BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN
TheFlashToday.com
BROWNWOOD—Stephenville broke open a tight 17-14 game after halftime with four straight touchdowns and never looked back in dismantling Brownwood 45-20 at Gordon Wood Stadium Friday night.
The Jackets (5-3, 2-1) looked like they might be in for a long night when Kade Renfro had his first pass of the evening intercepted, but the junior quarterback rebounded quickly with a pair of scoring passes of 31 and 21 yards to Gavin Rountree and Kyle Lindsey. The Jackets opened their scoring with a 23-yard field goal from Chase Carillo.
Stephenville was a different team offensively in the second half as they took their opening possession downfield quickly and capped the drive with a 45-yard scoring run from Krece Nowak.
The Jacket defense suffocated Brownwood’s ground game allowing just eight total rushing yards and forced Lion quarterback Tommy Bowden to go through the air. Bowden completed 25-40-1 for 330 yards. Linebacker Blu Caylor picked off one of Bowden’s passes for his second interception of the season.
Stephenville’s next score came via a two-yard run by Cason Philips before Caylor switched to offense in Jacket’s hammer-time package and added another tally.
Renfro added a third touchdown passing in the fourth quarter when he found Zane Walker and the two combined for the evening’s longest scoring play on an 84-yard pass.
“The kids fought hard offensively and defensively, and our special teams came through when we need it. Anytime you are in a rivalry game like this one you never know what will happen. Our kids stepped up!” Coach Greg Winder said.
The win puts Stephenville in solid second place as they return home for their final district contest Friday against Gatesville. The game is also senior night for the Jackets who will then have a bi-week before the playoffs.
FIRST QUARTER
BRO — Tommy Bowden 1 run (Zach Smith kick), 4:20
STE — Chase Carillo 23 FG , 1:51
SECOND QUARTER
STE — Gavin Rountree 31 pass from Kade Renfro (Carillo kick), 11:29
STE — Kyle Lindsey 21 pass from Renfro (Carillo kick), 9:05
BROW — Zach Strong 9 pass from Bowden (extra point), 5:28
THIRD QUARTER
STE — Krece Nowak 45 run (Carillo kick), 10:13
STE — Nowak (Carillo kick), 4:24
FOURTH QUARTER
STE — Blu Caylor 1 run (Carillo kick), 11:31
STE — Zane Walker 84 pass from Renfro (Carillo kick), 7:42
BROW — Adonis McCarty 71 pass from Bowden (kick failed), 7:24
| STEPENVILLE | BROWNWOOD | |
| First downs | 12 | 11 |
| Rushes-Yards | 40-149 | 11-8 |
| Passing | 258 | 322 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 14-19-1 | 25-40-1 |
| Punts | 3-47 | 3-31 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-34 | 8-55 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Stephenville, Krece Nowak 24-114; Renfro 5-30, Kason Phillips 5-10, Blu Caylor 2-3; Team 1-(-8). Brownwood, Tommy Bowden 11-8; Reece Rodgers 4-5; Joseph Johnson 2-0.
PASSING — Stephenville, Renfro 14-19-1 — 230. Brownwood, Bowden 25-40-1 — 322.
RECEIVING — Stephenville, Kyle Lindsey 3-53, Nowak 2-25, Gavin Rountree 2-39, Zane Walker 3-107, Trace Morrison 4-34. Brownwood, Adonis McCarty 8-191; Zach Strong 6-16; Braden Jetton 4-52; Ben Kallman 3-33; Reece Rodgers 4-30.
RECORDS — Stephenville 5-3, 2-1; Brownwood 4-3, 1-1.
I believe our DEFENSIVE LINE needs a spread in the Flash. But that’s my opinion.