I know that 4A football was a very competitive class, and playing as one of the smallest schools in that class for a very long time, the Lions were almost always playing a school with a larger enrollment, sometimes twice as large. It is said that you can only put 11 men on the field at one time, and that is very true, but when you are picking your 11 players out of a field of about 450 as compared to picking from a field of about 1,000, the odds are in the big schools favor of finding 11 bigger, faster, stronger and better players. This is in no way an excuse for anything that has happened over the past years, but just a plain hard fact. Now, with the Lions moving down in classification, we have the opportunity to play all sports from the other sides of the page for a while. Does this guarantee instant success? Of course it doesn’t. It does however mean, that the Lions will be the ones getting to pick their starting 11 out of about a field of about 450 while others, not all mind you, will be picking their 11 from a field from somewhat less than that. In the 4A districts that the Lions have been in over the past 4 – 6 years or so, depth has always been a major concern. It will still be a concern, but not as much of one as the Lions, who have had to play several players on both sides of the ball, will be facing quite a few teams that must do the same thing. In all reality, it should even things out quite a bit versus most schools we play. Will it automatically mean we will be in store for long playoff runs each year, no. It will mean that the Lions will be playing on a more level playing field than we have in a very long time.

Don’t think that moving to 3A is disgraceful either. This is a huge positive for our schools kids. I have heard some say that “we should have opted to stay in 4A that is where we belong”. Nothing could be further from the truth! Put it this way, anyone from Brownwood, in their right mind should only want what is best for our kids; after all, that is what it is all about, right? The best thing for the students at Brownwood was to go 3A! Where we have been competing against schools more than twice our size, the Lions, in all sports will be competing against schools our own size and smaller. It has to be a positive. We all have seen the other end of it all, now it is time to be on the other end of the spectrum for a while. I really like the possibilities that are out there for the students. Is anything guaranteed? Of course not, but the playing field for all Brownwood students is still unlevel, it is that now, instead of looking up the hill, we are all looking down the hill.

THE MOVE TO 3A

With the move to 3A, don’t anyone think that the UIL has done the Lions any favors! The new district that the Lions are in, 2-3A, will almost assuredly be one of the toughest, if not the toughest districts in the state. Several of the schools that are in our new district are somewhat familiar to us. Wylie and Sweetwater have been on our non-district schedule the past 2 years. We are 2-0 against Wylie and 1-1 against Sweetwater, losing on a last second field goal 2 years ago in Sweetwater. Snyder is a team that the Lions scrimmaged against in the late 90’s and met in the playoffs in San Angelo one other time. Graham was in our 4A district during the late 90’s as well. Breckenridge is the most unfamiliar team in our district, but they are not without a past history when it comes to playing Brownwood. During the 60’s and early 70’s the Lions and Buckaroos tangled up in some of the biggest district games there were, especially when back then only 1 team from each district qualified for the playoffs. Out of all of our new district opponents, Breckenridge is the only school that did not make the playoffs in 2007. Wylie went 4 rounds deep, Snyder lost in the semi-finals to eventual state champion Celina, Graham went 2 rounds deep and Sweetwater also went 2 rounds deep. So you see, this district is anything but a weak one. I will be very surprised, when this summer or early fall, if 4 or 5 of our district teams are not ranked in the top 20. Some of the so called “experts” of high school football have already started calling district 2-3A the new “little southwest conference”. This is in reference to the, now broken up, old 3-5A district that had Midland Lee, Midland High, Odessa Permian, Odessa High, Abilene High, Abilene Cooper in it. This alone speaks volumes about our new district!


It is very early, as the 2007 school year still has almost all of the second semester to go, but I will take a quick look at each of our new district opponents.

Abilene Wylie Bulldogs…The Bulldogs are about the most familiar opponent that the Lions will face this next season as the Lions and Bulldogs have met up, in either a game or workout for the past 8 years or so. The Bulldogs are coming off of an 11-3 season that saw them lose in the semi-finals to Gilmer, 28-21. One of the Bulldogs other losses was to the Lions, 28-21, in the season opener. Year in and year out the Bulldogs will be one of the most consistent 3A teams in the state in all sports. Wylie plays in their own Bulldogs Stadium, which is on the campus of Wylie High School. It is a grass field that seats about 7,000. When traveling to Wylie through Coleman, it is about an 80 mile trip. You just take a right on Antilley Road and go straight for about 2 miles and the school and stadium are on the right. A trip to Wylie will also take you close enough to Abilene to be able to find some pretty good eating places before or after the game. The tentative schedule has the Lions playing at Wylie in 2008 to open district play.


