By Clay Whittington
Messenger Correspondent
BROWNWOOD – The Hornets had chances. They could not capitalize.
Looking to bounce back from last week’s 58-0 loss to Class 4A, Division II No. 2 Waco La Vega, Gatesville traveled to Gordon Wood Stadium for an encounter with the last-place Lions, but it did not go as anticipated.
Following a difficult first halt, the Hornets trailed 24-7 and had two opportunities to score from the 1-yard line, but both went awry, and Brownwood emerged with a 38-7 victory.
After the game, Gatesville head coach Jose Aguirre admitted miscues were critical.
“That is the most frustrating part,” he said. “We went for it on fourth down twice in the first half in plus territory, and we didn’t get either one of those either. We have to find a way to make those conversions.
“When we get into the red zone, we have to get points out of it.”
While there are numerous moments to point to, perhaps the most glaring occurred after halftime.
Upon receiving the third-quarter kickoff, the Hornets engineered a 13-play, 67-yard drive, earning first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but an interception led to a five-yard touchdown from Lions junior Garrett Wilkerson to make the score 31-7.
Then, it happened again on the following possession, and a second-and-goal on the 1-yard line transformed into a turnover on downs, robbing Gatesville of another potential score.
Four minutes later, Brownwood junior quarterback Riggs Gray found Connor Cornelius for a 33-yard touchdown, providing the game’s final points.
“We have a bunch of excuses,” Aguirre said, “and some of them are legit. We are hurt with a lot of kids out right now, so from Week 1 to now has been hard.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity, but we have to find out as a team and as a coaching staff what we are going to do. Are we going to dig ourselves out of this hole?”
Along with Friday’s other outcomes, the result leaves the Hornets in a precarious position.
With just two games remaining, Gatesville (4-4, 1-2 District 13-4A, Division II) trails the Pirates (3-0), Robinson (3-0) and is tied with Salado (1-2) and Brownwood (1-2) in the league standings, while Waco Connally remains winless through three games.
The Hornets travel to Salado and host Robinson to close the campaign.
At Brownwood, the first half was an offensive struggle for the Hornets as they scored on just one of their six drives.
After forcing the Lions to punt away the game’s opening possession, Gatesville amassed just seven yards on four snaps, turning the ball over on downs.
Then, Hornets senior defensive back Seth Baize intercepted a pass, but the turnover only yielded a punt, which set the stage for Brownwood to take control.
On the ensuing play, Lions junior running back Trent Buffington broke free for a 68-yard touchdown, giving Brownwood a 7-0 advantage with 4 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the first period.
A mere 24 seconds later, Gatesville’s third possession ended as Kasyn Wooten, a senior defensive back, intercepted Elijah Phillips’ pass, and approximately two minutes later, the Lions celebrated a 35-yard field goal from junior Aiden Jimenez.
The 10-0 cushion carried over into the second quarter, where another Hornets’ turnover on downs led to another score as Brownwood junior quarterback Riggs Gray found Isaac Gonzales, a senior, for a 27-yard touchdown.
With 101 seconds remaining in the opening half, Gatesville ended the shutout thanks to Phillips’ four-yard touchdown run, but the Hornets would not get any closer despite earning an opportunity to do so.
A defensive stand caused the Lions to punt less than a minute later, allowing Gatesville to take over at the Brownwood 49-yard line with 53 seconds to work with, but a costly mistake dug the hole deeper.
Facing third-and-8 at the Lions’ 47-yard line, Phillips had another pass picked off, and junior Hudson Deen returned it 64 yards into the end zone, giving the Lions a 24-7 lead at halftime.
The Hornets entered the intermission with 121 total yards behind Phillips’ 12-of-17 passing performance for 93 yards. Grady Keeton, a junior, served as his top target with eight receptions for 51 yards through two quarters.
Buffington amassed 99 rushing yards on 12 first-half carries, while Gray had 74 yards passing, completing five of nine attempts.
Brownwood, which improved to 3-5 overall, finished with 346 total yards, while Gatesville had 280 total yards as Phillips (15-22-3-131) and Keeton (13-88) led the way.
“We’ve got to do some soul searching,” Aguirre said. “The kids are fighting their tails off, but we have to find a way to give more. The coaching staff has got to find a way to get it done.”