July 21, 2008
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By Mikel R. Virdell…recording the history of the Fighting Llano Yellowjackets since 1973.
To start talking about the 2008 Llano Yellowjackets, one must first know where this team has been, before we can be sure of where it will go this season.
The 9-4 2007 Yellowjackets matched the most games ever played in one season, 13. Three games deep into the playoffs. Second place in the old district. 2-1 district record, losing only to the Wimberley Champions. Last season, Wimberley also went three games deep into the playoffs.
The Jackets will play 10 games in the regular season. Five teams in our new 8AAA district made the playoffs last year out of the new 7 team district. Liberty Hill won the State Championship for the second year in a row. Two teams, Burnet and Fredericksburg are moving down from 4 AAAA. Their enrollments were 975 and 928 respectively. Llano turned in 510, the smallest in the 7 team district. If the Jackets are to make the playoffs in 2008, they will have to be giant killers. 8AAA is the toughest 3A district in the State. Wimberley and Liberty Hill have three State Crowns this decade between them, and Burnet has been to the title game twice this decade. ( Bandera is no longer in our District, but left with a State Championship also)
The Jackets winning two State playoff games has happened but once before in our history, that being with the great 1973 Ken Gray coached team that went 9-3-1. Llano won their two playoff games by a combined score of 87 to 18! A record breaking offense that managed to run and pass for 5,080 yards, with a run pass ratio of 90% to 10%. Yet The senior quarterback returns after completing 53% of his passes, and only 5 interceptions. In this decade, Llano has thrown that many interceptions in one game! Throw in a nifty split receiver that caught 8 TD receptions to enter the Jacket record books in the top ten all-time. With another strong season, he could have a career total as the best TD receiver of all-time. The record held by Michael White is 15.
The Jackets ran for 4,366 yards on 627 carries, which calculates out to 6.96 yards per carry, another school record. Llano’s 465 points were a school record, as was the 35.76 points per game. While on defense the Jackets held seven foes to two touchdowns or less, and winning each game.
Llano has only 3 returning starters on offense, and two on defense. But the best asset returning for Llano is head football coach David Yeager. In three seasons as Head Jacket, Llano is 24-13, with 7 playoff games (4 wins, 3 losses), another school record over that time period. To compare, Karl McCormack had a 25-10 (2-2) record in his first three seasons, and Ken Gray was 23-10-1 in his three , 2-2 in the playoffs as Llano’s Coach from 1973 to 1975.
If Yeager brought nothing else, he brought consistency. The Jackets are going to run the football, and when they get tired of that, they will run it a little bit more.
In three seasons under Yeager, Llano has rushed the football for 11,516 yards on 1,761 carries, for a 6.54 average. Those numbers are close to a team by the name of Liberty Hill. In the same three seasons, Shane Pope (2,262 yards), Ty Thurman (2,435 yards), and Lance Dickey (2,492 yards) compiled career numbers that place the three backs in the top 8 all-time rushers for Llano High School.
The questions are many. The hopes are high. The Mountain will be steep. Will there be another Ty Thurman, or Dickey, or Pope emerge from the Yeager machine? Can the Llano offense churn out the yards as in the past? Will the passing game be better? And can Llano play enough defense to win? These and other questions will be asked and you can follow Llano for the next 15 weeks right here every Monday until the last quarter is played. And if it is Yellowjacket football, tradition and pride tells you the 2008 Jackets will be playing to win. I’ll be talking with you next week. Send your comments and corrections( my mistakes, your corrections !) to e-mail: mvirdell@virdellrealestate.com
It’s August. It’s Football season!!!