13-2 Jackets’ Season Ends w/ Yoakum

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Mike Virdell

Th 13-2 Llano YellowJackets hit the end of the trail last Friday night in Pflugerville as the Yoakum Bulldogs won the State Semi Finals game. This Jacket team is the first Jacket team to play 15 games in a season. And only the second team to play five games deep into the State Play-offs. 2020 was the other team to play five games. Pretty elite company.

I’m not going to go very deep into the details of the game. Someday I will. And someday I know the seniors on this great team will come to appreciate what was accomplished.

Junior quarterback Luke Davis found senior Graham Prokop late in the first quarter for a 60 yard TD pass and catch to bring the score to 7-6. But the Jacket extra point was blocked, and run back for a 2 point score. Yoakum lead 9-6. Yoakum would then score 27 points in the second quarter to put the game away. The speed of the Bulldogs was numbing. Not one, not two, but four Bulldogs ran crazy the entire second half. The effort of the Jackets was never questioned. The speed and keeping up was not happening.

While this Jacket team would be considered to have good speed…sprinters speed all over the field could not be matched. Still outstanding plays thru out the game by Llano gave fans spurts of hope. Junior Jason Cherry at linebacker had a great game. Senior George Gallucci had a great game at defensive end. Linebacker Niko Arms made numerous stops. Junior Cody Greenwood at linebacker. Seniors Grayson Lilie, Austin Humphries, Gavin Hays and JD Friday were often the last chance for a stop as these four secondary players played their hearts out, often to a frustrated ending and made for a long night. Mario Hernandez and Cole Kennedy, both juniors had several stops for loss yardage. Evan Gomez, another junior, played hard against a very tough situation. Nick Light played hard. And the fifth junior defensive lineman, Logan Robinson will build off this loss. It was a long night for all.

The Jackets never gave up. Llano scored with 5:53 in the third quarter. Luke hit Graham for a ten yard gain, and then came back with a 24 yard strike to senior Jose Sillas and the score. Senior Francisco Parravano kicked good…again. Francisco had a great senior year kicking for Llano. I’ll have his numbers up in a few days.

Jose scored again in the fourth quarter on a three yard run. Luke had carried two times for 8 yards, freshman Cole Landers ran for 10 yards and a first down. Senior Brayton Shaw ran twice for 19 yards. Francisco’s kick was good. Llano had 20.

Llano last drive was it’s longest, driving 13 plays and going 84 yards. Senior River Thomison, Jose, Brayton, Luke, Cash Lynch and Cole all carried for positive yards. Graham had another catch, and Jose carried it over the goal line. Fancisco again kicked true. Llano had 27 points. The Jackets ended the game with a little over 200 yards rushing. Blocking by seniors Cason Stephenson and James Greenwood was tough against a very good and larger Yoakum defensive line. But along with senior Hayden Bigger and juniors Nick Light and Camren Smith they were able to make holes. 13-3AAA Offensive Lineman of the Year, senior Zach Driskel had an outstanding game and an outstanding senior year. Also, three great blockers all year long have been seniors Brady Kelly, River Thomison and Angelo State bound tight end Konrad Zwicke.

Luke threw for about 200 yards. Graham had a super night catching the ball. Junior Cash Lynch, Jose, Brayton, junior Josiah Wood, Cole Landers, and Austin all had catches.

The Jackets in 2025 have broken so many records. I’ve only begun adding numbers to the LHS record book. Most games played in a season. Tied for most wins ever. One Jacket fan pointed out to me that these seniors and some juniors have played in 9 play off games over the past 12 months. Play off games. Ever to play in one was a dream of many. Was a thing to have for the rest of your life to know you had that kind of experiences. People…it just is hard to get better than that. There are only a handful of teams in the entire State of Texas that can say that. 9 !!!

I will be working on the record book, and try to get all entered by the end of the year. I too will enter the ALL District Players here over the next few days. So lets’ all take a deep breathe. 13-2. 25 wins over the last two seasons. Great to be a part of YellowJackeet Nation.

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Jackets End Edna Jinx

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The 2025 Llano Yellow Jackets fought a determined Edna Cowboys team down to the last few minutes to take a 38-35 win home in the State Regional Quarterfinals game last Friday night in San Antonio. The Jackets did not make it easy on anyone. The Cowboys lead at halftime 28-17, and three plays into the third quarter, lead 35-17.

Ironically, Llano took the opening kick off and drove 7 plays down to the 4 yard line where they ran out of downs, and senior Francisco Parravano kicked a 21 yard field goal and Llano was ahead 3-0. Freshman Cole Landers had a 23 yard run and junior quarterback Luke Davis had a 32 yard run. Luke’s 9 yard pass to junior Cash Lynch produced a first down. But on fourth down, Francisco came into the game.

Edna wasted little time in taking the lead. On second down, # 4 Hicks went 62 yards and a Cowboy touchdown. Only when there was 3:55 seconds left in the game would the Jackets take back the lead.

