Burnet football season ends with third-round loss playoff to Lubbock Cooper

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

BROWNWOOD — Seconds were all the Burnet High School football team needed to get to the onside kick. But Lubbock Cooper was there a second faster to preserve a 41-34 victory Nov. 30 in the third round of the Class 3A Division I playoffs.

The loss ends the Bulldogs’ (9-4) season.

“There were critical downs here and there,” Burnet head coach Kurt Jones said. “The kids fought hard. They had one more bullet in their gun than we did. I’m super proud of the senior class to take us to this point.”

After Burnet turned the ball over on downs on the opening drive of the game, the Pirates marched 74 yards in four plays and scored on a 55-yard touchdown run by junior running back Dakota Gruben.

The Bulldogs tied the game when sophomore running back Brock Foster caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Derek Kiser. Junior kicker Alex Melvin added the extra point. The drive covered 77 yards in five plays.

Burnet took the lead in the second quarter. Senior receiver Blayne Parisher caught a six-yard touchdown pass to complete the three-play, 82-yard drive that only took 50 seconds. The big play of the drive was a 73-yard Foster run.

Cooper answered with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that Gruben completed with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked by senior defensive back Jeremy Ayers to protect Burnet’s 14-13 lead at the half.

The Pirates regained the advantage on the opening driving of the third quarter. Junior tight end Evan McHugh caught a 10-yard touchdown pass, but the two-point pass was dropped to make the score 19-14.

The Cooper defense forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive. Two plays later, sophomore receiver Jordan Salas made an over-the-shoulder catch for a 60-yard touchdown for Cooper. The extra point was good to make it 26-19.

Burnet senior running back Trenton Hafley trimmed the deficit on a three-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter. The 11-play drive covered 80 yards. The extra point was missed to make it 26-20.

Pirates senior quarterback Stanton Keane scored from two yards out and then on a two-point run for a 34-20 advantage with eight minutes 26 seconds remaining in the game. The nine-play drive covered 75 yards.

But Kiser wasn’t done. He hit Foster on a 27-yard touchdown catch to bring the Bulldogs to within a score at 34-27 with 7:15 left. The drive took five plays and spanned 65 yards.

Keane led the Pirates on an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that he finished on a 34-yard run to make it 41-27. The drive chewed up 5:06.

But the Bulldogs refused to go away. Instead, Kiser found sophomore receiver Joel Johnson for a 29-yard touchdown catch to complete a five-play, 61-yard drive with 1:06 remaining to make it 41-34. That led to the failed onside kick and the win for Cooper.

Keane finished the game with 20 rushes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and 16 pass completions for 201 yards and two touchdowns, all unofficial.

Kiser connected on 24 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns, all unofficial.

When the Bulldogs started the season, they set goals to contend for a district championship and to play past Thanksgiving, Jones said.

“The expectation is to be playing in late November and December,” he said. “It’s going to continue to be the expectation. The seniors set the bar, and next year’s group will set it even higher.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com