The Brownwood Lions were 50 seconds away from a signature victory over the nation’s No. 1-ranked team when Stephenville struck for a 75-yard touchdown and escaped Gordon Wood Stadium with a 28-24 win Friday night in the 86th Battle of 377.
Brownwood built a 14-7 halftime lead by forcing four turnovers and twice regained the lead after the break. The Lions scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:29 remaining, but defending Class 4A Division I state champion Stephenville answered before the final minute expired.
Late touchdown decides rivalry game
With Brownwood leading 24-21, Stephenville took possession at its own 30-yard line with less than 90 seconds remaining. After quarterback Trot Jordan lost 5 yards on first down and Hudson Deen broke up a pass on second-and-15, Jordan faced third-and-15 at the Yellow Jackets’ 25.
Jordan then found Caden Monk on a deep slant. Monk raced 75 yards for the winning touchdown and a 28-24 Stephenville lead. Monk finished with four catches for 98 yards, while Jordan completed 9 of 18 passes for 156 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
“We turned the guy loose across the middle and he’s fast and we couldn’t catch him,” Brownwood coach Jeryl Brixey said. “I haven’t seen the replay on why that happened, they just made a play and we didn’t. We should have won this game by two touchdowns. We had opportunities and we didn’t capitalize on turnovers, and we didn’t make the plays we needed to make in the second half to win the game.”
The loss dropped Brownwood to 1-1, while Stephenville improved to 2-0 and extended its winning streak in the series to seven games. Brownwood last defeated the Yellow Jackets in 2019 but still leads the all-time series 47-37-2.
Buffington leads Brownwood offense
Brownwood’s final lead came after an 11-play, 68-yard drive that lasted 2 minutes, 50 seconds. Trent Buffington finished the possession with a 27-yard touchdown run, giving him 186 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the night. Jackson Rainey, Rylan Martin, Bowen Slack, Layton Greer, Cathan Kinsey and Judah Lee provided the blocking on the scoring run.
“It was a good drive,” Brixey said. “We were in more of what we call a four-minute offense, and I just don’t think they expected a pitch in that situation and he just took it the house on the weak side. It was a heck of a run.”
Stephenville had taken a 21-17 lead with 4:19 left on a 1-yard touchdown run by Zyler McClendon. The scoring drive covered 60 yards in 13 plays and consisted entirely of McClendon runs. He carried 35 times for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
Brownwood answered with a 70-yard, 11-play drive but settled for Aiden Jimenez’s 22-yard field goal, which put the Lions ahead 17-14 with 10:09 remaining. Riggs Gray’s 35-yard completion to Brody Bolton moved Brownwood to the Stephenville 10-yard line during the drive.
Gray completed 12 of 24 passes for 109 yards. Brownwood finished with 284 yards of total offense, including 175 rushing and 109 passing, and did not commit a turnover.
Defense creates early opportunities
Stephenville scored first when Jordan connected with Pecos Tally for a 16-yard touchdown pass on the Yellow Jackets’ opening drive. Brownwood tied the game when Buffington scored on a 9-yard run with 30 seconds left in the first quarter, then took the lead six plays after Hutton Malone intercepted Jordan at the Stephenville 36.
Malone intercepted Jordan three times, including twice during the opening quarter. Sirr Beam added an interception at the Brownwood 11 and returned it to the Stephenville 44, while Malone also recovered a McClendon fumble at the Brownwood 35 before halftime. The Lions could not turn either late first-half takeaway into additional points.
Isaac Gonzales led Brownwood with 10.5 tackles and a sack. Christian Gray recorded seven tackles, Beam had six tackles with his interception, Deen made 5.5 tackles, Hudson Fry had five tackles including two for loss, Malone finished with 4.5 tackles and Maddox Mendoza recorded 3.5 tackles.
Stephenville tied the game at 14 with 3:28 left in the third quarter when McClendon scored on an 8-yard run. The Yellow Jackets produced 443 total yards, with 287 rushing and 156 passing.
“Could’ves and would’ves and all that, I’m not about moral victories,” Brixey said. “Stephenville is a great football team, and to walk off the field feeling like you should have won a game against a great football team is a measure of how hard our team worked and where we’re at. We’re going to take this, we’re going to learn from it, we’re going to grow from it, but we’re not happy about it and we’re not satisfied with it.”
Brownwood will host Springtown at 7 p.m. next Friday at Gordon Wood Stadium. Springtown, ranked third in the preseason in Class 4A Division I, entered the matchup at 0-2 after falling 38-35 to Robinson, a Brownwood District 13-4A Division II rival.