Sweetwater Mustangs…The Mustangs, 7-5 last season, are just about as familiar an opponent for the Lions as Wylie is. The Lions and Mustangs have hooked up – times over the past 12 years, with the Mustangs getting the best of the Lions in several of those games. The most current game was last year with the Lions extracting a little revenge at home when the Lions beat the Mustangs 55-7. Following the loss to Brownwood, the Mustangs got on somewhat of a roll, losing only to Wylie and Snyder in district play before ending their season in the area round of the playoffs to a very good Vernon Lions team, 25-7. The Mustangs play in the Mustang Bowl, a stadium that most Brownwood fans should be very familiar with. It has a turf field and seats 6,500. It is about a 2 hour drive to Sweetwater from Brownwood, depending on how you travel. A trip through Coleman to Winters and Wingate will be the shortest trip but a trip through Abilene, while taking just a bit longer, it will allow fans to find more places to eat along the way. The Lions are tentatively scheduled to play the Mustangs at Gordon Wood Stadium in 2008 in week 9.

Snyder Tigers…With the 2008 realignment, the Tigers will be making a move to the east into 2-3A. The past has had the Tigers playing district games out west with the likes of Andrews, Midland Greenwood and Lamesa. The Tigers are a bit removed from history with Brownwood, but the Lions and Tigers, and no Bears, did meet up in ’98 in the first round of the playoffs, with the Lions winning 42-28. Last season the Tigers finished with a record of 12-3, losing to Celina in the semi-finals 33-7. The Tigers offense will take a big hit in 2008 as they graduated one of the best RB’s in all of 3A, Will Clay. The Tigers play their games at Tiger Stadium. It has a grass field and seats a reported 2,000 fans. You might want to bring your lawn chairs when you come to this game! The trip to Snyder will most likely take Lion fans through Sweetwater. From Sweetwater you will take highway 84 north and in about 40 miles you will be in Snyder. In Snyder, Lions fans will find a small amount of eating establishments. They do appear to have a Dairy Queen, Whataburger, Pizza Inn, Pizza Hut, Sonic, Long John Silver’s and a few other small restaurants. It appears that, unless you prefer a fast food type of place to eat, a route that will take you through Abilene will be your best bet for food here. The 2008 Brownwood vs. Snyder game is tentatively set for the final district game to be played in Snyder.

Breckenridge Buckaroos…Rumors of the Buckaroos heading north proved to be incorrect in 2008 as the Buckaroos return to just about where they were the past 2 years. 2008 will be the first time the Lions will match up with Breckenridge since the ’81 season. Breckenridge will be the Lions only district opponent this season that failed to make the playoffs in ’07. The Bucks finished the season with a record of 3-7. Breckenridge was competitive in ’07 as they lost to playoff qualifiers Clyde by 4 and Sweetwater by 11. The Buckaroos play their home games at Buckaroo Stadium. It has a grass field, although I have heard reports that they are installing turf this year, and it is reported to only seat 1,600. I have heard that this is incorrect. I sure hope so, if it is correct, then I don’t know where the Breckenridge fans will set. The road to Breckenridge will take Lion fans on 183 for 50 miles through Cisco and continue on 183 north for about 30 miles until you get to Breckenridge. This is the part of the district where the restaurants are few and far between. As far as places to eat, Breckenridge does show to have a Chicken Express, McDonalds, Mr. Jim’s Pizza, Dairy Queen and several other smaller restaurants. Cisco does not offer anything better. This is an out of town game where it will be a good time to just get some fast food and go to the game. The tentative schedule has Breckenridge traveling to Brownwood in the 2nd week of district play.

Graham Steers…The Steers will be yet another team that the Lions are just a little bit familiar with in 2008. Graham and Brownwood were in the same 4A district in ’96 and ’97. Graham is coached by Brad McCoy, yes, that is Colt McCoy’s dad. Colt’s little brother is the QB at Graham now. In ’07 the Steers had a very good run and ended the year with a 10-2 record, losing to Argyle in the area round of the playoffs 21-8. Their other loss was to Vernon and they beat Wylie in non-district play. Graham plays its home games at Newton Field. It has a new turf field and is reported to seat 3,800. It is not real big, but hopefully big enough. As far as traveling, well, you just go 50 miles on 183 to Cisco, continue on to Breckenridge, another 30 miles or so, turn right in Breckenridge on 180 for about 3 miles and go left on 67 for another 30 miles or so. Eating on this trip will be yet another fast food jaunt. Graham does have a Whataburger, Sonic, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Chicken Express, K N Root beer Drive in and several other small places to eat. The Lions and Steers are tentatively scheduled to play the 3rd district game at Graham.

