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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2-0 Jackets Rest in Bye Week

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Mike Virdell

With the 53-0 win Friday night in Lulling, the Yellow Jackets take this week off. Again, Llano went unchallenged against the Lulling Eagles for the second week in a row. The offense came prepared, the defense had its second shutout in three games, and all seems perfect in Jacket Nation. But Jacket fans know how quickly things can change.

Llano prepares for Randolph in 10 days. Follow that up with the Marion game at Marion. And the team that has most surprised, the final game of the regular season will be with Ingram.

Ingram is tied with the Jackets in first place in district play, along with Marion. All three are tied with a 2-0 district records. Ingram has a 4-3 season record and Marion is now 5-2. Last year Llano beat both teams by one score. These were not easy games. And one to remember…Llano beat Randolph last year only because the Jacket defense held the Ro Hawks out of the end zone when they went for two points and the win when they scored and came within 2 points of beating Llano. The Jackets are 24-3 in District play over the past six seasons. The Jackets are going for their 5th District title over the past six seasons. Never has happened in school history.

The Jackets again held a team to less than 100 yards of offense, and in this game, less than 50 yards. Jose Sillas had another interception. Luke Davis threw for three more touchdowns. Cash Lynch, Konrad Zwicke, and Graham Prokop caught the TD passes. The running game was crisp and without turnovers. Jose, senior Brayton Shaw, Brady Kelly, George Gallucci, and Josiah Wood all ran hard and make for a tough out for anyone on defense. Cody Greenwood had a fumble recovery in the first quarter and Llano turned that into a quick TD.

Jackets making plays on defense were seniors Isaiah Aguilar, JD Friday, Austin Humphries, Grayson Lille, James Greenwood, and Gavin Hays. Players on offense doing their jobs included Hayden Bigger, Cason Stephenson, Ethan Griego, Zach Driskel, William Foley and Niko Arms. Special team players showing lots of hustle were Hays, Cody Greenwood and River Thomison. No one took the week off.

The Jackets have to work harder now. The reason is the work load the last two weeks has been light. And while Randolph appears to not be the Randolph of past years, don’t let that fool you. The Ro Hawks are a good football team. And they would love to beat the Jackets in Llano…just as the Jackets beat them last season in front of their home crowd. Randolph was a 10-3 football team last year. Players and fans alike….should not take Randolph lightly.

The best thing that happened to Llano in the month of October is alot of players got in some good playing time. Players like junior Evan Gomez lining up on both sides of the ball. Junior Emerson Pool. Junior Caden White. Junior Scott Henderson. Junior lineman Camren Smith. Junior Jason Cherry is seeing alot of playing time…so valuable to this team. Lineman Xander Cruz and junior Cooper Scott played nearly three quarters. The Coaches know they can send any of these guys into the game at any time, and get good sound performances.

And we also learn that returning to the starting lineup next week will be Head Coach Matt Green. Green was out for two weeks with an emergency procedure, but has healed. And best part of his absence was he was able to listen for the first time to ART and LANCE and EVAN on the radio.

Next week we’ll follow up with this Friday night games and get ready for Randolph.

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Caution Abounds- Jackets 1-0 District

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The contest aganst Florence Friday should give caution to Jacket Nation. The 58-0 halftime lead did not reflect the real score. Our guest for Llano’s Homecoming were a woeful team. Their first two possessions had fumbles, and their first quarter netted 22 yards on 13 plays. Llano played solid football against a much weaker team. But small mistakes loom. 4 penalties in the first half…not good.

The Jackets had a torrid first quarter. 101 yards passing by junior quarterback Luke Davis connecting on 3 of 4 passes. Senior tight end Konrad Zwicke hauled in the first pass for 20 yards and the Jackets first score. Senior running back Brayton Shaw snatched the second completion and went 60 yards for the TD. And with Luke’s third completion, he hit senior Graham Prokop for 21 yards down to the Buffaloe’s 39 yard line. Luke then took it the remainder of the way on the next play, and a Jacket 20-0 lead . Llano ran the ball four times in the first quarter. Senior Jose Sillas on the first play from scrimmage had a 33 yard run. He followed that up with an 18 yard run. And on his third carry of the quarter, ran for 19 yards and the TD. 70 yards on three carries for Jose.

The Jackets came to play and to hit. Defensively Jackets that stood out were senior Grayson Lille at safety. JD Friday had his usual solid game at safety. Senior Austin Humphries was oustanding.

In the first quarter, Austin fielded two punts. He ran both back for touchdowns. Both were called back. Maybe a record!..Junior Mario Hernandez in the middle of the defensive line has been outstanding all year. Junior Cole Kennedy is a menace at defensive end. And defensive lineman junior Nick Light continues to improve. Really solid. Junior Kincade Rodriguez got valuable time in the game. Love the play of our linebackers. Senior Isaiah Aguilar, junior Cody Greenwood and senior Niko Arms, junior Evan Gomez and for the first time this year, we got to see senior linebacker Gavin Hayes. Gavin, returning from an injury, comes at a great time

Junior Jason Cherry is starting to make plays on defense. Junior Scott Henderson and senior James Greenwood were in on stops. Junior Logan Robinson has been consistent all year. All making this defense strong and ready for more stronger test in just a few weeks.

