August 18, 2009
Click HERE to tell a friend about this page.
Virdell Real Estate Home Page
2009 Articles
Jul 15 - Schedule
Play to Win Archives
Play To Win
By Mikel R. Virdell…recording the history of the Fighting Llano Yellowjackets since 1973.
Last week I mentioned the experience factor and how it will play a large role in the 2009 season. But experience with skill is even better. The Jackets bring to the table Four 1st Team all-district players from 2008. Two running backs with all star numbers from 2008, Llano has Clayton Maples and Estevan Aviles . Similar in size, and speed, and that is where the comparison ends. Maples makes the inside running game terrifying for foes defenses. He is so fast in the first three steps that many linebackers are still gazing into the back field when he flies by. Aviles is a glider, thru the hole so smooth, and usually on the crossing action when the team is headed one direction, Estevan is going the other. What a compliment these two great seniors are to each other.
Lineman receive little credit, and a great deal of blame when the offense stalls. The criticism is warranted. Because if Josh Gammill, and Jas Ball and Forrest Hoerster are not dominating their offensive line positions, the Jacket offense will stall. An offensive lineman cannot play 50-50 football. Winning half the time is disastrous for an offense. The consistent play is imperative. The Jackets 16,000 rushing yards over the past 4 years under the leadership of head Coach David Yeager says a lot about the 1,000 yard rushers over that time period. It says volumes about the offensive lineman. Gammill was all district in 2008. On defense. He will need to be better in 2009.
Llano ran a defense the past four years that had a look and character of a 3-4. Three lineman up front rushing the quarterback. The Jackets defense averaged 22.3 points per game allowed. Teams that won their districts in Central Texas last season allowed an average of 16 points per game. In order for Llano to win the most challenging district in 3AAA in Texas the 22.3 points needs to come down. This season Llano will go to a more conventional 4-3 defense, with four lineman rushing the quarterback. This will give the defensive backs for the Jackets a better chance to keep up with darting downfield receivers, and with a better pass rush, the secondary should improve in the interception department. Llano had only 8 interceptions in 2008. That number needs to be at least one per game. Statistics will tell you had Llano intercepted the ball four more times in 2008, they would have won another game! Don’t know which one that would have been, but if Llano intercepts 12 passes this year, you will be able to see it in the season record. The 4-3 defense should be a game changer for the Jackets. While Llano had excellent players in the secondary last season, they were not athletic enough to keep up with receivers when there was little pass rush. With linebacker Kayden Gass returning from his 2008 all district play at linebacker, and Gammill, and Aviles in the secondary, Llano’s defense may have an opportunity to rival the headlines that the offense has garnered in recent years. If Llano can keep 16 points or less allowed, that district championship could become a reality.
I have had a great frustration curve to overcome in recent years. One has to go back only 20 years when Llano allowed 10.3 points per game in 1989. In 1995 Llano allowed 9.2 points per game in district play, and that was enough to win the district. And again, the last district crown for the Jackets was in 1997, and 11 points per contest by the defense was plenty good. The one statistic I will look into, and that is number of plays. Llano in 2009 will average about 55 plays per game. Last year they ran 59 per contest. 20 years ago, that average was around 40. Some games less. The game…the game clock…time outs….all have changed the game so that all statistis are not alike. The frustration is seeing Llano score 25 or more points in 9 games in 2008, and lose two of those. Llano scored 60 points last year in two playoff games, and leave the playoffs after two games. The game is “a-changin”, and for us old timers, it is sometimes hard to understand. But again, another prediction: Llano allows 16 points a game in their 10 game schedule, and Llano will be district champs.
Seth Graham was 2nd team all-district in 2008 at linebacker. With Gass, Graham, Gammill, and Ball, along with Aviles, Charlie Durham, Travis Lawrence, and Clayton Tumlinson, this Jacket team could be special. This week we go to Early for a Thursday evening scrimmage. Then next week, we prepare for Rockdale, first game of the season, and State ranked #15.