ABILENE – Brownwood Lions second-year head coach Jeryl Brixey anticipated a veteran defense’s “bend but don’t break” philosophy would provide significant dividends over the long haul in 2026, but after Week 1 that has already proven to be true.
The Harris Ratings Weekly Class 4A Division II No. 17 Brownwood Lions denied the Class 5A Division II Abilene Wylie Bulldogs on four trips inside the red zone – the opponents’ 20 yard line – which sparked a 13-7 season-opening victory for Brixey’s squad Friday night at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
“There were a lot whole of positives, and some things we can build on, but I felt like we played great defense, honestly,” Brixey said. “The kids rose up and played well. Our kids work so hard, they do, and that’s why this is not for everybody. There’s a bunch of guys that don’t play football at Brownwood High School because of how hard it is, but how hard we work shows up in situations like this. Our kids don’t know how to quit, and our defense pulled us out of the fire.”
None of the Lion defensive stops were more important than the last, which occurred with 36 seconds left in the contest. After Wylie had produced its only touchdown with 1:40 remaining on a 35-yard scoring toss from Jadin Karleskint to Dylan Regala, the Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Brownwood 49.
The Bulldogs matriculated the ball down to the Brownwood 16, where third-and-10 and fourth-and-10 passes by the Wylie quarterback Karleskint were both off the mark, thanks to pressure from the maroon and white front, allowing the Lions to hang on for the victory.
Brownwood’s first stop came on the initial drive of the game and changed the complexion. Despite a sack by Hayden Fulkersin midway through the possession, Wylie chewed seven minutes off the clock and marched 81 yards in 16 plays, but a 22-yard field goal attempt by Kannon Ruffin sailed wide right, and the Lions dodged their first bullet.
The Lions went three-and-out on their first offensive possession, but a 65-yard punt from Hudson Deen pinned Wylie back at their own 10 yard line. Following a Bulldog three-and-out, Brownwood began its second drive at the Wylie 41.
Eleven plays, 36 yards, and 3:29 later, the Lions lit up the scoreboard for the first time in 2026 as Aiden Jimenez converted his 22-yard field goal attempt, giving the Lions a 3-0 advantage they would carry into halftime.
Wylie threatened to take the lead late in the first half as the Bulldogs traveled from their own 48 to the Brownwood 10. Facing a second-and-5, Bulldog running back Connor Jones coughed up the ball, which Hutton Malone pounced on at the Lion 4 for Brownwood’s first takeaway of the 2026 campaign with 4:15 left before halftime.
“I’ve dreaming about this since I was a little kid as a little lion, there’s nothing like it,” Malone said of his first varsity start. “Every Tuesday we work on a fumble recovery circuit, and (defensive coordinator) Coach (Steve) Fanara just tells us to get on it and cradle it, and I just went back to those practices. Then he says get up and give it to the ref and celebrate with your boys, and that’s what I did.”
Clinging to a three-point cushion, the Lions opened the second half with possession at their own 12, as a holding call on the kick return wiped out a gain near midfield. Still, Brownwood embarked an 11-play, 88-yard odyssey that ate 5:57 off the block and made the score 10-0 after a 4-yard carry into the end zone by Trent Buffington, who amassed 114 yards on 25 carries.
“We have wing wham, our designated go-to if we need 2 or 3 yards, it’s a physical play and we’re going to go out there and battle for those yards,” Buffington said of the touchdown. “It opened up, we blocked it correctly and as a team we went and scored. There’s a lot new faces, two returning linemen out of the five, but all the coaches are doing a great job teaching them what’s supposed to happen. Practices are hard, but it helps everybody get better.”
Key plays on the drive included a third-and-5 completion of 20 yards from quarterback Riggs Gray to tight end Jack Bauchman to move the ball to the Brownwood 37. Facing a second-and-2 at the Lion 45, Gray found Conner Cornelius for a 15-yard reception. Then, on a third-and-13 after a holding call, Gray again connected with Bauchman on a 30-yard gain to advance to the Wylie 13.
“We talked at halftime about the need to go out and find something offensively and go down and score,” Brixey said. “We overcame some big penalties with some huge plays, and our freshman tight end showed up a little bit and Riggs converted in those times, and it was a great drive to start a half. I felt like we responded offensively in the second half, and Riggs played a lot better and threw the ball a lot better the second half.”
Gray, who completed just 1 of 7 passes for 6 yards in the first half, finished 7 of 14 through the air for 132 yards. Cornelius, the leading receiving returning from the 2025 team, hauled in three receptions for 66 yards while Bauchman, a freshman tight end, grabbed three catches for 56 yards.
