The Llano Yellow Jackets played one of their toughest games last Friday night in Jarrell and experienced their first loss of this young season. 4-AAAA Jarrell was waiting. In the four games that the two teams have met, Llano took the first three beginning in 2022. In each game the Cougars were competitive, and as the years passed, you could see they were getting better. The Cougars hired a new Coach (Alan Haire) last season, and he brought with him the “Slot T” offense. With the skill set of the Cougar players, and having nearly twice the enrollment of Llano, it was only a matter of time. That time came last Friday night in a 40- 29 win for the home team.

The Jackets started strong. Taking the opening kick off, Llano marched 11 plays down to the 18 yard line before running out of downs. Junior Quarterback Luke Davis completed 6 of 8 passes, running back senior Brayton Shaw added 6 yards rushing and saw 4 first downs. The confident Jackets looked like the number 2 team in the State, according to Dave Campbells Texas Football poll. Llano was ranked # 12 in the Harris Ratings.

The Jackets traded punts with the Cougars and on the Llano third possession of the first quarter, senior Jose Sillas scored standing up. Senior Francisco Parravano kicked true. 7-0 Llano. Llano had 81 yards of offense…the Cougars 37.

JD Friday kept Llano ahead in the game for the second quarter. The Cougars scored with 11:10 in the second quarter. But JD blocked the extra point. I should know how many extra points and field goals he has blocked in his career, but I don’t. But… it is often. 7-6 Llano.

Luke hits Cash Lynch for 15 yards and a first down. Shaw for 2. Another 17 yard strike to Cash from Luke. 10 yards by Jose. 15 yards more by Jose. And the final 2 by Jose. Luke runs for the 2 points. 15-6 Llano. Llano onside kicks…and JD recovers. Llano ball.

We have woken a big giant. An interception sets the Cougars up on the 49 yard line. Slot T in gear…five plays and Jarrell scores. Score now 15-13 Llano.

Senior Grayson Lille fields the kick off and gains 18 yards up to the 33 yard line. Luke completes four of 5 passes. Two more to Cash for 17 yards. Senior Graham Prokop for 15 yards and a first down. Third down and 15 to go. Luke finds Jose and he takes it to the house for the final 35 yards. Llano leads 22-13 going into half-time. Llano had 132 yards of offense in the second quarter. Jarrell had 113 yards.

Jarrell took the kick off and scored on 6 plays. All running plays. Mario Hernandez had a great game on the defensive line. JD from his secondary position was in on multiple tackles. As was Grayson and senior Austin Humphries. But the grinding down by Jarrell was beginning to show. At this point, Jarrell has thrown only one pass. The score going into the final quarter is 22-19.

The fourth quarter was very odd. Three possessions by the Jackets…ran the ball three times for 2 yards. Luke passed 11 times for 82 yards on 5 completions. The longest to senior Brady Kelly for 20 yards.

Jarrell on the other hand had the ball three possessions…and three touchdowns. Ran the ball for 78 yards on 15 plays. One pass. Final score 40-29.

The Good: Senior tight end Konrad Zwicke had two catches for 53 yards. Can be a bull. Hope Luke can find Konrad more in the future. Jose is playing both ways. He was pooped in fourth quarter. Shaw has shown he can carry more of the load. Cody Greenwood at linebacker and Caden White had good games. Junior Logan Robinson played strong. And seeing more of Niko Arms on defense. Great effort.

And what a weapon we have found in senior Francisco Parravano. His on -side kicks are perfect. Bounce…bounce…bounces high and Llano recovers. The Jackets got two and nearly had the third. We may be doing that every game….certainly no surprise…but perfect bounces makes it anyone’s ball.

Llano didn’t have anyone play bad Friday night. I really think we played a better team, and their running game was bruttle. The Jackets face the slot t at least two more times this season. Maybe three. This test will make Llano better in the games ahead. We will not play a better team in the regular season this year. We are in the same spot now as we were this time last season. The Jackets upped our game then. We will do so this year too.

Llano travels for the third week in a row, this time to Comfort. This is where the Jackets get serious about improvement…getting better each week….working extra hard in practice….making every snap count. The Jackets will be heavy favorites the rest of the regular season. That cannot be reason to rest. For the Jackets to realize that dream season, every game is played one at a time, and every game is big. Getting sloppy…penalties…turnovers will kill those dreams. This is when seniors realize this is it. Leadership becomes paramount. Coaches can coach. But the players have to make it come true.

Llano 56 Comfort 12