Non District Play


Here is a brief look at our non-district opponents for the 2008 season. Burnet Bulldogs…The Lions and Bulldogs are not strangers to each other as we have split games with each other the past 2 years with each winning on the road. This year’s game is set up to be played in San Antonio at the Alamodome as part of the Dave Campbell’s kickoff Classic. Right now, this game is set up to be played on Saturday afternoon, which should be Aug. 30.


Waco LaVega Pirates…The Pirates finished the ’07 season with a record of 13-1, losing only to China Spring in the Regional Finals, 31-28. LaVega has been described as a 3A version of Waco High or Copperas Cove and they will be very good again in ’08.


Stephenville Yellow Jackets…There should not have to be anything said about this game. It is, without a doubt one of the biggest rivalry games in the state. Although it went on a 2 year hiatus in ’06 and ’07, things are back on in ’08. Stephenville ran through the regular season and first round of the playoffs with a 10-1 record last year, losing only to district opponent Everman in OT and in the 2nd round of the playoffs to Wichita Falls Rider to end their season with a 10-2 record. It is great to have the Yellow Jackets back on the Lions schedule once again.

Liberty Hill Panthers…The Lions murderous non-district schedule gets no easier with the Panthers. Liberty Hill is a 2 time defending 3A state champion. The Panthers were undefeated last year in winning the D1 state championship game. For those who don’t know, Liberty Hill is about 20 miles east of Burnet on highway 29.

Manor Mustangs…The 4A Mustangs finished the ’07 season with a record of 8-3, losing in the first round of the playoffs to Livingston 42-13. Manor is set up in district 17-4A along with Buda Hays, Lockhart, Elgin, Del Valle and new school Kyle Lehman.

As you can see, Coach Freeman has set the Lions up with a non-district schedule that will most definitely have the Lions prepared to enter district play. Only 1 of the Lions upcoming opponents had a losing record last year and that one team is expected to be much improved this year. I have said it all along that 3A will not be as easy as some might have thought it to be. I am not saying that the Lions cannot be successful in 3A, as that is hardly the case, it does mean that we will still have to show up each week and play at a high level.

Our district will be just as tough, if not tougher, than our non-district schedule. Also, with a 6 team district, there is very little room for error, as we have found out the past 2 years. You must show up each and every week ready to get the opponents best game and give them your best game in return. If not, then come week 11, the team that cannot do that will more than likely find themselves sitting at home for the playoffs.

There are most definitely some differences in 3A and 4A sports. Most noticeably it is the size of the schools and number of athletes that participate in each sport. One of the differences that the fans will see the next 2 years has more to do with the size of the towns. I mentioned the restaurants in the towns that we will be going to, that will be a huge difference for the fans. Playing in the 4A districts we have been in the past 4 years the fans have been somewhat spoiled when it comes to places to eat. In Waco, Copperas Cove and Killeen, there are numerous places to eat, including fast food, but there are also the bigger chain restaurants like Chili’s, On the Border and others. The towns that we will be going to in district play will not have anything like that to offer. This will be OK, I am sure, but it sure is nice to have a good choice of places to eat. I have heard some say that we are about to go on the Dairy Queen tour in our district games. Not that there is anything wrong with DQ, I just prefer something just a bit better.

One thing is for sure; over the next 2 years the Lions will be traveling to some new places and seeing some new faces. The stadiums will be smaller as will the towns, but that is not always a bad thing. Along with a smaller stadium comes the feeling that the crowd is larger due to the fact that it is smaller. We can expect the crowds that come to Brownwood to increase in size as, for some strange reason, it seems that teams like from bigger towns like Waco and Killeen don’t travel as well. I for one don’t understand this. I would think that the support in a bigger town would grow along with the town, but that is not the case.

Will the Lions win it all in ’08? It is yet to be seen. I can guarantee you this; the Lions are in the off season workouts working as hard as ever. Just because we dropped down in class, there are still no days off!

GO LIONS GO!!!


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