As the annual “Battle of 377” with Stephenville approaches, Brownwood coach Sammy Burnett has a simple plan for the rivalry game.

“We’re going to go over there and try and pick a fight,” Burnett said, speaking figuratively of course. Maybe.

Since the teams first met on the gridiron in 1937, the game between Brownwood and Stephenville has been a rough, tough and heated affair. For the longest time, Brownwood won almost every fight it picked.

“I look at the same way I did when I played [at Brownwood],” Burnett said. “It’s about bragging rights. You don’t want to lose. There’s not a ton of love lost. We are supposed to beat them and we are expected to beat them. This just gets in your blood.”

“It’s two communities that are blue collar, hardworking, gritty and determined,” said Sterling Doty, a Stephenville graduate who, like Burnett, has returned to coach his alma mater. “Both schools have had successful programs over time. I know we had a bad taste in our mouth from having to take it on the chin all of those years. It’s your rival that you don’t like and you think about that game all year. Who is going to have those bragging rights?”

From 1964-1987, the Lions owned the bragging rights, beating Stephenville 24 straight times and winning 29 of 30 dating back to 1958.

Current Westlake assistant Tim Oehrlein played at Brownwood in the 1970s, as did his older and younger brothers. He remembers how much it meant to the community to keep the upper hand.

“We were always very motivated, and we beat them every time we played them,” Oehrlein said. “It wasn't going to be on our watch that Stephenville got a stronghold. We were going to make sure we took care of that one because we knew how badly they wanted to beat us too.”

For an annual game between two schools to truly be considered a rivalry, they should be on equal footing. By all accounts the “Battle of 377” took on new life when Art Briles showed up in Stephenville for the 1988 season.

Eventually, Stephenville got that stronghold and the rivalry took off.

“When Stephenville became strong, it became a big, bitter rivalry,” Burnett said. “It’s such a big game now.”

Current Lake Travis coach Hank Carter spent five years as an assistant to Chad Morris at Stephenville. They succeeded Briles when he left for the college ranks after winning four state titles in 12 years.

“It’s not a rivalry until both sides can punch,” Carter said. “Eventually Stephenville got there and I think a lot of that had to do with Coach Briles.”

In Briles’ first season, Stephenville tied Brownwood 7-7, sending a message that the Yellow Jackets would no longer serve as Brownwood’s personal punching bag. Burnett had quarterbacked the Lions to victory the year before but still remembered the tie.

“When Briles got there, then the page turned,” he said. “I remember the time we tied…that was a big deal. Then they started taking over and that’s when it really became a big one.”

Doty manned the offensive line for Stephenville, playing for the last two of Briles’ championship teams.

“This game has a rich tradition,” Doty said. “We were down for so long, but when Briles came, we started to match the success that Brownwood had, all of those state titles.”

The schools have combined to win 12 state titles. Brownwood owns seven, but all of Stephenville’s titles have come since the Lions last lifted the trophy in 1981.

But like any true rivalry, the community doesn’t measure success based on that trophy. As Doty recalled shortly after taking over at his alma mater, there’s a game of more importance.

“When I got back here, I know I heard people say that they’d rather beat Brownwood than win a state championship,” Dody said. “I know they don’t really mean it, but in a way they do. All I heard was ‘you better beat Brownwood.’”

As if he needed the not-so-subtle reminder. He still recalls hearing about the 1998 game, when Brownwood beat his Yellow Jackets, 40-35, giving them their only loss in a state championship season.

“Brownwood created t-shirts that year that said they beat the state champions, but I’ll take our t-shirt that year any day – it had our ring on it,” he said. “I know there are people that year who weren’t happy that we lost to Brownwood. I’ll take that championship every time, but I know [Brownwood] is an important game.”

“The first year we were [at Stephenville], Brownwood beat us and we didn’t make the playoffs,” Carter recalled. “North Crowley was in the district that year, and we played them tough [losing 13-7]. They went on to win the state championship. But people didn’t care how tough we’d played them. The Brownwood game is the game that everyone looks forward to. It’s the only one that the townfolks care about.”

That care comes from years of familiarity, Oehrlein explained. While districts have changed through the years, Brownwood and Stephenville – separated by about 60 miles – have been continuously linked. And because Brownwood residents have to drive through Stephenville to get places, such as Dallas or Fort Worth, they wanted to make sure they drove through with the upper hand.

“We just played them all of the time growing up,” he said. “We ran track against them, did everything against them. When you play someone you’re around all the time, you want to make sure you beat them. You got bragging rights for the year. That’s the thing. You run around and it's like you're going to see those guys a bunch. It’s pretty dang competitive.”

Brownwood still enjoys the overall edge in the series, but the Lions are still smarting from losing this game in 2018. The 45-20 loss started the Lions on a four-game losing streak to end the season. For the coach, it brought back painful memories from his playing days, when Stephenville ended the Lions’ decades of dominance.

“When they started winning, it was embarrassing,” Burnett recalled. “It really hurt last year to get beat by them. It hurts your soul. We need to remedy that this year.”

If Burnett’s Lions play the way they’ve been playing throughout 2019, they may just remedy that. At 7-0, Brownwood has risen to No. 6 in the Class 4A Division Ie rankings. The Lions rely on a stifling defense – they’ve allowed just 32 points all season with three consecutive shutouts – and an explosive offense that values the ball – they’ve only given it away once.

At 4-3, Stephenville hasn’t seen the success that has defined the program since the early 1990s, but Doty remains confident heading into his team’s biggest game.

“I feel like our non-district schedule has gotten us prepared to play in games like this one,” Doty said. “We’ve learned from our defeats. This is a great opportunity.”

And it’s one that both communities are already lining up to see. More than 9,000 are expected to fill up Tarleton State’s Memorial Stadium, and both schools expect to be well-represented.

“People look at the date and they make their plans accordingly,” Burnett said. “A lot of lettermen come back. It’s going to be like homecoming for both teams. It doesn’t matter where the game is. It will be a packed house.”