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Burnett, Brownwood Lions excited for challenge in ’18

Placed in a district with No. 3 Stephenville, No. 4 Waco La Vega, No. 14 China Spring and Gatesville, a 7-4 playoff qualifier a year ago, the Brownwood Lions will have as tough a path to the postseason as anyone in 2018.

Add a nondistrict slate of Class 3A Division I No. 1 Brock, Snyder, Class 4A Div. II No. 6 Graham and strong 5A outfits from Wichita Falls Rider and Wylie, and you have a nine-game schedule that is sure to test the Lions’ strength and durability.

But don’t expect this Brownwood group to be intimidated by the road ahead. First-year Lions coach Sammy Burnett, a former Brownwood Lion himself, won’t allow that to happen.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 9: Legendary Brownwood radio voice Dallas Huston checks in

Dallas Huston

Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Dallas Huston has spent more than half a century calling Brownwood Lion sporting events, and both his name and voice have earned iconic status in the Big Country as a result.

This week, Huston visited with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood to discuss his time on the mic, his favorite memories of Brownwood football and some of his most outrageous stories from the road on this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode Evan and Daniel share some of their observations from the 2018 photo tour, which took the pair through football practices in every corner of the Big Country.