In the first quarter, Llano got the ball back two times. Forced to punt once, and a Jacket fumble lead to Edna having the ball two times, and both times the Jacket defense forced fumbles. In between that, Llano had an interception. Llano had 105 yards of offense, and Edna had 106 yards.

The second quarter got off to a fast start. For Edna. On the fourth play from scrimmage and after a 30 yard pass completion, Edna scored again. Score 14-3. Jackets on defense were relentless. Seniors Grayson Lilie, George Gallucci, Gavin Hays and Austin Humphries were making stops, but not soon enough. Llano took to the field. 20 yard run by Luke. Four more on a pass to Cash. Another 8 yard pass to Austin. First down. and then Luke saw senior Graham Prokop and hit on the 43 yard TD pass and catch. Score 10-14.

And then a light at the tunnels end. Senior Gavin Hays picks off an Edna pass. But the Jackets lost yards on the set of downs and had to punt. This time Edna found their daylight. On the fourth play, the Cowboys hit on a 61 yard TD pass. Score 10-21.

Llano came right back. 28 yard reception by Cash. Another 8 yards from Luke to Austin. And the final 36 yards on a very tough run by Luke to find the end zone. Score. 17-21. Strong blocking against a very strong Edna defensive line. Senior James Greenwood, junior Dylan Smith and senior Cason Stephenson were earning their keep. Edna had a defensive lineman…# 60….that was making tackles all over the field. But as I watched, I thought our guys were wearing this guy down. We’ll see.

Thinking it was getting close to the half, maybe we could hold on and regroup at halftime. Nope…Edna took the ball and three plays later scored on a 50 yard pass!! But watching our sidelines….Llano players were not hanging their heads. Yet before the half ended, both teams traded turnovers. Pretty messy first half. The Jacket defense forced 4 turnovers. And Llano gave back three.

Down 28-17 at halftime…no problem. At half time, I told several Jacket fans we had them right where we wanted them!! I just had not counted on the Edna Cowboys also had regrouped!. Kick off to Edna. On the third play…50 yard run to another Cowboy TD. 35-17.

We better try something new. The Coaches did. They put senior Graham Prokop back to receive the kick off. With Grahams speed, he took the pigskin to the house. 87 yards and a Jacket TD. Llano went for 2 points, but threw an interception. Score 35-23.

Two things happened here. The Jacket defense took over the game. Edna would run 23 more plays. The defense forced three punts. Held on a failed field goal try. Senior JD Friday got another interception. And allowed 73 total yards, with only one first down. Senior Niko Arms at linebacker, Cole Kennedy and Mario Hernandez on the defensive line. And Junior Nick Light having his best game Cody Greenwood, Austin, JD, Juniors Jason Cherry and Logan Robinson had their motors on full blast. Junior Josiah Wood and Grayson made no mistakes. And senior Jose Sillas is at times, sometimes the best. Seems always to be in the right position. Junior Isaac Rhea (# 30) is making a hand. Senior Isaiah Aguiliar at linebacker was in on several big stops. Junior Emerson Pool had a good game in the secondary. A super effort by all. And Art mentioned in his article, Coach McCloud’s adjustments… WOW.

Coach Priem’s offense followed the defenses’ lead. Llano did not get in a hurry,. First series…Llano ran 7 plays, two first downs, but did not panic. Jose came in and punted. After Edna punted, Llano drove to the 36 yard line. Senior Brayton Shaw had a 40 yard run, longest run of the night for the Jackets. Llano went for the first down on fourth down… Did not make it. Fourth quarter.

Llano held Edna on a fourth and one. Llano’s ball. Again Llano punted. Three downs and out…Edna punted. 6 minutes left in the game. Luke hit Swiss Army knife Brady Kelly for 11 yards. Cole ran for 2. Luke ran for 7. Fourth down and one. Luke runs for 5. First down from the 28 yard line. Luke drops back and Cash makes a catch that only Cash can make. TD. Strong pass blocking from junior Camren Smith and seniors Ethan Griego and Zach Driskel. Score 35-30.

Edna was not dead. They drove to the 20 yard line and on fourth down tried a field goal. It was not good. Likely because of pressure from JD Friday off the edge. Llano’s ball. Less than four minutes to play.

Edna had been watching Llano’s big tight end, Konrad Zwicke with a safety and a linebacker most of the game. The first play from the 26 yard line, they didn’t. Only the safety. Luke saw this. Threw to Konrad right over the line of scrimmage. Off to the races. Konrad may have not been faster than the safety, but he was stronger. Everytime the safety tried to tackle the big tight end, Konrad would just push him away. Not once…not twice…maybe five times. The safety decided to take another approach. This time he came from behind, and made the tackle from the back side. Too late. Konrad was in the end zone. Francisco Kicked good. Llano lead 36-35 with 3:55 left in the game. Llano went for two. So the Coaches look around and think “who hasn’t thrown a pass this year? Yes, lets let Brady throw the trick pass play….And Who hasn’t caught a trick pass play? Yes, let’s throw this one to Luke.

