Yellow Jackets open district play at home against Wimberley
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
LLANO — The Llano High School football team enters District 13-4A Division II play with momentum when the Yellow Jackets welcome Wimberley on Oct. 9.
The game begins at 7:30 p.m. at Llano Stadium, 400 Texas 71 East.
It’s the district opener for both squads.
“We’re all at zero wins right now,” Llano head coach Craig Slaughter said. “Wimberley is a very proud and hungry program. We’re going to have to play well to have a chance to win. They still have plenty of things going on over there positive. They’re a great program.”
The Texans (0-6) are averaging 101 yards on the ground and 85 yards in the air.
The team is led by two quarterbacks junior Davin Masur, who has 12 rushes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore JoJo Weeks, who has completed 28 passes for 401 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Sophomore running back Hunter Williams has 37 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown, while senior receiver Matt Stroman has nine catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Slaughter said Wimberley has leaned more toward throwing the football this season, but that could be because the Texans have had to play from behind.
“I fully expect them on Friday night to try to use that big offensive line to run the ball,” he said. “Their offensive line is very good size, quality-looking kids. I think their tendency sheet is a little off because they’ve been playing catchup in some of those games.”
The Wimberley defense continues to show the same tendencies it always has, Slaughter said.
“They do a great job creating confusion, kids moving around, stunting in different places,” he said. “And when you have a confused offensive lineman, you see a kid who doesn’t block much of anything. So we have to get our kids to understand what they’re supposed to do and not be doubting themselves if they’re blocking the right area or the right person.”
The Yellow Jackets (2-4) will counter with sophomore quarterback Ben Walling, who will make his second start. He completed five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-24 win against Salado on Oct. 2. Sophomore running back Mason Greenwood had 26 rushes for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Slaughter said the upperclassmen have welcomed the sophomores. Two reasons are because of their personalities and work ethic.
“When you have those elements in place, there’s not any jealousy or any question in what’s going on,” he said. “They’re good ol’ hardworking kids, they fit right in. I thought Ben, for his first start, did a good job, made some huge throws for us that really helped us win the game. I thought Ben held himself very well.”
As for the rest of the Jackets, Slaughter said he’d like to see his players have more swagger, which he defines as confidence in that athletes believe they’ll win no matter the deficit or circumstances.
“Some teams kind of have that, and it’s not a cockiness,” he said. “They take the field thinking they’re going to win. It’s something I think they get accustomed to, it’s a bump in their program, that success breeds success. I hope we develop that swagger.”
Few results lead to that swagger like getting a come-from-behind win, which the Jackets got over Salado. They trailed by 10 points in the third quarter.
“I think some people probably thought we should have won by more, which I would love to do, but you know we won two games last year,” Slaughter said. “I don’t really care about style points; I care about getting the win. Kids responded and did a great job to get the win. I just know I’m glad we’re coming off a win. I’m very grateful and proud of our kids for that.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com