Plenty at stake for Brownwood football in facing Burnet

CAPTION: The Burnet linemen are a tough and gritty group that’s unafraid of contact while opening lanes for ball carriers on offense and getting after the ball carrier on defense. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet High School football team will face Brownwood at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Gordon Wood Stadium.

The Lions (3-3, 0-1) are coming off a loss to Lampasas 30-20 Oct. 11 and had the District 4-4A Division I bye last week.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 1-1) lost to the Badgers 42-38 Oct. 18 after beating the Marble Falls Mustangs 43-7 Oct. 11 to earn one of the playoff spots.

Currently Brownwood has a four-game winning streak over Burnet including last year’s 24-10 victory. The two teams have faced each other every season since 2020. But the Bulldogs had leads in the last two meetings only for the Lions to respond and eventually win the games.

The Lions are led by quarterback Judson Coalson, who has completed 63 of 112 passes for 813 yards and seven touchdowns and two interceptions while running for 108 yards and three scores. Top targets are Carson Noe with 21 receptions for 242 yards and a touchdown, Aaron Edmonds with 15 catches for 202 yards and three scores, and Grant Gray with 12 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Trey Mosley, who was listed as a Top 25 freshman in 2022 by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, moved to Brownwood from Duncanville after helping the Panthers win the 2023 Class 6A Division I state title, their second in a row. He currently has 646 rushing yards and seven touchdowns to lead Brownwood in rushing.

“He’s physical, has a lot of breakaway speed,” Burnet head coach Ben Speer said. “He’s very good between the tackles.”

As a team, Brownwood averages 280 yards of total offense.

Burnet will counter with seniors Noah Billock Khris Kassner, Lew Laidler and Alejandro Ochoa, who all have at least 45 tackles this season. The Bulldogs are allowing 25 points per contest and have 12 sacks and eight takeaways.

Brownwood allows 25 points a game and gives up an average of 192 rushing yards and 154 passing yards. The Lions are led by Brinson Martin, who has 79 tackles and a sack, Noah Gonzalez, who has 71 tackles, Wyatt Wolf, who has 53 tackles, and Robert Trowbridge, who has 47 tackles.

“They’re getting better on defense,” Speer said. “It’s hard to play over there. The environment is different.”

The Bulldogs will lean on senior quarterback Rhett Murray, who has completed 112 of 200 passes for 1,443 yards, 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Senior receiver Colt Stanford has 26 receptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns and junior Matthew Williams has 18 catches for 262 yards and a score. Senior athlete Marcus Pimentel has 15 catches for 199 yards and four touchdowns, 24 carries for 128 yards and six scores and has completed 5 of 6 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior running back Josiah Coronado has 115 rushes for 737 yards and three touchdowns and junior Peyton Lopez has 34 carries for 318 yards and three touchdowns.

The Burnet loss to Lampasas was especially difficult. The two teams traded the lead throughout the contest with Burnet leading with about four minutes left only for the Badgers to score on a 41-yard pass. After the Bulldogs didn’t score on their last possession, Lampasas was able to run out the clock for the win.

“We have to regroup,” Speer said. “We can’t let last week bother us against Brownwood.”

CAPTION: Burnet junior running back Josiah Coronado is on pace to be a 1,000-yard rusher this season. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography