Burnet battling physical Gatesville on the road

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

BURNET — The Burnet High School football team looks to start a District 13-4A Division I winning streak. But standing in the way is Gatesville.

The two teams will play at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at McKamie Stadium, 205 S. Lovers Lane in Gatesville. Listen to the game on 106.5 powered by KBEY or at KBEYFM.com under “Burnet Football” starting with a 7 p.m. pregame show.

Both teams have identical 1-1 district records, though the Bulldogs are 5-2 overall, while the Hornets are 2-5. A victory would help the winning team take a giant step toward the playoffs.

Burnet head coach Kurt Jones noted the Hornets have already played the district’s only undefeated team, Waco La Vega, and lost 42-21. Their district win was against Lampasas (23-21) on Oct. 16.

The Hornets are led by senior quarterback Jeff Speer, who has completed 92 passes for 1,009 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions and has 73 carries for 474 yards and four touchdowns. Senior tight end Cooper Edmiston has 16 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Dakota Vernon has 80 carries for 375 yards and four touchdowns.

“They’ve got some good size to them and strength,” Burnet head coach Kurt Jones said. “They got a good quarterback who’s been around, who’s led their team for a couple of years now. And Cooper Edmiston also has been on the varsity for a few years.”

The Hornets will try to establish a power-run game first and then use play action to complete passes, he said.

“They’ll take at least half of their snaps, if not more, from under center,” he said. “They’ve got a really big physical offensive line, and they’re going to try to run the ball downhill at you if they can control the game in that way. They want and will put it in the air and throw it around a little bit as well. That’s really what they want to establish is a power running game.”

Edmiston is considered Gatesville’s best defender. A three-year varsity starter, Jones calls him a college prospect at linebacker.

“Their defensive line is a lot like their offensive line,” Jones said. “They’re big and physical.”

He said the secondary features players who are intelligent and take calculated risks with few mistakes. That allows the secondary to switch up their coverages in the hopes of confusing quarterbacks into holding the ball too long and taking a sack or making a poor decision with the football.

“We’re going to have to make a few adjustments on maybe some of our pass routes and some of our fast screens,” Jones said. “Hopefully, we get some things rolling and produce some points.”

Senior quarterback Austin Moore has completed 141 passes for 1,939 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions for the Bulldogs. Junior receiver Steven Gallardo has 45 receptions for 705 yards and nine touchdowns, and senior receiver Joel Johnson has 30 catches for 669 yards and seven touchdowns.

During Burnet’s 40-35 win against Waco Robinson on Oct. 16, the Bulldogs turned passes designed for short yardage into explosive plays.

Gallardo caught a pass designed for five yards and turned that into a 70-yard touchdown, while Johnson caught a pass that was supposed to go for about 10 yards that became a 95-yard score. Jones said the touchdown pass to Johnson came during the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs needed a play to continue to move the chains.

“It’s a benefit of having some skill position players with great speed,” the coach said. “We’re blessed to have some skilled guys who can make some big plays like that. We’ve got to lean on them and rely on them to do that. Hopefully, that’s something that we can grow into where we kind of smell blood in the water and finalize the deal next time we have that opportunity.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com