With a defender in his face, and being tackled, Brady throws to Luke who is sliding in the back of the end zone…makes the catch. 38-35.

JD ended the game with his interception. Llano took a knee to end the game.

One more note. On one of the Jackets’ kick offs…Edna broke open what appeared to be untouched, going for a TD. But kick off man Francisco made the TD saving tackle…again. One play can change these games.

A thought: I hope Ingram and Jarrell are proud of the Jackets. I know most all were proud of how they played so hard and good in the play offs.

We play a team we have never played before. Yoakum must be very good. They knocked off the reigning State Champion, Columbus. Coach Green told me that word around the State was that Columbus was unbeatable. Yoakum did not get the memo. Many thought Llano would never get over the hump with Edna. Having lost by four touchdowns in each of the previous play off games to the Cowboys, it looked like they had the Jackets number. Until they didn’t.

Llano played in this fifth game deep into the play offs only one other time, 2020. We played Hallettsville, and they had a player (Jonathon Brooks) that now plays his football on Sundays. The Jackets are 13-1, equaling the best record in the history of LHS. Yoakum is 12-2. Llano will not be intimidated by the Bulldogs. And when we go to Pflugerville Friday night, this team can make history.

But history can wait. Friday night is now. Llano plays a smart game, and a few fewer turnovers, they will win. They will find a way to win.

In 2020, Llano played Hallettsville on December 10th. Friday night is the 12th…the deepest in school history playing in December. Let’s play a little deeper.!

Jackets 28

Yoakum 14

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Follow Up to Edna Game

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Mike Virdell

Several nice tidbits…

  1. Game has been moved to Dub Farris Stadium…a little closer…it is near Loop 1604 West Side San Antonio
  2. Remember…you can read all of the Play To Win articles by clicking on the dates under archives and each month has the articles for that month
  3. Please help on this….pretty sure this is the fourth time in school history we are playing in December…2020…2022…2024….2025….someone look this up…1973…what was the date that we played Friendswood in the State Semi Finals
  4. Someone that does look these things up…our own Renasance Man…LHS teacher Larry Leifeste…Larry sent me these interesting items:

A. There are 80 team left in the State Play Offs

B. There are 40 games to be played

C. 14 games are between members of the same district (Had Ingram beat Edna last Friday night, Llano would be playing Ingram, from our own district)

D. There are 3 third place teams, but two of those replay a district opponent

E. There are 25 undefeated teams out of 80 remaining. 10 of those play each other.

F. Game can be viewed at Joe’s on the square. Game starts at 7 PM

Thanks Larry…see you all Friday night. Mikel

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12-1 Jackets Bury Goliad 31-7

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Llano Yellow Jackets beat the Goliad Tigers 31-7 last Friday night in a Regional Finals game played in Bastrop. Llano is now 3-0 in the State Play-offs and heads to San Antonio this Friday night to play an old nemesis, The Edna Cowboys.

Llano is 3-0 all time against the Tigers. But the awareness never slowed the Jackets. Llano kicked off to the Tigers and on the third play forced a fumble. Senior linebacker Niko Arms came up with the ball. 9 plays later the Jackets turned the ball over on downs at the one yard line. Goliad carried one time and then fumbled into the end zone and Llano fell on the ball. Senior Francisco Parravano kicked true and the Jackets lead 7-0 with 6:08 left in the first quarter.

The Yellow Jacket defense forced three punts, three fumbles and senior Grayson Lilie intercepted for the second week in a row and returned the ball for a Jacket TD. Strong play by lineman Cole Kennedy, Mario Hernandez, Nick Light and Logan Robinson held the Tigers to running for their lives on passing downs. Goliad completed 5 passes for 34 yards on 14 tries. 40 yards of that came on one play. A nice completion by the Goliad quarterback to a wide receiver over the middle ended with a Jacket defender hitting the receiver so hard that the ball flew back to the 38 yard line, after the 40 yard gain!. Lilie, Austin Humphries, JD Friday are playing at an all star level. Gavin Hays is superb…Emerson Pool making special plays. Caden White, Josiah Wood sound tacklers. And the linebackers get better every week. Jose Sillas, Niko, senior Isaiah Aguliar and junior Cody Greenwood. The defense is allowing an average of 13 points a game with 6 games under 10 points.

Junior Luke Davis looks to be well. Luke started his 28th game as the starting LHS quarterback, tying the school record with LHS Hall of Fame quarterback great Dennis Raesener from the 1965-67 seasons.

Luke completed 12 passes for about 140 yards, with the best play coming at the end of the first quarter when he hit senior Graham Prokop for 43 yards and a TD, giving Llano a 14-0 lead. Cash Lynch, Niko, Austin, and senior Brady Kelly had catches. The offensive line gave Luke plenty of time. Grayson also came in at quarterback and had completions of 14 yards and 4 yards to Graham. Francisco kicked a 24 yard field goal in the fourth quarter and the score was 31-7.

