Burnet football plays Lampasas with district title hopes still alive

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

BURNET — The Burnet High School football team faces a dangerous Lampasas squad Nov. 7.

Dangerous because the Badgers (5-4 overall, 1-3 district) have already been eliminated from the playoffs.

Still, it’s a rivalry game, and the Bulldogs (7-2, 3-1) have a chance at winning the District 13-4A Division I crown with a victory against Lampasas.

But if Waco La Vega (4-5, 3-1) beats Waco Robinson on Nov. 7, La Vega enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the district. That means La Vega plays the fourth-place team out of District 14-4A Division I.

To Burnet head coach Kurt Jones, the Bulldogs’ game against Lampasas comes down to one thing.

“We need to go win a ball game if we expect to be district champions,” he said.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Bulldog Field, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet. Listen to the contest on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com starting with a 6:30 p.m. pre-game show.

The Badgers enter this contest after a 34-20 win against China Spring.

Senior backup quarterback Collin Bowen started the second half and led the Badgers to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns en route to the victory.

Bowen scored a two-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 27-13 lead. After China Spring scored to cut the deficit to 27-20, Bowen and junior running back Spencer Maples took turns moving the chains. The two drove the Badgers 76 yards for a score highlighted by Bowen’s five-yard scamper to the end zone.

Senior defensive back Luke Argo recorded an interception for Lampasas with three minutes 43 seconds remaining in the game, which allowed his offensive teammates to run out the clock.

Jones said the Badgers still operate from the Slot-T running formations but also have some passing plays that utilize many spread looks.

“They’re pretty disciplined with what they do,” he said. “They like to establish the running game and get receivers open in play action.”

The Bulldogs face the Badgers after losing 33-28 to La Vega on Oct. 31. Jones noted that was the third district road trip in four weeks.

“We know when we go on the road, you better bring your A game,” he said. “We didn’t feel like we did that. The kids played hard but weren’t clean in the execution.”

And that wasn’t limited to one unit, he said.

Burnet trailed 26-21 headed into the final quarter. La Vega scored a touchdown with 97 seconds remaining in the contest. Still, Burnet junior receiver Joel Johnson caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Austin Moore to bring the Bulldogs to 33-28 with 49 seconds left.

La Vega recovered an onside kick attempt by Burnet and took two kneel downs to win the game.

“We just weren’t able to pull it out,” Jones said. “Our effort was good all night.”

Immediately after the game Oct. 31 and again the following morning, Jones said he gave his players the same message.

“We felt like we didn’t show up to play as well as we could,” he said. “My hat’s off to La Vega; we don’t want to take anything away from them. We have to take care of what we can control and have a great week of practice for Lampasas.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com