Burnet football up against Lampasas in district finale
Burnet High School's Blayne Parisher (right) goes up for the ball during a District 8-3A match against the Llano Yellow Jackets on Nov. 1. The Bulldogs won 35-15 and are preparing for a Nov. 8 game at Lampasas. The Bulldogs, at 2-2 in district play, find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
[box]GAMETIME
Burnet Bulldogs at Lampasas Badgers
KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8
WHERE: Badger Stadium, 207 E. Ave. B in Lampasas
TUNE IN: Listen to 102.9 FM or at KBEYFM.com with a pre-game show at 7 p.m. and a live broadcast at 7:30 p.m.[/box]
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
BURNET — The Burnet High School football team is bracing to face Lampasas’ very best during the regular-season finale Nov. 8.
Lampasas (3-6, 1-3) has to beat Burnet at Badger Stadium, 207 E. Ave. B in Lampasas, to claim a playoff spot. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
“It’ll be their Super Bowl,” Burnet head coach Kurt Jones said. “I think it’ll be their only hope at all. I told our players we’re playing somebody that has their backs against the wall and fighting for their lives.”
Lampasas is led by senior quarterback Logan Irvin, senior running back Steven Jazdyk and junior athlete Cale Walker.
The Badgers are coached by Brian Emerson, who guided Blanco to a Class 2A state title a decade ago.
Emerson has brought in some Wing-T offensive formations, which emphasize the run, but the Badgers also have gone to shotgun formations and have a variety of plays from that set, Jones said.
“In my experience in playing Lampasas, they play us hard no matter where we are,” he said. “They were totally out of (the playoff race) last year, and they came over here and played us extremely hard. Their kids have a lot of fight in them. We expect nothing less than that.”
Burnet seized control in the first quarter of its 35-14 win against Llano on Nov. 1. The win also means the Bulldogs hold the first tiebreaker — head-to-head outcome — if Burnet, Llano and Lampasas have the same district record in deciding which teams advance to the playoffs.
Sophomore running back Brock Foster opened the scoring on a two-yard run, the first of his two rushing touchdowns. He finished with 18 rushes for 149 yards and caught a pass for 25 yards. The Bulldogs outscored the Yellow Jackets in every quarter.
“Running the ball against them was a big part of our plan,” Jones said. “Brock is a good, young player for us. He has great speed. We ran him a lot more than what we have been. He’s explosive from different downs. He had a good night.”
Senior quarterback Derek Kiser completed 13 of 23 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, while senior receiver Blayne Parisher caught eight passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
“I give Llano credit,” Jones said. “I don’t think we were under any illusions that, in the first quarter, it would be a blowout. Coach (Craig) Slaughter and his staff have done a good job. They’ve got weapons. We knew it would be a battle.
“We took care of business,” he added. “I felt like we deserved it. It’s a big-time win. I felt like we outplayed Llano. We did the things we needed to to win.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com