Goliad had won 10 games this season. The Tigers came in second in their district behind Edna in 15-3AAA. They lost to Edna in district play 37-28. Edna enters the game with Llano with a 10-3 record.

Edna is a very good football team. The Jackets have played Edna two times, losing both games in 2022 and last year. They return two Pre Season All State players in defensive lineman Hunter Buehring and defensive back Trevor Floyd, who may also now play quarterback. Edna was 14-1 last season.

I think…that Llano players, and Llano Coaches and Llano fans have looked forward to this game for about 364 days. Llano lost to Edna last year on December 6th. This Friday in Gustafson Stadium in San Antonio is December 5th.

Art pointed many things out to me this week, but most statistics are on hold until the season is over. Although one was …I guess…just a coincidence. Luke’s 28th start..and he throws his 28th TD of the season!! Nice. LLano is better than last year. I’m sure Edna is just has good. December 5th can’t get here soon enough.

LLano 28

Edna 21

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Jackets Run Roughshod Over CC London

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Llano Yellow Jackets beat Corpus Christie London Friday night in Converse, Texas 53-12 in the Area State Play Off game. The star power of the London Pirates never was able to get untracked. Quarterback Alex Manning, who had been averaging nearly 300 yards passing a game was held to 115 yards passing on 13 of 32 passes with three interceptions. Senior Isaiah Aguilar had two sacs and junior Jason Cherry lead the team with 10 tackles. Linebacker Cody Greenwood had 9 tackles. Senior JD Friday followed with 5 tackles, as did senior Niko Arms with 5.

The defense played lights out from the beginning of the game. When senior Grayson Lilie was not playing quarterback, he was on defense. His two interceptions included one returned 68 yards for a TD, giving Llano a 25-6 lead late in the second quarter. Senior Austin Humphries had his fifth interception for the season in the third quarter and had 3 tackles at his cornerback position. Austin has to pay attention, as he plays a bit everywhere. He had a catch in the first quarter and plays on the kicking game.

The defensive line showed up where and when they had to. Mario Hernandez, Nick Light, Logan Robinson, Evan Gomez, Dylan Smith and Cole Kennedy chased and chased the London Quarterback and held the Pirates running game to 5 yards net. Linebackers Gavin Hays and Jose Sillas had great nights with several solo tackles. Senior George Gallucci had one of his best games making a solo tackle and several assist. Caden White at cornerback played really well, and freshman Cole Landers had two tackles.

A super effort by all. Want to mention again the effort of our players that hustle so hard on special teams. Jose only punted one time, that at the end of the game. But Llano kicked off 9 times. Niko Arms, Isaiah Aguliar, Cody Greenwood, Austin Humphries, Emerson Pool, Landers, Jason Cherry, and # 30. He was down on the kick offs often making stops. JD had another blocked extra point! Surprise surprise. I’ll get his total at the end of the season…still weeks away. And invisible man, Francisco Parravanio. Love his kick offs…his 6 extra points…and his 25 yard field goal in the second quarter to put Llano ahead two scores.

Head Coach Matt Green spoke early in the season that our strong point was depth. He likely was not thinking that junior Luke Davis would get injured in the Randolph game and miss three games. Luke had started 27 games at quarterback. Senior Grayson Lilie stepped right end. Grayson started the Marion and Ingram games in District play. And has started the Poteet and London games. He is 4-0.

But most exciting about all this, is there was no drama. No one supported Grayson more than Luke. No bigger cheer leader on the sidelines than Luke. And this week when Luke was back in the game, Grayson was there for Luke. Luke completed 10 of 11 passes for 132 yards in his return, and two TD passes. Grayson hit 5 of 8 passes and had 49 yards rushing for three first downs. (Remember his TD pick 6 return of the interception) There has always been an old saying. ” When you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks”. Throw that one out the window. Who ever said that did not know Luke and Grayson. So proud that both are Yellow Jackets.

The Jackets running game produced 360 yards. Jose had 12 carries for 58 yards. Senior Brayton Shaw another 63 yards. Grayson, Luke, River Thomison all had yards running the ball. And Freshman Cole Landers carried the load this week, for 180 yards, now over 500 yards in four games. The Jacket line dominated. James Greenwood, Cason Stephenson, Zach Driskel, Cameron Smith, Scott Henderson, Cooper Scott Lane Wssson, and Hayden Bigger. Blocking has gotten better and stronger every week. Oh…another very good blocker is senior Brady Kelly…good pass blocker…and run blocker.

