Burnet football loses to Stephenville, prepares for playoffs
CAPTION: Senior receiver Colt Stanford (18), junior Riley Howell and the Bulldogs are headed back to the Class 4A Division I playoffs. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School football team lost to Stephenville 51-7 Nov. 8 to finish the regular season.
The Bulldogs (5-5, 1-3 fourth in District 4-4A Division I) now prepare for Andrews (4-6, 3-0 District 3-4A Division I champion) in a bi-district championship at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at San Angelo Stadium, 1919 Knickerbocker Road in San Angelo.
The Yellowjackets (9-1, 4-0 District 4-4A Division I champions) led 14-0 after the first quarter, 24-0 at the half, and 37-0 after the third period.
“They do a good job,” Burnet head coach Ben Speer said. “They play hard and get after it. They’re great young men and respectful. It was a tough loss.”
The Bulldogs’ touchdown came on a 14-yard pass to junior Cohen Jorpeland from senior quarterback Rhett Murray.
Stephenville had 485 yards of total offense with 212 coming from its rushing attack. The Yellowjackets completed 21 of 30 passes for 273 yards, three touchdowns and one interception caught by junior Cason O’Hair. They had 30 rushes for 212 yards and four scores.
“We did well in holding them in check and making them earn it,” Speer said. “In the second half, you can tell the difference in depth. They’re pretty good.”
Burnet had 218 yards of total offense with 90 coming on the ground.
Murray completed 16 of 25 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Junior Matthew Williams had five receptions for 54 yards, while senior athlete Marcus Pimentel had five catches for 42 yards. Jorpeland caught three passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Junior running back Josiah Coronado had 12 carries for 55 yards.
The coach noted the Bulldogs had moments to shorten the contest and keep it close or at least extend drives to put themselves in position to score. He called “all those things good.”
“Gong into it, you’d like to see us compete,” he said. “We had our chances. Offensively, we were off target a couple of times and dropped a couple of balls. You have to execute. When opportunities come, you have to execute.”
Little changed Speer’s opinion of Stephenville after the contest.
“I would put them as one (of the regional favorites). They’re definitely top five or six in the state. They have the talent, they’re good in just about every position.”
