A familiar foe awaits the Brownwood Lions, who begin their 17th consecutive postseason run and quest for a fourth straight bi-district championship, as the Big Spring Steers return to the schedule for the fourth year in row.
Kickoff for the Class 4A Division I Region I Bi-District contest between the District 4 runner-up Lions (6-4) and District 3 third-seed Steers (5-5) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Wildcat Stadium.
The Lions defeated Big Spring, 56-13, in the bi-district round a year ago, and in 2022 and 2023 claimed district victories over the Steers by a combined score of 97-17.
“Big Spring is certainly athletic enough and good enough that if we don’t go play well we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment, so we’re going to bust our tails this week to make sure we go play well,” said Lions first-year head coach Jeryl Brixey, whose team has won five of its last six contests.
Big Spring enters the playoffs averaging 34 points per contest, while allowing 31 points per outing.
Heading into the regular season finale against Pecos, Steer quarterback Marcus Rios had completed 92 of 170 passes for 1,702 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while rushing for 681 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns on the ground.
Xander Garza (702 rushing yards, 8 TDs) is the top threat out of the backfield, while leading receivers include Jacobi Lozano (34-751, 8 TDs), Kaine Valenzuela (35-471, 3 TDs), and Eithan Threats (14-395, 5 TDs).
Big Spring picked up its lone district win over Pecos, 34-21, last week to clinch the No. 3 playoff berth from District 3-4A Division I.
In that contest, Rios threw a pair of touchdown passes, Garza rushed for one and Lozano returned a punt 49 yards for touchdown. Sebastian Torres Barrera also booted a pair of field goals for Big Spring, which reeled off 24 unanswered points after giving up the game’s first touchdown.
The Steers started district play with a 28-20 loss to eventual league champion Andrews.
Big Spring gave up the first touchdown and faced a 21-7 deficit by halftime, as the Steers’ rally came up short. Rios and Garza scored touchdowns on the ground and Lozano caught a scoring toss from Rios for the third Big Spring touchdown.
In possibly the most noteworthy district game for Big Spring, the Steers dropped a 76-49 shootout to league runner-up San Angelo Lake View.
Big Spring surrendered 526 yards of total offense – 293 passing and 233 rushing – as Lake View set a record for most points scored in a game in school history.
The Steers countered with 603 yards of total offense as Rios passed for 297 yards and two scores and rushed for 128 yards and four more touchdowns. Valenzuela finished with 10 grabs for 166 yards, but the Steers coughed up the ball three times with just one takeaway.
Outside of district play, Big Spring defeated Lubbock High (41-27), Borger (34-12), Snyder (49-35) and Kermit (49-14) as the Steers owned a 4-3 record prior to the start of district.
“Offensively, their quarterback is the guy everything hinges around,” Brixey said. “He runs a third of their running plays, which are designed for him. He’s got a big arm, he can throw the ball a long way. He’s one of the guys you have to question if you want to pressure, because if he gets out he’s dangerous with the football in his hands. They have a couple of different kids that play running back. They’ve got three receivers that get most of the targets. Valenzuela is their main receiver, Lozano is also a receiver that plays wildcat quarterback and Threats is their tall receiver, he’s about 6-3. They’re a three-wide, two-back offense for the most part. We’re going to have to do a good job containing the quarterback and stopping the run.”
The Lions defense gives up 24 points and 247 yards – 136 passing and 111 rushing – per game on average, with 21 takeaways and 21 sacks.
Standouts include Brinson Martin (75.5 tackles, 8 for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Wyatt Wolf (70.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions), Caven Webster (69.5 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 blocked kick), Isaac Gonzales (63.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 3.5 sacks), Christian Gray (50.5 tackles, 9 for loss, 7 sacks), Durham Brown (50 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries), Nick Rodriguez (31 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions), Sirr Beam (29.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery), and Raul Eberhardt (26 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery).
Regarding the Steers defense, Brixey said, “They base out of a 4-2-5 which is a familiar defense to us at this point as far as playing against it. They’ve got one defensive end, David Franks, and from what we’ve gathered his uncle is Bubba Franks from Big Spring that played in the NFL a long time. He’s a tall, fast kid that plays hard.”
Behind a combination Aviud Gomez, Gustavo Gonzalez, Aidan Packhesier, Jackson Rainey, Rylan Martin and Omari McNeil up front, Brownwood’s offense is producing 26 points and 254 yards – 157 passing and 97 rushing – per outing, with 21 turnovers.
Quarterback Judson Coalson has connected on 96 of 166 passes for 1,568 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as leading receivers include Carson Noe (41-775, 10 TDs), Connor Cornelius (17-275, 4 TDs), Raven Prado (7-85), Daylyn Ansons (7-37), Grant Gray (5-144, 2 TDs) and Hudson Fry (5-95, TD). Weapons out of the backfield include Trent Buffington (543 rushing yards, 6 TDs) and Levi Pearson (412 rushing yards, 2 TDs).s
“Offensively, we have to build on what we’re doing and continue to get better at running the football, controlling the game and controlling the clock,” Brixey said. “We also have to continue to complete the passes we’ve been completing in the play action game, which has really been good for us.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, the Lions are 37-point favorites.
Friday’s winner will advance to face with District 1 champion El Paso Ysleta (10-0) or District 2 fourth seed Canyon (6-4) in second round action next week.