Llano football taking momentum from win into Brady game
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
LLANO — The Llano High School football team is hoping a remarkable second half against Bangs leads to 48 minutes of success against Brady.
The two teams play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at Llano Stadium, 400 Texas 71 East.
Brady (2-0) is picked to finish second in District 3-3A Division I and is the third consecutive opponent from that division to play Llano (1-1). The Bulldogs have already beaten Brock 26-21 and Ballinger 40-13.
Slaughter said the linemen are a physical bunch. Offensively, they block well with the aim of opening running lanes for junior running back Aaron Eagle and protecting quarterback Joe Scott Pace. Defensively, they bring strength to the trenches that allows linebackers Jerry Trejo and Gary Flores to make plays.
“They get after you,” Slaughter said. “They’re playing with an extraordinary level of confidence. Those guys play hard, fast and physical.”
Once upon a time, Llano and Brady played each other quite often, developing a rivalry, Slaughter said.
The Yellow Jackets (1-1) earned their first win of the season Sept. 5, crushing Bangs 41-21.
Llano and the Dragons played to a 14-14 first-half tie. Slaughter said he told he players he saw plenty of positives.
“We outplayed them, but we had three turnovers,” he said, adding he ended his talk by encouraging them to limit the errors.
The third quarter couldn’t have played out better, the coach said. Llano scored on its opening possessions, scored on a turnover, made a defensive stop and scored again to create the separation Slaughter wanted.
He called the second half “enjoyable” from the sideline.
“You want to watch the kids compete,” he said. “You always want them to experience winning together.”
Llano senior quarterback Holden Simpson completed 17 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Jalen Baumann caught nine receptions for 117 yards and touchdowns, and senior running back Aaron Moss had 28 rushes for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Slaughter said a victory like this gives athletes confidence, particularly the underclassmen, who are adjusting to the varsity level.
“You see your kids have their ups and downs and compete well enough to win,” he said. “I don’t want to keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We really dominated the second half.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
Llano 41, Bangs 21 on Sept. 5
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Llano: 7-7-14-13 — 41
Bangs: 0-14-0-7 — 21
TEAM STATS
LLANO
First downs: 21
Total net yards: 429
Rushes-yards: 43-183
Passing: 246
Interceptions: 0
Comp-Att-TD: 17-21-4
Fumbles-lost: 0-0
Penalties-yards: 2-26
BANGS
First downs: 13
Total net yards: 239
Rushes-yards: 28-148
Passing: 91
Interceptions: 4
Comp-Att-Int: 3-7-4
Fumbles-lost: 1-1
Penalties-yards: 7-35
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – Llano, Aaron Moss 28-147-2 touchdowns, Holden Simpson 7-26, Trevor Penny 4-7, Rhett Livingston 2-7, John Heflin 1-(-1), Jalen Baumann 1-(-3)
PASSING — Llano, Simpson 17-21-246-4 touchdowns
RECEIVING – Llano, Bauman 9-117-2 touchdowns, Kasin Riley 2-93-1 touchdown, Lance Reven 1-20-1 touchdown, Tommy Yelvington 2-14, Luke Snitkin 1-6, Moss 2-(-4)
