Yellowjackets keep pledge in scrimmage against Sonora

SAN ANTONIO — After the scrimmage against Sonora Aug. 13, Llano High School football coach David Yeager ended his postgame meeting with players by asking them to find their coaches and pledging to get better.

"Don’t do it unless you mean it," Yeager 
told each player who shook his hand.

On Thursday against San Antonio Somerset, the Yellowjackets proved to be players of their word.

The scrimmage ended in a 1-1 tie with Llano’s second string offense scoring and Somerset evening the score in the live portion of the event.

Yeager attributed the turnaround to what happened against Sonora.

"We got better," he said. "At offensive line we got better at pass protection. They were blitzing every play. We picked it up and blocked better overall."

Coaches used the days after the scrimmage to go over the film against Sonora with their players where every frame was analyzed.

"More reps, more practice time," the Jackets skipper said. "Coaches broke down the tape and saw what we needed to work on."

He was equally happy with junior quarterback Rhett Brooks.

"I think Rhett did a good job," he said. "He ran the ball well and threw the ball well."

As for the other skill-position players, Yeager said he could see progress with running and catching.

The players also did better in another area, he said.

"They improved with downfield blocking," he said. "Against Sonora, we didn’t block well on the perimeter."

Defensive coordinator Brad Harman was equally pleased with the way the defense performed. The lone Somerset score resulted from not taking a correct tackling angle.

"Defensively, we made a ton of improvements," he said. "I think our kids worked hard the first two weeks of practice, but when you get out there against an opponent for the first time against varsity players, the speed of the game is different."

Coaches also stressed open-field tackling, Harman said. Against Sonora, the Jackets struggled with proper tackling angles, which allowed the Broncos to run for big yards.

But Somerset wasn’t as fortunate, the coordinator said.

"I think we had a lot of people flying to the football and making plays," he said. "We executed defensive calls better."

Also important was the line of scrimmage. The Llano defensive line forced its will on Somerset, which allowed the others to make plays.

"I thought the guys up front really did a good job," Harman said. "I felt like this week those guys did a much better job up front. Our linebackers made a whole lot more plays because our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Every phase of the defensive game plan for us I thought improved in the last few days."

jfierro@thepicayune.com