“I had some nerves definitely the first half,” Gray said. “I’m not going to lie, it was rough, really rough. My confidence right now is a lot higher than it was coming into the game, but we need to clean up some things offensively. Our defense did a good job keeping us in the game. In the second half, our o-linemen blocked really well, Conner Cornelius had a heck of a game today, and Jack Bauchman is going to be a big part of our team and he really showed out today. I’m really excited to see what he can do.”
The Lions’ following drive began at the Wylie 35, but ended in a 47-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide to the left with 52 seconds left in the third period.
Shifting to a wildcat-based offense, Wylie drove 64 yards to the Brownwood 5 on the following possession, where the drive again stalled with 6:06 left in the contest on a sack by Wyatt Wolf. Facing another 22-yard field goal attempt, this time Kannon Ruffin’s kick was blocked by Wolf, as again a Bulldog scoring opportunity was thwarted.
“The key for us is how we practiced,” Wolf said of the defensive effort. “We practice really hard, really tough and we had the mental toughness when they got down inside the 20 to say ‘we’re not going to let them score.’ It’s a mentality. Defensively as a team I thought we played fast and physical. We definitely did some things wrong, but playing for your teammates is something we prioritize and that helped out.”
The Lions followed with their own 64-yard trek down to the Wylie 4 where, at the 2:13 mark, Jimenez converted a 21-yard field goal to boost the advantage to 13-0. Gray connected with Cornelius on a 45-yard completion, coupled with a Wylie face mask penalty, that moved the ball to the Bulldog 12.
Requiring two touchdowns to pull off an improbable comeback, Wylie needed just three plays to travel 52 yards in 33 seconds to cut the deficit to six points, 13-7. But the Bulldogs’ last ditch effort to complete their rally eventually came up short.
Behind the offensive front of Jackson Rainey, Rylan Martin, Bowen Slack, Layton Greer and Judah Lee, the Lions generated 258 yards of total offense – 132 through the air and 126 on the ground.
“The offensive line grew up a little bit through the night in terms of how physical we need to be, but we still have a heck of a long way to go with those guys,” Brixey said. “They’re working hard, we know how far they have to go and they do, too, but we grew some tonight.”
Defensively, the Lions surrendered 300 yards – 174 passing and 126 rushing – to the Bulldogs, but Wylie’s inability to finish drives proved to be the difference in the contest.
The Lions (1-0), who last defeated Wylie (0-1) to kick off the 2023 season en route to a regional championship game appearance, open the home portion of their schedule next Friday against reigning Class 4A Division I state-champion and top-ranked Stephenville (1-0) in the 86th Battle of 377. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 44-21 victory in Week 1 against 5A Division II Midlothian Heritage.
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Brownwood 13, Abilene Wylie 7
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| Brownwood | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | -13 |
| Abilene Wylie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -7 |
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SCORING SUMMARY
B: Aiden Jimenez 22 FG, 9:36, 2nd
B: Trent Buffington 4 run (Jimenez kick), 6:03, 3rd
B: Jimenez 21 FG, 2:13, 4th
W: Dylan Regala 35 pass from Jadin Karleskint (Kannon Ruffin kick), 1:40, 4th
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| TEAM STATS | B | W |
| First Downs | 11 | 18 |
| Total Offense | 258 | 300 |
| Rushes-Yards | 34-126 | 33-126 |
| Passing Yards | 132 | 174 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 7-14-0 | 18-25-0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-60 | 6-39 |
| Punts-Average | 3-50.7 | 4-41.8 |
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PLAYER STATS
RUSHING: B – Trent Buffington 25-114, TD; Isaac Gonzales 2-6; Hutton Malone 2-5; Riggs Gray 6-1. W – Cooper Jones 9-46; Jadin Karleskint 10-38; Dylan Regala 7-32; Landry Pate 4-21; Jett Wilson 2-4; Team 1-(-15).
PASSING: B – Gray 7-14-0-132. W – Karleskint 18-25-0-174, TD.
RECEIVING: B – Conner Cornelius 3-66; Jack Bauchman 3-56; Gonzales 1-10. W – Jones 5-27; Regala 3-55, TD; Blaze Ruffin 3-25; Jackston Williams 2-28; Blake Flailing 2-20; Maylon Green-Rhodes 2-13; Brody Anderson 1-6.
KICKING:
* Aiden Jimenez
1 of 1 PATs; 2 of 3 FGs, long of 22; 7 points
* Hudson Deen
3 punt, 152 yards, 50.7 average; 1 inside 20