Yellowjackets stun Texans
Llano beat the Texans, 20-14, Oct. 31. The six-point win should be enough for the Yellowjackets to qualify for the postseason, Yeager said. The victory also marked Llano’s first win against Wimberley in his four years at Llano.
“It’s a great team accomplishment,” he said. “I thought our kids gave great effort. Our coaches worked hard all week. It’s a great feeling to get the monkey off our backs.”
The contest was in doubt until Wimberley quarterback Barron Scudder was sacked on fourth down with less than three minutes to play.
Afterward, fans ran on the field at Llano Stadium to celebrate with the players.
“We had a lot of people rush the field to celebrate with our seniors,” Yeager said. “They’re 10-0 on the field. That’s special to go undefeated at home for two years.”
In order to get the win, Llano had to overcome some big plays and a first-half deficit.
Wimberley freshman running back Dennis Smith opened the scoring by running 69 yards for a touchdown for the first quarter’s only score, 7-0.
Yellowjackets fullback Clayton Maples answered in the second quarter with a 62-yard run of his own.
Scudder and receiver Brooks Blakemore regained the lead for the Texans when the two hooked up for a 24-yard score.
Llano quarterback Trey Brooks hit Estevan Aviles for a 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Logan Davis scored on a 39-yard run to give the Yellowjackets the win.
But first, Llano had to withstand two Wimberley possessions in the final five minutes.
The Yellowjackets forced a punt on the first Wimberley possession. Before Llano’s offense took the field, Yeager talked to his players.
“I told the offense we’re not going to do anything stupid,” he said. “We’re going to make them use their timeouts.”
The Yellowjackets did just that, he said, and then punted the ball back to the Texans but made sure to stay away from the wall of Texan blockers to allow the returner a clear running lane.
The defense, which had so far already pitched a shutout in the second half, jogged onto the field knowing what they had to do.
“I think they really thought, ‘We’re going to stop them,’” Yeager said.
The Jackets pressured Scudder on third and 30.
“He didn’t even get it off,” the coach said. “They found another gear.”
Both offenses had good nights. Llano had 366 yards of total offense with 302 of those on the ground. Wimberley recorded 306 yards of total offense with 168 passing yards and 138 rushing yards.
“We scored when we had to,” the Yellowjackets skipper said. “We didn’t by any means dominate them on offense.”
The Yellowjackets knew going into the Wimberley game they had to get a win for a postseason berth, even though some people doubted they could finish better than fifth in the district.
“We worked our tails off,” Yeager said. “If you get caught up in negativity, it’ll come back to bite you.”
Instead, the coaches and players took a hardworking approach each day, he said, by studying film, executing their plays and being sound in technique.
“It’s certainly not a disgrace to be picked fifth,” the coach said. “We felt like we could win the right amount of games against the right people. The kids believe in each other and their coaches. It’s not about proving the nay sayers wrong.”