Jackets defense has its defining game

Did we really think the defense would make two stands in the final five minutes to preserve the win?

Probably not, but that’s exactly what happened. 

“I think it was the best defensive game by far,”  head coach David Yeager said.

A matchup against a team that seems to be balanced in the running and passing game was a concern for me when analyzing the Yellowjackets. 

Wimberley fit the game plan because of freshman running back Dennis Smith and quarterback Barron Scudder’s ability to run and throw.

Even if the Yellowjackets were to keep Smith in check, surely the Texans would be able to pick them apart with the passing attack, right?

Wrong.

Give the Yellowjacket defense credit, especially the secondary that has been tested throughout the year and had to learn in a hurry how to defend against the pass.

In a game with tremendous playoff proportions, the Yellowjackets came through. 

But first, they had to discover they could.

“There was a series earlier in the third quarter where we gave them a short field,” Yeager said. 

The end result was the Texans were stopped from getting the first down and had to turn the ball over on downs.

“We gained a lot of confidence,” the Yellowjackets coach said. 

So when the defense took the field with five minutes left, Yeager said people in both stands probably thought, ‘OK, here we go.’ So before the Yellowjackets walked on the field, coaches gathered them together.

“I think our coaches kept them up,” Yeager said, adding they reminded the athletes they had already stopped the Texans on downs.

So a confident defense played to win, not to lose.  What the does the win mean for the playoffs? Good question. 

Liberty Hill has already clinched at least a share of the District 8-3A title and a playoff berth thanks to a 5-0 record.

Llano is 4-1 with its only loss to Burnet and will finish the regular season at Liberty Hill Friday.

Burnet and Wimberley are both tied at 3-2. The Bulldogs will travel to face Canyon Lake, while Wimberley is at home against Fredericksburg.

Burnet beat Llano by 17 points and lost to Wimberley by six points. The Bulldogs are in because of margin of victory over Llano and because the Yellowjackets beat the Texans by six points, the difference in the Burnet-Wimberley contest, according to Yeager. 

Llano is in, he said, because of head-to-head competition.

But according to Burnet head coach Doyle Walker, if Llano beats Liberty Hill and Wimberley defeats Fredericksburg, which is currently 2-3 in league play, the Bulldogs would stay home for the postseason.

Still, give the Yellowjackets credit for fighting their way to the playoffs, for withstanding some questionable calls such as a Llano fumble where the Jackets thought the ball carrier was down. Yeager said Llano did not get a call that was not obvious.

“We told them at the beginning of the game we had to play 48 minutes,” he said. 

As long as they can keep doing that, the Jackets will continue to prove many of us wrong.