The Brownwood Lions finished their first week of 2026 football practice with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday morning at Gordon Wood Stadium, and second-year head coach Jeryl Brixey said the team is progressing as expected. The Lions entered the season ranked No. 24 in Class 4A Division II by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
The early start marks a change from last season, when Brownwood was still learning the offensive and defensive systems Brixey introduced during his first year leading the program. The coach said the players’ familiarity with those schemes has helped the 2026 team move faster through the opening week.
“We’re where we want to be for one week,” Brixey said. “For our first intrasquad scrimmage we’re in a good place, but we have to get a heck of a lot better before next Thursday. That’s going to be the deal every week, try to improve.”
Brownwood prepares for ranked Brock
Brownwood will host No. 6 Brock at Gordon Wood Stadium Thursday in the first of two preseason scrimmages. The Lions will travel to face No. 12 Alvarado, a Class 4A Division I team, for the second scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 20.
Brixey said the first priority in evaluating the Saturday scrimmage was physical play. He saw encouraging effort from the Lions, but also identified several areas requiring immediate attention: pass protection on drop-back plays, tackling, unforced penalties and ball security.
“The first thing we’re always going to look for is to see whether we’re physical or not. I do believe we did some things that were very physical so that was encouraging. You want your kids to play hard, and we’re doing that.”
The Lions also lost too many possessions through fumbles and committed what Brixey described as “stupid penalties,” or unforced errors that can change a game.
Quarterback, running game and defense provide highlights
Riggs Gray, who is moving into the starting quarterback role, connected with Conner Cornelius for a 35-yard touchdown on the first play of the scrimmage. Gray later threw a 45-yard touchdown to KeShaun White after a coverage breakdown and found Gus Stegemoller for a 30-yard scoring pass.
Behind an offensive line returning only Jackson Rainey and Rylan Martin as starters, Trent Buffington produced runs of 38, 15 and 11 yards. The Lions’ leading rusher in 2025 also scored on a 1-yard run on the final snap.
Defensively, Wyatt Wolf returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, while Daniel Bates also intercepted a pass. The front, led by Christian Gray, recorded several sacks during the live-action work.
Brownwood will practice Monday through Wednesday before Thursday’s matchup with Brock. The focus will be correcting assignment mistakes, eliminating self-inflicted errors and protecting the football. Brixey said the team’s standard is zero turnovers and that the Lions must continue becoming more physical as preparation continues.