Llano looks for more out of offensive line vs. Fredericksburg
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
LLANO — The Llano High School football team is looking for improvement in various areas as the Yellow Jackets prepare for a lethal Fredericksburg squad.
The two play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at Llano Stadium, 400 Texas 71 East.
Head coach Craig Slaughter said the Yellow Jackets (1-2) must get better play from its offensive line.
“There’s a couple of them I think are playing about what you expected,” he said. “But there’s three of them that we have to get more out of them, period, and we played eight or nine offensive linemen the other night. We did the week before also. There’s a couple of them that need to play better.”
The coach said he felt so good about the offensive line that he told people he believed that unit would be a strength for the team. And he believes it still can be; he is ready to see it.
“We’ve really challenged them personally,” he said. “They know our team is counting on them, and we’re hoping that we’re about to see them elevate their play.”
As the play caller, Slaughter said solid offensive line play gives him options on what to call next, especially since the Jackets need production from the run game.
“There’s no doubt that’s our option one, two and three,” he said. “We want to have success running the ball first before we do anything else.”
During the 44-6 loss to Brady on Sept. 11, Llano had 40 rushes for 125 yards, a three-yard-per-carry average.
And fielding a productive offensive unit means limiting the touches of the Fredericksburg offense led by senior quarterback Kyle Reeh, who has completed 25 of 46 passes for 507 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions and has 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
The Billies will try to rebound from a 28-16 setback to Burnet on Sept. 11.
“They’ll give (Reeh) some definite just quarterback run plays,” Slaughter said. “And they’ll move the pocket and throw. You do see a handful of times in the game just moving around, side to side, trying to extend a play and find somebody downfield to throw to.”
Reeh’s favorite target is senior running back Cole Bourgeois, who has caught eight passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns and junior receiver Johnny Cleland, who has seven receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Mitchell Edwards has 15 rushes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Another concern is senior Blake Vick, the 6-foot-1-inch, 250-pound left tackle.
“He’s a kid that’s just one of those man-eater offensive lineman,” Slaughter said. “He destroys people and takes great pleasure in it. And I mean that total complimentary. He gets after it, and boy, he just plays with a ferociousness that’s just hard to teach.”
The coach also wants to see more enthusiasm and emotion from his players, which was something he did not see enough during the loss to Brady.
“If we don’t play excited, there’s not a lot we can do,” he said. “We have to have emotion.”
Credit Brady for setting the tone early from the first play of the second half. Brady returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to increase its lead to 20-0. Then the Bulldogs recovered a live ball on the ensuing kickoff that Llano didn’t realize was a live ball. Brady scored several plays later for a 27-0 advantage.
“We hadn’t even run an offensive play yet,” Slaughter said. “I hope it was a learning experience. Obviously, that’s no fun to go through, especially when you expect it to be a competitive game.
jfierro@thepicayune.com