Never say die….Play to the last play….why do they play 48 minutes? Why not 47? I could only laugh at myself as the Llano Yellow Jackets beat 5-A Austin Crockett 20-17 Friday night 20-17. This game will go down in the minds and annuals of the best…or most unbelievable…or the most unlikely…in the history of the Jackets. The 2020 San Saba game….the 2018 Hondo play off game are two that come to mind…but this one….wow.

Let’s just remember, the Jackets had not blown the doors off anywhere along the way in this game Friday night. The Jackets fumbled in their first two possessions. Crockett lead 7-0 mid way thru the first quarter, after a Cameron Dickey 54 yard TD run. Dickey, a D I pledge, is everything you could think of when making comparisons. I’m sure he lead his team in tackles from his safety/linebacker position. As well as playing quarterback, receiver, running back and punter.

Llano mounted a good drive at the end of the first quarter. A 12 play drive that drove to the 4 yard line. Carries by seniors Fitz Kennedy, Dusty Miller were solid, yet the longest run was 6 yards. Junior quarterback Colton Bailey did find RJ Coplin for a 13 yard pass play and a first down. Good blocking from JJ Vaughn, Dylon Kennedy and Hunter Brown helped the Jackets to the four yard line where a 22 yard field goal try was missed.

One has to remember also, the Jacket defense played nearly great. Crockett had two drives of 9 plays and 8 plays, only to be stopped. But penalties were just horrible. JD Friday had an interception that was called back. Outstanding plays by linebackers Tate Morgan and Fitz kept Llano in the game. Aiden Detwiler, a sophomore, really played well. Defensive lineman Frank Machuga had a great game.

After Crockett kicked a successful 46 yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead, the Jackets woke up.. Colton ran for 9 yards. Then Fitz for 12 more. Colton found senior Kaleb Payten for the longest play of the night and a 32 yard reception and a first down on the 6 yard line. From there, junior Trey Mote scored and the score was 10-6 going into halftime. Tate had an interception at the end of the half, and senior Hunter Brown and junior Michael Logan stopped the scoring as half time came on to welcome Homecoming.

Both teams had lots of penalties. Llano had at least 6 in the first half, not counting off setting penalties. The Jacket defense came to play in the second half. In the third quarter, Crockett had the ball 6 plays and two punts. They gained 9 yards. Fitz had a QB sack, and Jackson Hoot was in on most stops. Llano’s offense had a another 11 play drive, with one reception of 8 yards by RJ, and several tough runs by Kennedy and Colton. Two penalties did not help, and the Jackets punted. On the next possession before the fourth quarter, it looked like the offense might get untracked. Mote had a 20 yard run, and Dusty Miller ran for a first down. Tight end sophomore Konrad Zwicke had key blocks. Taking it into the fourth quarter, Colton found Alex Kachura for 8 yards and a first down. Alex had 5 catches for the night, giving him 14 for the season. Then RJ for 3 more. The final big play by Alex for 10 more down to the 6 yard line. Fitz scored from one yard out, and the Jackets took the lead 13-10 with 9:20 to play.

The defense came in and did their part. First recovering a fumble and next JD got his interception for real. Another set of off setting penalties kept everyone honest. And it looked like Llano was going to just run out the clock. But Colton ran to the right, and Cameron Dickey leveled him, causing a fumble. Dickey picked it up and ran it in for a TD…it appeared. In my 73 years, I’ve never seen what happened next. The referees called the TD back, gave the ball to Crockett, saying off setting penalties required the ball to come back to original spot of fumble. Never mind…Dickey scored two plays later to take the lead 17-13 with :51 seconds left to play.

Waiting for skipping kick off to prevent a long run back, I got up and started picking up my papers. But Crockett kicked deep. To RJ Coplin down to the 13 yard line. I scribbled 13 yard line on my pad….and RJ headed to the middle of the field…..but about the 25 yard line he planted his foot, and took off to the sidelines to his right. My thought he was trying to get out of bounds….yet up the sidelines he went. I could see most of Crockett players had wedged to the middle of the field, and Llano had several blockers on the East side of the field. At least one Crockett player was 15 yards out in front of RJ. But out of the corner of one eye, I saw a Yellow Jacket, running ahead of RJ….# 30….Jose Silas, a sophomore. Silas put the Crockett player on the ground, as RJ ran pass both in a mini second. Touchdown…touchdown, with 28 seconds left on the clock. Tate kicked good for the point after and the score was 20-17! (RJ’s 87 yard kick off return is already entered in the school record book)

I would love to say it ended there, but Cameron Dickey ran the kick off back about 30 yards. And then completed a 23 yard pass down to the 15 yard line.Yeks….but a fumble on an attempted field goal try to tie the game…… ended the game. What a finish..what a game…And Llano kept its home winning streak alive…now at 21 straight games.

Celebrate all you want, but this is another week. The 2-1 Jackets travel to Coleman this Friday. The Blue Cats have won 22 games over the past two years, and beat Brady last week 30-14. They will be hard to beat in Coleman.

I heard Coach Matt Green say to Artt after the game this was a great test for this young team. A great way to begin believing in all the work that has gone into this kind of effort and outcome. Sure am glad games are not 47 minutes!

Prediction:

Llano 21

Coleman: 7