Cash Lynch caught 5 passes, Graham Prokop had 73 yards catching the football and a TD. Austin ( Ext Pt Conversion for 2 Pts), Emerson, Jose, and Josiah Wood all had catches. The WOW play of the game came when Luke threw to senior tight end Konrad Zwicke for 23 yards and Konrad ran over two defenders running into the end zone for the TD. (Best to get out of the way)

Art texted me to remind me: Llano has scored over 50 points in 6 of 12 games this year. We may need them all this week.

The most exciting game of my lifetime was last year when we played Goliad. Goliad jumped off to a 19 point lead in the second quarter. The first play they ran went 72 yards for a TD. Their second play from scrimmage went 44 yards for a TD. Goliad threw the ball only four times, two on the last two plays of the game. Goliad had nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half running the slot T. They had 55 yards total the second half. Llano won 30-29 with seconds left in the game.

We can’t expect anything less this Friday night. They will be tough. While this past week against CC London the Jackets played an all passing team…this week it will be 95% running. The defensive line will not face running backs like the two Goliad has since Jarrell. Both running backs for Goliad return from last season. The Jacket secondary and linebackers have their work cut out for them. Would help if we can keep the game a little closer this year in the first half!!

Llano 42

Goliad 21

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Jackets Pound Poteet in Bi District

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Llano Yellow Jackets did short work with the Poteet Aggies Thursday night in Kerrville to notch their 16th Bi District Title in school history. The score was 42-0 mid way thru the third quarter before Head Coach Matt Green slowed the game down and was able to see younger Jackets get a feel for the play off scene.

Senior quarterback Grayson Lilie connected on his first five passes. Senior River Thomison and freshman Cole Landers ran the ball consistently making first downs. Seniors Zach Driskel, Ethan Griego, Cason Stephenson and James Greenwood blocking was as good as it could be. Additional blocking by senior tight end Konrad Zwicke enabled the Jackets to take a 35-0 led at half time.

The fourth place Aggies played hard. They did something I found very very strange. When the score was 42-0, Poteet started their next drive on their 25 yard line with 9 minutes left in the third quarter. 25 plays later Poteet scored. They had run off 13 minutes and 16 seconds. Made 7 first downs. Longest drive by an opponent that I can ever remember. On the other hand, Llano defenders were giving up so little. Poteet’s longest play was 9 yards. Llano did have a 15 yard penalty. Still…those Poteet kids played hard.

Grayson completed 3 passes to Cash Lynch, three to Graham Prokop with a 46 yard TD pass. A 12 Yard TD pass to Austin and three passes to Cole Landers. Junior quarterback Luke Davis returned to the field. While being cautious, Jacket Coaches watched as Luke completed passes to Austin, Graham, Cash and to Emerson Pool for 38 yards.

Llano’s leading tackler this season, senior linebacker Cody Greenwood was the work horse again. Senior Gavin Hays and senior Austin Humphries had a full night. These players and many others were able to keep the Aggies under 40 yards of offense the first half. Senior JD Friday picked off his 5th interception in the first quarter. And the defensive line of juniors Cole Kennedy, Mario Hernandez, Nick Light, Logan Robinson, and Evan Gomez were monsters. This coming Friday night…these players will be tested like they have never been tested.

This Friday night in San Antonio at Rutledge Stadium, Llano faces Corpus Christie London. CC London will test the Jackets. Their quarterback, Alex Manning has thrown for 3,211 yards in 11 games, and has run for another 400 plus yards. He is number one in Class 3-A in the State in passing. His two main targets…Zac Tyron ( 54 catches, 988 yards and 14 TDs), and Maddox Jennings ( 63 catches, 1,081 yards, 14 TDs) are top ten in the State. CC London throws the football.

Llano will play both of our quarterbacks. Both are very good. Luke should be at near 100%. Llano has thrown for 2,596 yards this season between the two. Cash Lynch is the top receiver with 1,024 yards in catches. The Jackets have a more balanced attack. Even if leading rusher Jose Sillas has to sit out another week, Llano can run the football. Luke and Grayson can tuck the football and run. River Thomison has really picked up the pace for the Jackets. Good speed. Senior Brady Kelly too is a different change of pace running back and a good receiver. Freshman Cole Landers has over 300 yards rushing in three varsity games.

This could be a shoot out. But the Jacket defense can be the deal maker. The defensive line has to get after the CC London quarterback. With our depth at the defensive line positions, it needs to be 110% every play. That pass rush will greatly help Austin, JD, Caden White, Gavin Hays and Emerson Pool. The seniors Niko Arms, George Gallucci and Isaiah Aguliar and juniors Greenwood and Jason Cherry come in and clean up. This is a great challenge for the Jackets. The Jackets expect to meet this challenge

Llano 34 CC London 21

Of Special Note; I have a copy of the article written 6 years ago, or I should say published 6 years ago in regards to George Fraser, former Llano great who passed away about 10 days ago. Also did a history page of Llano’s Bi District contest all time. Come by the office and pick up copies, or I can send them to your email.

