Burnet football honors the accomplishments of the 2022 season

CAPTION: The seniors lead attendees in the singing of the school song. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Burnet High School football program conducted a banquet Feb. 26 with a sit-down dinner and handed out individual awards.

Hundreds attended, prompting Braden Ellett-Clark, who was one of four seniors asked to tell the audience what being a football player meant to him, to state “there’s more people here than I thought.”

The event had the right mix of laughter and emotion as talkers made sure to pick on each other and speak from their hearts.

If there was one moment that exemplified what head coach Bryan Wood wanted, it came from the four senior speakers and was summed up by quarterback Tanner O’Hair, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury midway through the regular season.

Wood noted O’Hair’s first love is baseball and took the role of quarterback because of his love for his peers, program and community. But as the coach saw O’Hair being attended to by the school’s athletic trainers during the injury, Wood confessed his first thought was that he hoped it didn’t ruin the athlete’s baseball season.

O’Hair hasn’t missed a beat on the diamond, the coach said.

When O’Hair spoke, he read lyrics from Kenny Chesney’s song “The Boys of Fall” and gave his own spin of how the words summed up being a Burnet Bulldog.

When he got towards the end of his speech, O’Hair’s heart was visible for all to see.

“They are more than just coaches to me,” he said as his voice cracked. “As a Burnet player, we have coaches who believe in us and want the best for our team. When you’re a Burnet football player, that involves commitment and growth.”

“These seniors are really special,” Wood said. “One of the proudest moments was when the season was over and (running back) Jose Rodriguez walks over and they squeeze you and say ‘I love you coach.’ They do that because we tell them we love them. Best thing you can give is discipline. If they know you love them, then they respect you enough to do it.”

It’s no wonder O’Hair was given the Burn the Ship Award, named because of a story about Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. When Cortes and his 600 men reached Mexico in 1519, he burned the ships so the men were forced to move forward.

O’Hair was much like Cortes, Wood said.

“He went all in and did what he was asked to do,” the coach said. “Stuff goes bad. When he went down and broke his collarbone, it was a gut punch to me. The Good Lord took care of Tanner. Nobody did more than Tanner.”

Rodriguez, who was an All-District 13-4A Division I second team selection, was given the Ride for the D.A.W.G.S. Brand Award that stands for determination, attitude, work ethic, grind and sacrifice. The players chose the words. Wood said this award goes to the athlete who brings energy and encouragement to his teammates, has a positive outlook, and puts in the time to improve that inspires those around him.

“Jose gives it all he’s got,” Wood said. “I don’t know what he’s going to do for a living, but he’s going to be great. He has all the respect of his teammates and coaches.”

And that’s how the 2022 season will be regarded — as a squad of doers that gutted out wins and did its best to impose its will with talented athletes and with some who didn’t exit the field for four quarters.

One was junior Dash Denton, who was a first team all-district selection as a running back and a linebacker, and Burnet’s Most Valuable Player and the Defensive Skill Player of the Year.

“If we had a draft and were going to pick a kid to play on both sides, (it’s this kid),” Wood said. “First team all-district says a lot about him.”

“Dash was getting us lined up right, recognizing formations and yelling them out,” defensive coordinator Ben Speer said. “When he gets it, everyone else gets it.”

Another was junior Grant Jones who earned the Offensive Most Valuable Player and Special Teams awards for a blocked punt against Giddings and a kickoff return for a touchdown against Marble Falls that “reset” both games and helped the Bulldogs capture wins. Jones was a first team all-district selection for defense and special teams,

“This is a player who ended up playing all skill positions on the field,” coach Trever Couch said. “He’s pretty special with the ball in his hands.”

Ellett-Clark, who was a first team all-district selection at receiver, is the Offensive Skill Player of the Year.

“(He’s a) guy who loves it as much as I do,” Couch said.

Senior left tackle Jose Lopez is the Offensive Lineman of the Year.

“He did a great job of dealing with coach McIntosh yelling at him,” offensive coordinator and line coach Tyler McIntosh said. “I’m proud of you Jose.”

Junior Trenton Park, a first team all-district selection at linebacker, is the Defense’s Most Valuable Player and junior Grayson Blair, a second team all-district selection, is the Defensive Lineman of the Year.

“Trenton has the ability to diagnosis things, break things down and knew what I was thinking,” Speer said.

Defensive line coach Tim Perkins said he asked Speer to send him Blair numerous times before the youngster became a lineman.

“Finally, last summer, he let me have him,” Perkins said.

Sophomore lineman Johnathan Ryder, a second team all-district selection, was the Offensive Newcomer of the Year, and sophomore linebacker Khris Kassner, a second team all-district selection, is the Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

“Johnathan is getting stronger, and he’s starting to look like he’s on the line,” Wood said. “We threw Khris on the line, and he learned on the fly. He kept fighting. He ended up being our second leading tackler.”

Other second team all-district selections included junior receiver Garner Krause and junior outside linebacker Will Johnson.

While the varsity’s goals were higher than its 4-6 record, Wood noted two losses in non-district were to a Llano squad that went 13-1 and had a chance to play in December, and a Brownwood team that played in three rounds of the playoffs.

“We went nose to nose with (Llano),” he said. “I’ve never seen guys spent like that at half. We had guys who didn’t come off the field. That was the hottest, most humid game I’ve ever been in in my life. We had kids laying down on the floor exhausted. We were in shape. We were cramping, and we were out of juice.”

Wood recently attended a coaches’ clinic where he was stopped by a coach who is on staff at a District 13-4A Division I opponent.

“He said there’s nobody in our district who plays harder than the Burnet Bulldogs,” Wood said. ” He said, ‘You were the hardest team we had to prepare for.’ And his team was in the playoffs. Other coaches notice it and their players notice it. I heard that a lot. We know we’re going to play hard. Now we have to know how to win.”

The junior varsity posted a 4-5-1 record that included three losses by one score.

The freshmen earned a 6-4 record.

“They played hard,” Couch said. “When you come to high school, you’re trying to figure things out, where you fit in and you have coaches yelling at you. By the end of the year, we were rolling. They’re a good group of kids, they’re a great group of young men. This group has a lot of ability.”

“These guys will be something special if they can figure it out all out,” coach Russell Houston said. “Keep going — the grind is just starting. I can’t wait to see what you do in the next couple of years.”

Watch videos on Highland Lakes sports by going to Fierro’s YouTube channel and searching for The Broad Podcaster. Please like, subscribe and share.