Burnet’s postseason ends against strong Stephenville squad
WACO — The most complete team the Burnet High School football squad faced all season only made one mistake in the first half.
Bulldogs junior kicker Austin Huff started the bi-district game Nov. 16 against Stephenville, the District 7-3A champions, with an onside kick that Huff recovered to give his team a first down on the 50-yard line.
But four plays later, Huff was on the field to punt.
And the Yellowjackets took eight plays to score, their longest drive of the first half, to start an onslaught that led to a 56-27 victory and ended Burnet’s postseason.
But the Bulldogs (5-6) didn’t quit. Instead, in the second half, Burnet scored three touchdowns and gave up one to the Yellowjackets, an 81-yard kickoff return by senior Preston Brown, his third kickoff return for a touchdown this season.
Burnet head coach Kurt Jones challenged his players at the half when they trailed 49-6.
“Let’s come out and let’s go fight,” he recalled saying. “Let’s go see if we can win the second half.”
Senior tight end Cameron Langley scored all of the Bulldog touchdowns thanks to one-yard and three-yard touchdown runs and seven-yard and 81-yard receptions from junior quarterback Derek Kiser.
Langley finished with four rushes for eight yards and four catches for 132 yards.
“It’s invaluable,” Jones said about facing Stephenville. “We’re a young team. A lot of those kids will be coming back. To finish the last two quarters like that – that’s the standard to play at.”
Stephenville scored on all seven of its first-half possessions and racked up 461 total offensive yards.
Senior quarterback Tyler Jones finished the game with 18 completions out of 23 attempts for 300 yards and four touchdowns. His primary target was senior receiver Brice Gunter, who had five catches for 113 yards.
“We just weren’t ready to play at that speed in the first quarter,” Jones said.
Still, the Bulldogs are using this contest as a barometer. With seven seniors on the team, Burnet didn’t have a lot of experience.
So getting to the playoffs was a giant step in the right direction, the coach said.
“We felt like we turned the corner this year,” he said. “The Burnet Bulldogs are coming. It was good for us to be on the field with a team of that caliber. There are brighter days ahead for us, I promise.”