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DISTRICT CHAMPIONS 2025

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Llano Yellow Jackets gave fans something to talk about Friday night as they beat Ingram 34-14 in the 13-3AAA showdown for the DISTRICT CROWN. The game certainly was one of two halves. The win gives the Jackets the Championship for the 5th time in 6 seasons. Undefeated in district play those 5 seasons, and Llano now has a 33-1 record playing at home over the past 6 years.

The game was not what was expected. In Coach Matt Green’s radio interview with Art Dlugach after the game, Green said that Ingram did nothing that Llano prepared for. Ingram made up their minds to stop the Llano run. Mission accomplished. The Jackets ran the ball 16 times for 58 yards in the first half. Average half of the usual Jacket production. Had it not been for the 54 yard run by senior River Thomison in the second quarter the game might have gotten ugly. Ingram set out to throw the ball. Something they had done very little of before the Llano Game. Mission accomplished. Ingram threw the ball 25 times in the first half and completed 14 for 142 yards. Had it not been for junior linebacker Cody Greenwoods interception, Ingram would have been near perfect.

If you can believe this, Llano lead at half-time 20-14. The Jacket passing game under the senior leadership of back up quarterback Grayson Lilie was right on. TD passes from Lilie to junior Cash Lynch for 55 yards and 61 yards were electrifying. Catches and runs both. And in the second quarter Grayson found senior tight end Konrad Zwicke open for a 9 yard TD reception.

What happened at half-time was more important than many things I have ever seen. Usually at halftime I scribble the stats down so to see a trend. There was a trend alright. And it did not favor Llano. Ingram with their undefeated district record had come to play.

Green said at half-time the Jackets changed their defense and their blocking schemes Offensive coordinator Ryan Priem and offensive line coach Colton Center “made some adjustments” in the blocking. Coach Robbie Coplin and Coach Ryan Norwood had their receivers at top form. Defensive coordinator Michael McCloud along with defensive line coach Joe Kennedy and Coach Joe Downey worked on the pass rush and coverage. The secondary adjusted some, including moving Grayson back to the secondary on certain plays. Coach Dwayne Friday and Coach Justin Wilson worked with Austin Humphries, Josiah Wood ( Got his second interception in two games) and JD Friday to stop that passing game of the Warriors.

Mission accomplished.

The Jacket running game. Llano had 144 yards rushing in the second half with a 6.2 yards per carry. The running game of Rivers, senior Brady Kelly, Grayson and freshman Cole Landers ( 135 yards) loved the changes at half-time. Cash finished the night with over 200 yards receiving. And that Ingram passing game? 4 for 13 passing and 46 yards in the second half. The Jacket defensive line dominated. 8 carries and 3 yards. Llano slowed the game down mid way thru the fourth quarter and taking a knee with several minutes left in the game.

This may have been the Yellow Jacket Coaches’ best game!!

Bi Distirct: Llano plays Poteet Thursday night in Kerrville at 7 PM. Poteet is not a very good football team. They finished fourth in District 14-3AAA. The Jackets may get junior quarterback Luke Davis back. Senior leading rusher Jose Sillas should return to play. Maybe senior running back Brayton Shaw will be ready. Llano should be at near full strength.

Llano has played in 29 Bi District games in its history. The first in 1950 under Head Coach Purser. The Jackets lost to Georgetown 27-6. Llano has won the last five Bi district games it has played in, but the over all record in this game is still only 14-15. Let’s even things up.

Llano 56 Poteet 0

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District Title on the Line Friday Night

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Llano YellowJackets beat Marion last Friday night 44-27 to move their District record to 4-0 and play Ingram this Friday night for sole possession of the District crown. It seems each week we are playing in order to take command of the standings. Marion and Ingram both had matched Llano up to this point. Ingram had beaten Marion, but a loss would have caused havac. Llano did not allow that to happen. Ingram comes to Llano to play at Jacket Stadium.

When you begin the game without your starting quarterback. When your starting senior safety moves over to play quarterback and start his first game at quarterback. When your number 2 and number three running backs are out for the game. You might begin to worry. Then your number one running back is in a car mishap, but still insist on playing despite an injured leg. What to do?

Senior Grayson Lilie has started at safety all season. Junior quarterback Luke Davis, with 27 starts at quarterback was injured in the Randolph game. Lilie took over and handled that win. And then started Friday night while Davis continues to heal. Grayson completed 3 of 4 passes in the first quarter for 34 yards. He ran twice for two first downs on the first drive. He threw a 35 yard TD pass to senior tight end Konrad Zwicke in the second quarter. He had no turnovers. He had no interceptions. He was just what the doctor ordered.

Jose Sillas lead all Jackets in production. Jose had 17 carries in the first half of the game for 77 yards. Grayson had 74 yards passing in the first half. Llano lead 27-13 at halftime. The game never seemed in doubt. But Marion kept coming back. Their running back was outstanding, maybe the best Llano has faced since the two running backs from Jarrell. The defense held Marion to about 90 yards of offense in the first half.

