Brownsboro rallies in fourth quarter to top Jacksonville
Published 1:35 am Saturday, September 6, 2025
JACKSONVILLE — Hot and muggy, but where else would you want to be — Texas High School Football on Friday Nights is the hottest ticket in town.
The Brownsboro Bears and Jacksonville Indians played their second non-district contest, before thousands of fans, in the historic Tomato Bowl. After four hard fought quarters, the Bears pulled out a 34-27 victory.
“We had some adversity early, but our kids never gave it up,” Bears Coach Lance Connot said. “Our energy was so high during the whole game. How ’bout a second half shutout! I’m so proud of our coaches and players.”
Some top notch East Texas talent played their hearts out. For the Bears, Jack Anderson, Gabe Hendricks, Cade Williams, Tucker Anderson, Aiden Mitchem, Curtis Warren, and Adam Thompson stood out. For the Indians, Jordyn McGowan, Mario Rodriquez, Benny Bolton, Alex Polk, Alex Parra and JaQualyn Holman were outstanding. Malique Masenburge was a terror all night on defense.
In the first half, the Indians took the first play after the kickoff, 57 yards for a touchdown. Polk ran it in and KC Cardenas kicked the point after, for a 7-0 Jacksonville lead.
Indian Masenburge intercepted the Bears’ first pass, and returned it to the Brownsboro 9-yard line. McGowan sprinted in the final 9 yards for the Indians’ second touchdown. Cardenas made the extra point and the Indians led 14-0 with 10:56 left in the first quarter.
The Bears came back with Thompson scoring from the 9-yard line. Connor Lightfoot tacked on the point after to narrow the score to 14-7.
Thompson’s 52-yard punt moved the ball deep into Indian territory to start the second quarter. In the final 5 minutes of the half the Bears had something going deep into Indian territory but Kenyon Tilley recovered a fumble. Jacksonville made the turnover work in their favor with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Bolton to Holman. Cardenas made his third point after, which ran the score to 21-7, Indians.
Another fumble recovered by Indian Elijah Benavides gave Jacksonville possession in Brownsboro territory. Bolton carried the pigskin into the end zone from the six yard line. The extra point try was no good, but Jacksonville led 27-7. The Bears said we are gonna make this a ballgame, and Thompson scored from the seven in the final minute before halftime. Lightfoot continues to be automatic with his extra points.
At halftime, the score was 27-14, in favor of the Indians. The bands for both teams kept the fans jumping with some lively tunes and precision marching. Both drill teams gave nearly flawless performances. The cheerleaders kept the spirit up for the Bears and Indians. As I continue to say, there’s nothing like our great state of Texas, and Friday nights in the fall.
The second half kept up with more big plays. A direct snap to Hendricks ended up in a 31 yard scoring run. After Lightfoot’s conversion, and only 37 seconds elapsed the Bears had pulled within 27-21. The Bears defense, led by Williams and the Andersons stepped up their play. The only thing stopping Brownsboro were yellow flags and officials conferences. An attempted field goal try by Jacksonville was returned 55 yards by Hendricks, to give the Bears excellent field position. The Bears were going in for the go-ahead score when Jacksonville’s Masenburge caused another turnover.
The fourth quarter looks like it’ll be a real barnburner. Warren says I’ll do it for the Bears — a 54-yard touchdown, and the Lightfoot conversion gave the Bears their first lead, 28-27.
After a second three-and-out by the Bear defense, Thompson hit Hendricks for 27-yards and paydirt. This made the score 34-27, Brownsboro.
McGowan returned the kickoff 50 yards, deep in Brownsboro territory. However, the Bears defense held. Jack Anderson bulled through the Indian defense to run out the clock. The Bear offensive line dominated the second half. The Bears held Jacksonville scoreless the second half.
Next week, the Brownsboro Bears will entertain Fairfield, for their first home action of the season. The Jacksonville Indians will travel to Henderson. Both sets of fans continue to support your teams, wearing the Blue and Gold.