Burnet 48, Lampasas 21 'A Blast'
Badgers finish strong, take edge off lopsided loss
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

Left: Cole Ball gets full extension on his fourth-quarter touchdown grab. Ball caught one of the three scoring strikes Ryder Brown threw in the fourth quarter of Friday's 48-21 loss to Burnet.

The scoreboard at Badger Field might as well have been shut off Friday night.

The 48-21 tally it showed certainly didn't jibe with the scene on the field after the game.

Lampasas players were almost jovial, congratulating each other, and, for the first time this season, smiling and having a good time on the football field.

After being down 48-0 to Burnet (2-3, 1-1), the Badgers (0-5, 0-2) scored three times in the final 9 minutes and 26 seconds.

"It (the fourth quarter) was huge," LHS head coach Ryan Bailey said. "Our kids had a blast. They never quit, and they had a blast. Life lesson No 1: These kids will fight through their whole lives. I'm proud of them."

PHOTOS BY GABE WOLF Top right: Reese Vann (44) and Stephen Eskola (12) force a fourth-quarter fumble, which was recovered by Eskola and converted into points.

The first three quarters of the game were all Burnet. Behind a mammoth offensive line, the Bulldogs' ground game pummelled the Badgers to the tune of 405 yards. Tailback Bubba Richards ran for 136 yards and a touchdown. Backup tailback Darius Nesby ran for 87 and three scores, and quarterback Kyle Brunson ran for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Nesby's third score gave the Bulldogs a 48-0 lead with 11:03 left in the game. Kicker Ross Evans, who made a 61-yarder in warm-ups, booted field goals of 36 and 53 yards. Defensive tackle Bo Maldonado led a Bulldog defense that completely shut down the Lampasas offense for three quarters.

The spark for the Badgers' offense came with 9:26 to play. Junior quarterback Ryder Brown, who started because sophomore Vann Millican had some staph infection removed from his foot Thursday, lofted a deep ball for Jarrod Bowen down the right side. Bowen made an over-the-shoulder catch and outran three defenders for a 70-yard score. Sam Barbero's extra point sailed wide.

Bottom right: Aaron Reyna had an 11-yard run and was the intended target on Ball's touchdown grab.

On the next possession, a 33-yard pass from Brown to Bowen set up Brown's 18-yard scoring strike to Jonathan VanLiew. Brown then connected with Aaron Reyna for the two-point conversion to pull the Badgers within 48-14.

On the Badgers' next possession, Brown hit VanLiew for 14 yards and Bowen for 34, which set up a 20-yard touchdown pass to Cole Ball. Ball, who was running down the right hash while Reyna mirrored him down the left, cut across at the goal line and got full extension to pull in the reception.

Brown, after completing just one pass in the first half, finished with 9 of 20 attempts for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

Of the first Badger score: "They were pressing Bowen, so we checked out of the run and threw to him," the quarterback said. "He made a great play. He made a lot of big plays. The guys did a great job of getting open.

"In the first half, we were nervous, but after the big play to Bowen we gained some confidence. The guys started getting open."

The Badgers were playing without Millican and injured defensive tackle Jesse Tobar. The team then lost starting tailback Brode DuBose and receiver/punter Seth Fry to ejections during the game.

The Bulldogs' Richards gained 102 of his 136 yards in the first half. Nesby had 82 yards and two touchdowns at the break, while Brunson had 60.

Melvin Batiste led the Badgers with 30 rushing yards, including 19 on a churning, tackle-breaking run before the half. Bowen led all receivers with three catches for 137 yards.

The Badgers are scheduled to play Friday at Austin Lake Travis (4-1, 2-0).

Lake Travis beat Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 33-28, on Friday.

BHS 48, LHS 21

Records Lampasas 0-5, 0-2, Burnet 2-3, 1-1.

Impact

Lampasas falls two games behind District 25-4A leader Lake Travis.

Key Stat

Burnet's offense produced 405 of its 412 total yards by way of the ground and led 27-0 at the half.

Key Play

Burnet running back Bubba Richards ripped off 21 yards on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for the Burnet ground game.

Up Next

Lampasas at Lake Travis, 7:30 p.m. Friday.

District 25-4A Standings

	Overall W-L		District W-L		PF	PA
Lake Travis	4	1	2	0	134	111
PF. Connally	3	2	2	0	77	82
Pf. Hendrickson	2	3	2	0	105	150
Burnet	2	3	1	1	146	92
Marble Falls	3	2	1	1	110	79
Dripping Springs	2	3	0	2	111	131
Lampasas	0	5	0	2	68	138
Vista Ridge	0	5	0	2	91	145

Friday

Burnet 48, Lampasas 21
Lake Travis 33, Vista Ridge 28
Connally 14, Marble Falls 7
Hendrickson 44, Dripping Springs 21

This Week

Lampasas at Lake Travis, 7:30 p.m. Vista Ridge at Dripping Springs, 7:30 p.m. Connally st Burnet, 7:30 p.m. Hendrickson at Marble Falls, 7:30 p.m.

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

Burnet	14 13 14 7 -	48
Lampasas	0  0  0 21 -	21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter B - Richards 2 run (Evans kick) B - Nesby 5 run (Evans kick)

Second Quarter B - Nesby 6 run (Evans kick) B - Evans 36 FG B - Evans 53 FG

Third Quarter B - Brunson 3 run (Evans kick) B - Maldonado 2 run (Evans kick)

Fourth Quarter B - Nesby 5 run (Evans kick) L - Bowen 70 pass from Brown (kick failed) L - VanLiew 18 pass from Brown (Brown to Reyna) L - Ball 20 pass from Brown (Barbero kick)

Team Stats

	LHS	BHS
First Downs	10	23
Rushing Yards	47	405
Passing Yards	223	7
Total Yards	270	412
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	2-1

Individual Stats

Rushing - B: Richards 16-136, Nesby 10-87, Brunson 11-85, Lindley 6-43, Davis 6-27, Maldonado 2-12, Servise 2-12, Myer 1-6, West 1- (minus) 3. L: Batiste 9-30, Reyna 1-11, Abbott 4-10, DuBose 2-8, Bowen 3- (minus) 2, Brown 2-(minus) 10.

Passing - B: Brunson 2-7-0-7. L: Brown 9-20-0-223.

Receiving - B: Myer 1-7, West 1-0. L: Bowen 3-137, Ball 2-25, Batiste 1- 26, VanLiew 1-14, Abbott 1-3.