Josiah Wood started at safety this week. His interception at the end of the first half showed his reediness. The Jackets defensive line was…again…outstanding. Juniors Cole Kennedy, Mario Hernandez, Nick Light, Evan Gomez, Logan Robinson and senior George Gallucci were lights out all night long. Marion only had two runs for more than 10 yards. Marion had less than 70 yards rushing for the game. That’s good football. JD Friday and Austin Humphries were outstanding. Junior Jason Cherry had a strong game at linebacker. And too, junior Cody Greenwood. Senior Nicko Arms at linebacker with an interception is helping to make this unit very good.

One surprise. In the second quarter after Llano scored on a 4 yard run by freshman Cole Landers, Llano’s Francisco Parravano kicked off and Marion ran it back for a touchdown! In the past, Francisco has made that last tackle to prevent such happenings. Must have gotten blocked. No worry. Francisco came back in the fourth quarter and kicked a 24 yard field goal to extend the Jacket lead to 37-20.

Other highlights included Evan Gomez snuffing out a fake punt. Jose having over 120 yards rushing. Freshman Landers having 112 yards rushing and two rushing TDs. Senior Gavin Hays getting “Weller” and better each week. JD blocking another extra point. Junior Cash Lynch caught another touchdown pass along with 4 other catches. Senior Graham Prokop had a great catch in the first quarter and another in the third quarter.

And this was all made possible by offensive line blocking. In no certain order, but leading this group is junior center Dylan Smith. Seniors Cason Stephenson, Zach Driskel, James Greenwood, Ethan Griego, Cooper Scott, Lane Wesson, and Hayden Bigger. Juniors Camren Smith, Scott Henderson, and Nick Light. These guys are doing a tremendous job.

Ingram of all people! 4-0 in district play. They have beaten everyone to get to this game. Ingram…going back a few years, has gotten better every year. This year they seem to be loaded. They have 13 starters back from last years team that made the play offs. Their quarterback returns as well as their best receiver. They will be traveling to Llano in hopes of winning a district championship.

The difference in Llano over the past 9 seasons, is Llano expects to win. This is not arrogance. What has happened in Llano since Head Coach Matt Green has been here since 2017, is a culture change. An attitude change. The Jackets have won district 4 of the last 5 seasons, going undefeated in those four seasons. This season will be 5 of 6 seasons…undefeated. Since Coach Green came to Llano, the Jackets are 36-7 on our home field. And over the past seven seasons, Llano is 32-1 at Jacket Stadium. This week, even without River Thomison, or Brayton Shaw, or Luke, or maybe even Jose…Llano expects to win.

Llano 49

Ingram 21

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7-1 Jackets Roll…Roll On

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The 2025 Llano YellowJackets rolled over the Randolph Ro Hawks 35-0 Friday night in a game that was called after three quarters due to weather. The lightning was close, and soon came the hard rain and winds. You never saw so many fans leave the stands as quick as you did Friday night. And Randolph fans were not sad to see the game called after three quarters.

Llano wasted little time in setting the tone for the game. Llano scored first with 7:03 in the first quarter. Junior Luke Davis scored from 5 yards out. Luke was starting his 27 game as the LHS starting quarterback. Luke’s record as the starter is 21-6.

Luke completed passes to junior Cash Lynch for 15 yards and 12 yards to senior Austin Humphries. Seniors Brayton Shaw and Jose Sillas each carried the ball three times. Senior Cason Stephenson and senior James Greenwood were monsters in the line blocking. But it was not until Luke hit Cash for a 51 yard gain down to the 19 yard line before Llano was able to score.

The Jacket defense has three shutouts so far this year. Randolph had 8 plays in the first quarter and had 24 yards of offense. No one has played better than senior Gavin Hays. Gavin has been out with an early season injury until just two weeks ago. He is making up for lost time. Several times he has made tackles one after the other. And on kick offs, he leads that parade, first down field to make sure there is no return. Gavin is playing at the highest level. Not far behind is senior Austin Humphries. Leads the team in interceptions. And speaking of interceptions, I think JD Friday is tied with Austin, as JD picked off one in the third quarter and ran it back 29 yards. The Jackets scored off that turnover to put the score at 35-0.

The Jacket secondary is as good as I can remember. Senior Grayson Lille at safety is just so good, and seems to always be in the right position to stop a play…. Grayson with JD and Austin are a savvy threesome. Throw in juniors Caden White, Josiah Wood and Emerson Pool and the Jackets are in great shape on the back end of the defense. Senior Niko Arms plays somewhere. He sometimes has the most tackles. Not only does defensive coordinator Coach Michael McLeod keep opposing teams confused, I am confused. Maybe Niko is a linebacker.

