Fresh off their second victory of the 2025 campaign, the Brownwood Lions look to build additional momentum ahead of the start of the District 4-4A Division I slate as they battle the Class 4A Division II Ingleside Mustangs, eyeing their first win streak of the season.

Kickoff for the neutral site pre-district finale between the Lions (2-3) and District 15-4A Division II representative Mustangs (2-3) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Smithson Valley High School.

The Lions picked up a 20-10 homecoming victory over China Spring this past Friday as Brownwood overcame four first-half turnovers by allowing just 117 total yards – including 23 in the second half – while recording six sacks. Offensively, the Lions produced 317 yards, with 243 coming through the air.

Reflecting on Brownwood’s second win of his tenure, Lions first-year head coach Jeryl Brixey said, “One of the reasons I feel better about this game than the Glen Rose game is we never had a panic moment. In the Glen Rose game I felt like when it got a little tight we had a couple of mistakes and panicked and that never happened with China Spring. There were plenty of opportunities for us to drop our heads on the fumbled kickoff and punts and get discouraged, but you didn’t see an ounce of it.

“We had a huge goal line stand. Wyatt Wolf had a big-time hit to stop the kid on the one foot line on third down and they turn around and have a bad snap on fourth down and we get the ball back. That’s why you fight for every inch of the field.

We also threw the ball really well. Judson Coalson had a really good game and was our offensive MVP. He did a good job of throwing the football and moving around, and we also had a few good runs.”

Ingleside, which fell to the Lions, 55-7, in Boerne a year ago, has alternated losses and wins thus far in 2025. The Mustangs own victories over Aransas Pass (23-6) and Banquete (28-21), with losses against La Feria (44-33), Beeville Jones (35-6) and, last week, Corpus Christi Ray (54-0).

The Mustangs average 18 points and 264 yards – 167 passing and 97 rushing – per contest, with five turnovers.

Quarterback Landon Younk has completed 67 of 113 passes for 668 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions, as leading receivers include Julius Sierra (28-194, 3 TDs), Jayden Techur (23-300, 3 TDs) and Adam Govea (10-101, TD). The ground game is anchored by Carson Lopez (346 rushing yards, 3 TDs).

Ingleside yields 32 points per game on average with three sacks and nine takeaways – including seven interceptions – as a team.

Defensive standouts include Sierra (27 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 INTs, 1 FR), Domonic Tringali (26 tackles, 1 for loss), Lopez (19 tackles, 1 for loss), Sam Munoz (17 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack), Govea (14 tackles, 1 for loss), Zaylon Downcereaux (11 tackles, 1 INT), and Techur (9 tackles, 3 INTs).

“They play out of a split front with a little bit of an odd look, but mostly a 4-2-5 look,” Brixey said of the Mustangs. “Offensively, they like to run the quick passing game and don’t throw the ball down field a lot. They spread it out quite effectively. Julius Sierra, a free safety, is their best defensive kid. They have a lot of two-way starters and he’s also the kid they try to get the ball to when they do try and go down the field. Carson Lopez is their starting outside linebacker and starting running back, also, and he’s a good player.. They’re a sound football team, they align right, so we have to have a good week of practice.

“We’ll continue to talk with the kids about the mistakes you make in practice, and if you don’t fix them, you’re going to make those mistakes in the game. There are things we’re showing them in practice and we go into the game and they do the same things, and we have to be more intent about fixing those things or it’s going to show up in the game.”

The Lions counter with a defense that surrenders 27 points and 264 yards – 152 passing and 112 rushing – per game, with eight takeaways.

Leading the charge on defense are Brinson Martin (42.5 tackles, 6 for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Caven Webster (33.5 tackles, 1 interception), Wyatt Wolf (27.5 tackles, 1 interception), Christian Gray (27 tackles, 3 for loss, 4.5 sacks), Isaac Gonzales (25 tackles, 1 for loss, 2.5 sacks), Durham Brown (24 tackles, 1 sack), Nick Rodriguez (19.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception), and Sirr Beam (17 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery).

The Brownwood offense, meanwhile, produces 16 points and 211 yards – 132 on the air and 78 on the ground – with 14 turnovers, including four last week.

Behind a front five of Aidan Packheiser, Gustavo Gonzalez, Aviud Gomez, Jackson Rainey and Rylan Martin, quarterback Judson Coalson has completed 44 of 79 passes for 661 yards with four scoring tosses and five interceptions, while leading receivers include Carson Noe (21-373, 2 TDs), Robbie Robinson (9-99), Connor Cornelius (6-85, 2 TDs) and Raven Prado (4-53). Leading the way on the ground are Levi Pearson (244 rushing yards) and Trent Buffington (148 rushing yards, 2 TDs).

“We’ve still got to improve our running game, especially our red zone running game,” Brixey said of the goals for the Lions this Friday night. “We need to increase our physicality, and we’re getting better, but we have to better on first down runs and get 4, 5, and 6 yards consistently, not just every now and then. Defensively, we’ll continue working and understanding where we need to fit and what things need to happen, just the basics of getting better at everything we do.”

As for the significance of potentially carrying a two-game win streak into next week’s District 4-4A Division I opener at home against Lampasas, Brixey said, “It’s vitally important to stack victories. We beat Glen Rose and turned around and didn’t play as well as we should have or could have against La Vega. I don’t know how that game would have been different, but we did not give ourselves an opportunity to win that game, but we came back last week and played better. But we have to learn how to focus and stack wins. We need to get on a roll, and we can do that if we play well Friday night and win the game, and come back with a little more confidence at home when we open up district. It’s always important to learn how to win a game, and then still come back and prepare like you’re trying to win a game. We have to practice every week like we’re trying to figure out how to win a game, not that we won a game and we can take a deep breath. Every week you have to attack and try to figure out how to win the game. You’re practicing to get everything exactly right, and that’s how you build a program. Week to week has to be a sense of urgency, no day is a day you can afford to throw away and not utilize it. That’s what we have to do this week to be as far along the road as we can get before next Friday night.”

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Lions are 18-point favorites. Harris Ratings Weekly lists Brownwood as a 48-point favorite.