The Brownwood Lions suffered their second consecutive heavy loss Friday night, falling 64-9 to the undefeated Graham Steers at Newton Field in Graham. Brownwood is now 1-3 and will try to end a three-game losing streak next week at China Spring in the final game of the pre-district schedule.
Brownwood briefly led during the opening quarter after Riggs Gray connected with Conner Cornelius for a 17-yard touchdown. Aiden Jimenez added the extra point, giving the Lions a 7-6 advantage with 4:09 remaining in the first period.
That lead did not last. Graham answered with 27 straight points, taking control behind a balanced offense and a defense that repeatedly disrupted Brownwood’s efforts. The Lions’ only points after their touchdown came when Jimenez blocked an extra-point attempt and Hudson Deen returned the ball for two points, cutting Graham’s lead to 33-9.
Graham pulls away before halftime
The Steers led 43-9 at halftime after outgaining Brownwood 406-97 during the first two quarters. Graham added three more touchdowns in the second half and finished with 643 yards of total offense: 330 passing yards and 313 rushing yards.
Quarterback Cooper Corley led the Graham attack with 330 passing yards and two touchdowns on 15 completions. He also ran for 123 yards and scored four touchdowns. Dylan Cox added two rushing touchdowns and 74 rushing yards.
Graham’s receiving production included four catches for 88 yards by Bryce Martin, four receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown by Parker Hale, and three catches for 101 yards by Brodie Martin, who also scored on a 2-yard run. Seth Jilek added a 9-yard touchdown reception.
Injuries leave Brownwood defense short-handed
Brownwood entered the game with an injury-riddled defense. The Lions were without starting defensive end Christian Gray and secondary captains Wyatt Wolf and Nick Rodriguez. Deen moved from outside linebacker into the secondary to help fill the gap.
Safety Hutton Malone, who leads Brownwood with four of the team’s five takeaways, did not finish the game after experiencing concussion-like symptoms in the second half.
Across the past two games, the depleted Lions defense has allowed 118 points and 1,153 yards, including 615 rushing yards and 538 passing yards. Brownwood did not record a takeaway during that span.
Offensively, the Lions have scored 15 points and gained 383 yards over those two games. Against Graham, Brownwood produced 234 yards, including 124 rushing yards—all by Trent Buffington—but committed its first three offensive turnovers of the season.
Gray completed 6 of 21 passes and threw three interceptions. Jack Bauchman caught two passes for 49 yards, while Cornelius had two receptions for 34 yards and scored Brownwood’s touchdown. Brody Bolton made a 22-yard reception, and Garrett Wilkerson finished with a 5-yard catch.
Coach says Lions must improve execution
Brownwood second-year head coach Jeryl Brixey said the Lions had chances to play more effectively early but failed to capitalize against a strong Graham team.
“I felt like we had multiple opportunities to execute better and make some things happen in the first half and we just didn’t for whatever reasons,”
Brixey said the team must return to fundamentals and address repeated execution problems.
“There’s some basic fundamental things that we have to do better. Ultimately we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to do some things well.”
Brownwood’s opening drive showed what the offense could produce. The seven-play, 74-yard possession included a 28-yard completion from Gray to Bauchman and a 22-yard pass to Bolton before Gray found Cornelius for the touchdown.
Graham responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by Corley’s 12-yard keeper at the 9:39 mark of the first period. The extra point missed wide right. After Brownwood took its short-lived lead, Graham’s Walker Bennett returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to the Brownwood 49. Corley then connected with Hale for 41 yards on the first play, setting up Cox’s 1-yard touchdown run.
That score gave Graham a 13-7 lead it would not surrender. Brixey said the Lions must learn from the loss as they prepare for China Spring.
“If we’ll learn from it, we’ll grow and be better.”
China Spring enters the matchup at 1-3 after a 42-39 loss at Glen Rose, which is 2-2. Brownwood has beaten the Cougars in each of the past two seasons.