All of this works because the defensive line is very disruptive. Juniors Cole Kennedy, Mario Hernandez, Nick Light and Logan Robinson are so good. Put lots of pressure on the quarterback…every play. Throw in newcomer junior Evan Gomez and senior George Gallucci and their play makes the secondaries job look easy! It works because everyone does his job.. I had the Ro Hawks gaining less than 100 total yards. One thing I can’t stop thinking about. This Ro Hawks team was 10-3 last season and took Llano to the last minute of play last year before we escaped Ro Hawks Stadium. Randolph had 7 returning starters from last years team.

Marion was listed as the 25th best football team in Class 3 AAA by DC Texas Football in July. They lost earlier this year to 4 AAAA Lago Vista. And last week they lost to Ingram I really consider that an upset. The 40-33 score was a surprise. I think Marion was looking ahead to the Llano game. And by looking ahead, the Bulldogs were caught napping. Senior Quarterback Cade Pape returns along with 12 other starters. Marion will not be asleep Friday night. One wise Jacket insider said the Bulldogs were the team to worry about.

I have not heard any updates on the injury to Llano quarterback Luke Davis. Luke had just begun the Jacket’s third series when he went down with a leg injury, and out of caution, did not return. Luke had completed four passes for 93 yards and then he scored from 5 yards out. Senior Grayson Lille took Luke’s place, and performed beautifully. Grayson completed 8 passes for 113 yards, the longest to senior Brady Kelly for 36 yards. The shortest to senior tight end Konrad Zwicke. If this were a basketball game, Konrad would be playing above the rim. His tremendous leap was high and short. Three yards down to the 9 yard line. We need Luke back, and we don’t need to lose Grayson out of the secondary.

Up to this date…two things. The Jackets have not been reading their press and rankings. And they have not looked ahead. Winning the District Championship is the goal. Getting that first round bye to play # 4 in District 14 3AAA is so important. Being 8-1 really important.

Llano 31 Marion 16

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Jackets Ready for District Strongest

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The Jackets have had the week off as have all the teams in District 13-AAA. Three teams enter the final three weeks undefeated and three have not won a district game yet. That will change this week. The Jackets, Ingram and Marion all carry a 2-0 record into the third district game. The Jackets play Randolph this week. If there has ever been a game to trip up on, this is it. The strong rivalry between the two teams started as soon as the Jackets entered 13-3AAA Division 6 years ago. Randolph has always had a good program. Randolph neat Llano in 2023.

Last year the game played at Randolph went down to the final series. Randolph drove the field and scored. To win, they needed to go for two. And a great play by the Jacket defense stopped the two points and Llano won by one point. Randolph went into the play offs and ended the season with a 10-3 record. The Jackets finished at 12-2. The 7 returning starters off that Randolph team have good memories. Llano can expect a very good team to show up in Llano.

Llano has had a good run up to this point. An offense that is averaging nearly 50 points per game. A defense that is allowing 14 points a game. All things said, on paper the Jackets look good and confident. But the Jackets can’t let the success go to their heads. They have to play one game at a time, and know any one left on their regular season schedule could beat them. I think Jacket fans all know about Randolph and their potential of making a comeback in district play. Looking ahead of the Ro Hawks would be a bad mistake. Randolph is looking at this game as their turn around game, and a revenge game from last season. Beating Llano in Llano rarely happens. It need not happen Friday night.

Just observing. Jarrell got beat last Friday night 35-34 by Wimberley. But Salado had beaten Wimberley the week before. Jarrell plays Salado this week. Could be a district that ends up with a three team winner. I only mention this as the Jarrell game was a real test for the Jackets. And a good barometer on how we might stack up. I still expect the 4-AAAA Jarrell team to have a great season.

One of the strongest parts of the Jacket team is that so many players have caught passes and run the football. 10 players are adding yardage to this offense. That many contributing sure makes for a strong team. They may need all ten Friday night.

I don’t usually say much about stats during the season, and this season several players will end up with their names in the LHS record book…but that is after the season is over. One stat that stands out to me is the number of quarterback starts.

In 1965 Butch Stovall was the returning Yellow Jacket quarterback and a senior. He was the District Champion in the high hurdles his junior year in track. Butch was fast. In the second game of the 1965 season, what was thought at the time to be a pulled muscle in his lower calf, Butch came out of the game. The pulled muscle turned into gangrene in less than three days. Butch was whisked to San Antonio where the doctors removed over half of his lower leg muscles. Butch never walked the same.

Dennis Raesener, a sophomore, was the back up quarterback. Dennis lead the Jackets to the last game of the season playing for the district championship against Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg won that game and went on to the state semi-finals. Llano finished 7-2-1 in 1965. At that time, only one team from each district went to the play offs.

Dennis would start all of the games at quarterback his junior and senior years. He ended up starting 28 games at quarterback, the most in school history. Luke Davis will start his 27th game at quarterback for the Jackets Friday night. Should all go well…stay healthy, Luke will hold the school record at the end of the season. Something I find that really stands out.

Llano 28 Randolph 14

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