Llano football team faces ‘versatile’ Glen Rose Tigers in bi-district game
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
LLANO — The Llano High School football team had two choices when it came to qualifying for the Class 3A Division II playoffs: beat Brownwood or rely on Burnet to defeat Lampasas.
The Yellow Jackets (5-5, 3-2 in District 8-3A) chose the former with a 40-38 victory Nov. 8.
“Great game,” Llano head coach Craig Slaughter said. “Great performance. Kids were motivated from the get-go. Just kept challenging them.”[box]GAMETIME
Llano Yellow Jackets vs. Glen Rose Tigers
KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Nov. 14
WHERE: Crusader Stadium on the Mary Hardin-Baylor campus, 900 College St. in Belton[/box]
Llano now faces Glen Rose at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at Crusader Stadium on the Mary Hardin-Baylor campus, 900 College St. in Belton.
The Tigers (4-5, 2-2 in District 7-3A) average 178 rushing yards and 170 passing yards. They are led by junior quarterback Colten Lane, who has completed 99 of 167 passes for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Junior running back Hayden Holder has 69 carries for 466 yards and six touchdowns and 25 catches for 415 yards and two touchdowns. Senior receiver Colton Bumpas has 25 receptions for 387 yards and seven touchdowns.
“They’re extremely versatile,” Slaughter said. “They have a couple of good kids they try to get the ball to. It’s a very intelligent scheme. They move kids around. They line up and are big threats.”
Defensively, the Tigers use three different fronts based on what kind of offense the opponent utilizes, Slaughter said.
“They don’t want to give up chunks of yards,” he said. “They play a pretty patient scheme.”
The Jackets experienced some anxious moments against Brownwood, though they never trailed.
Llano senior receiver Isaac Hutto opened the scoring by catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Layton Rabb.
Brownwood scored on the next possession. And that’s how the game played out with each team trading scores. Llano led 21-17 at the half and 34-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Explosive plays highlighted the second half. Rabb hit senior receiver Chance Ware for a 71-yard touchdown and then found senior running back Carter Tatsch on a swing pass that went for a 66-yard touchdown.
Tatsch’s touchdown was the result of a fumble recovery by junior safety Jalen Bauman.
Tatsch scored the final touchdown of the game on a one-yard dive after Ware caught a 29-yard pass from Rabb on fourth-and-15.
And junior defensive back Tommy Yelvington’s interception with three minutes left in the match allowed his team to run out the clock for the win.
“Love it,” Slaughter said. “Love it for our kids and our community. Glad we did it ourselves and go in on a win.”
Rabb finished with 369 yards after completing 15 of 26 passes, while Hutto had five receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. Ware had two catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Tatsch caught two passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Tatsch also ran 19 times for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
The coach said this victory ranks very high on his list since taking over at Llano.
“All three district wins were big ones,” he said. “But beating Brownwood is a huge win.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com