Luke completed two passes in the second quarter. A 57 yard TD pass to junior Cash Lynch, and a 55 yard TD pass to Austin Humphries. Seems like his name has come up sometime before! But at the end of the second quarter, and the entire second half, Llano did not throw another pass. Senior running back River Thomison had five carries for about 35 yards. Senior William Foley had five carries for about 25 yards. Senior George Gallucci had 7 carries and three first downs. Senior Grayson Lille had a five yard TD run at quarterback. And kicker senior Francisco Parravano kicked 7 of 7 extra points.

Extra effort…River…Brayton…Isaiah…George…Jason…Kaden Cruz…William…Josiah Wood…Caden White had an interception…all came to play in the Jackets first district game. All special effort…even in the kicking game and coverage.

Senior Brady Kelly blocks very good when he does not have the ball. So does senior Emerson Pool. Senior Lane Weston had a good night blocking. Greenwood, Light, Zach Driscal, Hayden Bigger and Cooper Scott all got in valuable playing time. The line, lead by Cason Stephenson , Dylan Smith and Xander Cruz are getting our running game going. And the return of Ethan Griego is big….

Llano has another text this week. Lulling will be stronger than Florence. But maybe not by alot. The Jackets must stay focused. And it is hard to do. While Llano can have fun this week, but the eye cannot be taken off the ball. Those penalties…come on guys….think…most players know the front of a helmet from the back. Those will be hard penalties against Randolph and Marion. This game is where you get better. The BYE week comes next…then the meat of the DISTRICT schedule. Getting better every week….this week included is the path to your goals.

Might be of some interest. The Jackets five non-district opponents…Lytle, Comanche, Jarrell, Comfort and Marble Falls…are a combined 20-8 right now. I still expect Jarrell to win their 4-AAAA district. And Lytle, Comanche and Comfort should all make the playoffs.

The Jackets are 5-1. And playing good football. Let’s start playing great football.

Llano 64 Lulling 12

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4-1 Jackets Prepare for District Play

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Mike Virdell

The 41-0 win against Comfort last Friday night had to be rewarding to the Jackets in the light of playing much better against a slot t offense, and the fact that the Jacket offense was humming. The Jackets put together another slow start, but hard to complain as the score was 20-0 at half time and finished with 41 points. The Jackets have averaged 47.4 points per game, while giving up 17.6 points per game.

In comparison, last season the Jackets defense gave up 16.8 points per game in the first five games, while the offense averaged 29.2 points per game. And on this subject, great to see Comanche, Lytle, and Jarrell all winning this past Friday. I really expect Jarrell to win their 4-AAAA District. And that means beating both Wimberley and Navarro. 4-AAAA power houses over the years.

The Jackets’ first drive was 10 plays and resulted in a Jose Sillas punt. Comforts’ first three plays ended in a minus 13 yards and a punt. Linebacker Niko Arms had one of his best games. Safety Grayson Lille was in top form, making tackle after tackle. And the night saw three Jacket interceptions. Seniors Brady Kelly and JD Friday each took one out of the air from Comfort, and Jose had one in the second quarter and took it to the house from over 50 yards out. This was Jose’s second returned interception for a TD this season.

Comfort too ran the slot t offense. It is 3 yards and a cloud of dust. No mistake, this was not Jarrell. But Llano handled it much better. The Jacket defense forced the first five running plays of the Bobcats to loss yardage, and Llano did not give up a completed pass until deep into the second quarter. Junior Cole Kennedy may have had his best game. Was all over the field. Junior Mario Hernandez had several stops for losses. And Logan Robinson, a junior continues to get better. Junior Josh Wood is a player…play after play. Junior linebacker Cody Greenwood made life unpleasant for Comfort and had several key stops. And I continued to write down # 25. Senior Isaiah Aguillar…great night against Comfort.

The Jackets effort was tops. On special teams I see Grayson going down hard to cover kicks. And kicker Francisco Parravano made the tackle of the night in the stop of a kick off that looked like the Comfort returner was going all the way…but with a great open field tackle, Francisco made the stop. Senior linebacker William Foley made the tackle on a kick off and senior Graham Prokop hustled his way down field to make several stops. This kind of hustle makes winning teams.

Junior quarterback Luke Davis had 13 completions to 8 different receivers. Cash Lynch stretched the field with a run and catch for 72 yards and a touchdown. Senior tight end Konrad Zwicke had four catches for 63yards and a TD. Austin Humphries had two catches for 62 yards and two TDs’. Please correct me…but without review, I think Luke has 18 TD passes thru five games. Graham, Jose, Brady, Brayton Shaw and junior Caden White also had catches Friday night. Folks…that is spreading the ball around.

Blocking has improved every week…yes even against Jarrell. See junior Emerson Pool downfield blocking. River Thomison protects well when Luke drops back to pass. Jason Cherry and Konrad at tight end do a good job. And thinking Zach Driscal and Cason Stephenson are really good on the offensive line. Junior Scott Henderson and senior James Greenwood are ones making this offense work.

Now the games start that count. We are not tricking anyone in saying Florence is a great football team. But as we should remember, last year they played hard the first half on their home field. They will play hard against the Jackets this Friday night, Llano’s HOMECOMING GAME. But the only way the Jackets can realize their goals this year…is to get better every week…even against teams that we are much better…work on no penalties…no turnovers…perfect routes, quicker releases…snappier passes…all goes into getting better. The Jackets know that this team…could be special…but only as they continue to improve. Because we know…Llano will play teams that are more talented and more athletic. You beat those teams by being smart and playing perfect football…the goal of the 2025 Jackets.

Llano 63- Florence 0

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