Burnet Bulldogs face longtime foe Liberty Hill in first round
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
BURNET — It’s not football season unless the Burnet Bulldogs and Liberty Hill Panthers meet. But instead of the two playing for a district championship, the teams clash in a Class 4A Division I bi-district championship Nov. 13.
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at John Gupton Stadium, 200 Gupton Way in Cedar Park. Catch the contest beginning with a pregame show at 7 p.m. on KBEY103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com.
Burnet advanced to the playoffs after beating Lampasas 41-28 on Nov. 6, a win that Burnet head coach Kurt Jones sees as being a plus when the Bulldogs match up against the Panthers.
Both Liberty Hill and Lampasas run the same slot-T offense, a scheme that emphasizes misdirection. He said it’s difficult to simulate that kind of scheme during practices.
“It’s good for our defense to get a week of preparation on it,” he said.
The Panthers (8-2 overall, 4-0 in district), the District 14-4A Division I champions, are averaging 310 rushing yards per game at 6.1 yards per carry. Their two losses came against La Grange (35-20) to begin the season and Brownwood (38-28) on Sept. 11.
Liberty Hill is led by senior fullback Jon Shannon, who has 167 carries for 1,070 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“Jon Shannon is their work back,” Jones said.
Junior fullback Justin Burkett has 80 carries for 531 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior running back Caleb Guerin has 49 carries for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and senior halfback Gage Fulps has 74 rushes for 376 yards and four touchdowns.
“Liberty Hill has a great pattern, a template of success,” Jones said, noting that’s because of head coach Jerry Vance, who has been at the school for more than a decade.
He added that Liberty Hill made some small but significant changes to its defensive approach that have paid dividends.
The first is the front seven has used more twists, stunts and loops in an attempt to confuse offensive linemen on who to block. The second is to play 7-on-7 during the summer even though offenses can’t run the football.
“Their defensive front is probably more active,” Jones said. “They’re better in the secondary. The offense isn’t conducive to that, but their defensive guys are out there to cover people. That maybe has been a benefit to them. They’ve improved.”
This is the first time Burnet and Liberty Hill will play since the Panthers’ 23-15 win over the Bulldogs Dec. 5 in last season’s regional finals.
Jones noted many of the Panthers’ defensive athletes and Shannon played in that game.
With an enrollment numbering more than 1,000 students, Jones said that makes Liberty Hill one of the largest schools in Class 4A Division I.
Against Lampasas on Nov. 6, the Bulldogs trailed 21-20 at the half and then scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to shut out the Badgers in the fourth.
“Lampasas was very motivated,” Jones said. “We knew mathematically they still had a chance at the playoffs, and it was the last home game for their seniors.”
The Badgers scored three touchdowns in the second quarter including a one-yard catch by Harrison Gillespie from quarterback Cohen Cockburn in the final 15 seconds to take a 21-20 lead at the half.
Jones said because the Bulldogs have given up late touchdowns like that before, they knew how to respond in the second half.
“It’s never something you want,” he said.
Bulldogs senior athlete Brock Foster scored on a 25-yard touchdown, the first of three in the third quarter. He ended the contest with nine carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns, while junior receiver Steven Gallardo had 14 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Austin Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns.
Lampasas’ Spencer Maples had 26 carries for 207 yards.
jfierro@thepicayune.com