Springtown football struggles with turnovers, fails to overcome Brownwood in playoffs

Momentum shifts can be sudden and dramatic. And turnovers can be devastating.

Both played a role in Brownwood’s 37-17 win over Springtown at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Friday night in a Class 4A, D1 regional semi-final playoff.

After a scoreless first quarter, Springtown (9-4) drew first blood with a 27-yard field goal by Bryce Smith and it looked like the Porcupines would make it 10-0 moments later. Things swiftly changed after Springtown turned the ball over and the then hitherto dormant Brownwood offense went on a scoring spree with three touchdowns or 20 unanswered points to take a 20-3 halftime lead.

Just as the Lions owned the second quarter, Springtown could claim the third stanza when the Porcupines stormed out of the locker room after intermission with two straight touchdowns and pull to within three points, 20-17. But then Brownwood answered back in the fourth quarter to put the game away with the last 17 points.

Along the way, Springtown committed four turnovers compared to Brownwood’s one. All of the ones by the Porcupines led either directly or indirectly to Lion scores, 23 points in all. Two of those turnovers were in the red zone or within the opponent’s 10-yard line.

As a result, Brownwood (12-1) advances to play Decatur in a Region I final at a time, date and place to be determined. Earlier in the day, Decatur defeated Lubbock Estacado, 52-21, in Abilene. It is Brownwood’s first trip to the regional finals since 2010.

It did not help the Springtown cause that the Porcupines were without their starting quarterback and leading rusher, Hudson Hulett and Drake Doggett, respectively. Hulett, a three-year starter, suffered a broken leg in the third quarter of last week’s area round win.

Doggett was hurt early in Friday night’s game. He rushed only three times for 6 yards all on the opening drive. Both players are seniors. Junior Hayden Nichols took over for Hulett.

Springtown head coach Brian Hulett, Hudson Hullett’s father, said losing Doggett and his son to injury was a “big swing.”

“We just had to find a way to figure some things out,” Brian Hulett said. “We got shell-shocked there a little bit and we kind of bounced back. We had a tough break, and it just went the other way.”

Early in the second quarter nursing a 3-0 lead, Nichols appeared to be heading for a touchdown or close to it. He had burst off left tackle from the Brownwood 40-yard line to about the 10 when, while pulling a cadre of Lion tacklers with him and what looked like a forced fumble, the ball was jarred loose.

Brownwood’s Zakk Zabecki, who was in on a number of tackles, recovered at the 6-yard line.

From there, it took only four plays for the Lions to drive the distance. The second play was a 47-yard pass from quarterback Ike Hall to Carson Noe to the Springtown 36. Two plays later, Hall found Noe in the right side of the end zone on a fade route for 19-yard touchdown.

It gave Brownwood a 6-0 lead with 6:19 left in the first half – the extra point hit the upright. It signaled a 20-point turnaround as the Lions went on to score on their next two possessions before intermission. Hall kept 9 yards for the second score and threw 8 yards to Noe again to the right side near the front pylon for the third touchdown with only eight seconds left.

Hall did most the damage on the second score with his legs. Besides the scoring run, he also scampered 15 and 36 yards on the seven-play, 73-yard drive.

The third touchdown, like the first, came after a fumble recovery by the Lions’ Jordyn Nickerson at the Springtown 32-yard line.

On the first turnover, Nichols said the ball was knocked out of his hands but admitted he was carrying it rather loosely.

“I got hit,” said the quarterback whose 11-yard pass completion to Dylan Crutchfield on a fourth-and-six led to the opening field goal. “I wasn’t really holding the ball very closely to my chest. It was real easy to get out. It was a great play by them. They were going for the ball. I probably could have held it little bit closer. I kind of fixed that going further into the game.”

Until then, the Springtown defense was keeping the Brownwood offense in check. The Lions did not make a first down on their first three possessions and were held to only 16 yards in that span. On their third try, Hall was intercepted by Riley Jackson.

In fact, statistics did not reflect the score. Springtown had 489 yards of total offense to 259 by Brownwood and 25 to 15 first downs.

In the second half, Springtown came out swinging. After forcing a punt after the kickoff, the Porcupines drove 74 yards in seven plays. Nichols faked a handoff, then kept up the middle for the final 23 yards.

Springtown forced another punt but this one was downed at Springtown 1-yard line. Nevertheless, the Porcupines drove the full length of the field starting with a 43-yard run by Nichols for an eventual touchdown.

The seven-play drive, all runs, ended with Nathan Johnson scoring from the 1. He finished with 150 yards on 23 carries.

Nichols complemented him with 152 yards on eight runs. Coming with four seconds left in the third quarter, it pulled Springtown to within three, 20-17.

Both teams exchanged punts. Then Brownwood once again took over. Starting from the Springtown 41-yard line and helped by a couple of 15-yard penalties including one on the punt return, Hall scored from the 1. The quarterback had 110 yards on 19 carries and rushed and passed for two touchdowns apiece.

Yet another fumble recovery by Enrique Vazquez on the ensuing kickoff return at the Springtown 19 led to a 35-yard field goal by Junior Martinez.

Finally, a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown by Zabecki with 2:01 left accounted for the final score. Springtown had driven to the Brownwood 11 when the senior stepped in front of a pass to the right side for his pick-six.