Llano football opens district competition against Wimberley
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
LLANO — The Llano High School football team begins District 13-4A Division II play against Wimberley with much-needed momentum.
The Yellow Jackets (2-4) defeated Salado 34-13 on Oct. 3 to snap a three-game losing streak.
“Three weeks in coaching is an eternity,” Llano head coach Craig Slaughter said. “It’s nice to see your kids rewarded. I’m happy for our kids.”
Wimberley (3-2) is on a three-game winning streak with victories against Iowa Park (35-14), Austin St. Michael’s (48-33) and Canyon Lake (28-27) after consecutive losses to Giddings 34-31 and La Vernia 28-0.
“We know Wimberley is a good football team,” Slaughter said.
The Texans are led by quarterback Colton Cerday, who has completed 60 passes for 977 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions and has rushed 41 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Running back West Lambert has 49 carries for 327 yards and four touchdowns and eight catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Brock McDorman has 21 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns. In all, the Texans average 275 yards a contest but give up 126 yards per game.
Llano got the start it wanted against Salado. The Jackets drove 75 yards in 12 plays that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tommy Yelvington from quarterback Holden Simpson.
“We were all over them about a better start,” Slaughter said.
The Jackets built a 20-0 lead at the half. Llano had a 99-yard drive in 12 plays that was completed when Yelvington caught a six-yard pass from Simpson.
With under four minutes remaining in the half, the Llano defense forced Salado to fumble in its end zone. The ball was recovered by Colton Ekstrom for a Llano touchdown.
The teams exchanged touchdowns in the second half. But Llano’s last touchdown drive took 8:03 off the clock. Simpson hit Airon Layton on a 19-yard touchdown pass to finish the 15-play, 71-yard drive.
Slaughter said he enjoyed that eight-minute drive the most because it did not allow the Eagles a chance to climb back into the contest.
“You can feel it when the game creeps back into question,” he said.
Simpson said the win illustrates how hard Llano has been working the past several weeks.
“I hadn’t passed as well as I should have,” Simpson said. “All of our guys played with a chip on our shoulders.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
Llano 34, Salado 13 on Oct. 3
FIRST QUARTER
L – Tommy Yelvington 11-yard pass from Holden Simpson (David Forrister kick), 7:01
L – Yelvington 6-yard pass from Simpson (kick blocked), :59
SECOND QUARTER
L – Colton Ekstrom fumble recovery in the end zone (Forrister kick), 2:13
THIRD QUARTER
L – Lance Reven 7-yard run (Forrister kick), 4:47
S – Jacob Little 5-yard run (Ivan Torres kick), 2:43
FOURTH QUARTER
S – Mclane Matthews 17-yard pass from Little (kick blocked), 8:57
L – Airon Layton 19-yard pass from Simpson David Forrister kick), :54
TEAM STATS
(LLANO) First downs — 20; Total net yards — 397; Rushes-yards — 42-243; Passing — 154; Comp-att-int — 13-24-0; Fumbles-lost — 1-0; Penalties-yards — 2-30
(SALADO) First downs — 9; Total net yards — 229; Rushes-yards — 24-40; Passing — 189; Interceptions — 2; Comp-att-int — 9-19-2; Fumbles-lost — 1-0; Penalties-yards — 3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – (Llano), Holden Simpson 9-113, Lance Reven 11-48, John Heflin 6-42, Aaron Moss 10-16, Dorian Green 3-12, Wyatt Bauman 3-12. (Salado), Jacob Little 13-(-3), Tyler Armstrong 1-3, Ivan Torres 3-3, Coby Chambliss 3-8, Team 4-28
PASSING – (Llano), Simpson 13-24-154-3 touchdowns. (Salado) Little 9-19-189-1 touchdown
RECEIVING – (Llano), Tommy Yelvington 7-76-2 touchdowns, Airon Layton 3-72-1 touchdown, Kasin Riley 1-8, Aaron Moss 2-(-1). (Salado) Ryan Marriott 3-50, Jacob Quick 3-37, Mclane Matthews 2-42, Jacob Little 1-19