Yellow Jackets have ‘sharp’ final scrimmage against Sonora
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
LLANO — The Llano High School football team gave fans plenty to cheer about as it played its first opponent on the new synthetic turf at its own stadium in a scrimmage Aug. 20.
The Yellow Jackets welcomed Sonora by pounding the football with the blocking of the offensive line and sophomore running back Mason Greenwood. Llano had a nine-play drive and a six-play drive both end in touchdowns. And some of those plays were between 15-18 yards each. In addition, the running back made the first one or two tacklers miss him.
“They had a big night,” head coach Craig Slaughter said. “We really all wanted to get our running game going.”
The result was Greenwood carrying the ball about 14 times for more than 100 yards.
“Very consistent production,” Slaughter said.
After the Burnet scrimmage Aug. 14, coaches evaluated the film and saw offensive linemen who were blocking the wrong defender. So they spent the week working on that part of the run game. And it showed against Sonora, the coach said.
“We did a much better job,” he said. “We’re not good enough to not block correctly. We just had some confusion.”
Slaughter praised the linemen and offensive line coach Bobby Williams for their diligence in addressing the hurdles before the second scrimmage. He said he was sure there were still mistakes here and there but not nearly what they experienced against Burnet.
The coach’s philosophy is that the offense must create space, while the defense must eliminate space. The offense’s ability to create space started with the offensive line, he said.
“We really think they’re the strength of our team,” Slaughter said of the offensive line. “They were assertive. I thought they looked sharp. … You run behind the aggressive intensity to move a man against his will. (Our linemen) were charged up. It was exciting.”
Because of the commitment to run the ball, coaches didn’t call as many pass plays, the coach said.
On the defensive side, coaches emphasized the Jackets couldn’t give up explosive plays that resulted in touchdowns, which is what happened against Burnet. The Bulldogs scored on two plays of more than 60 yards.
Sonora was unable to score until the live quarter.
“Our kids got stop after stop after stop,” Slaughter said. “We stopped them on seven consecutive drives. We pressured the quarterback extremely well without stunting.”
Overall, the scrimmage was exactly what Llano needed, Slaughter said, as it now prepares for a road date at Wall at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 to begin the season. The game will be at Hawk Stadium, 8065 Loop 570 in Wall.
“I just love that we came out intent to play sharp from the onset,” Slaughter said.
jfierro@thepicayune.com