September 6, 2010

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Mike Virdell

The loss to 2-AA Bangs will be a turning point in the season for the 2010 Yellowjackets.  It will either be the best thing that happens this season, or it will be the season story.

The defense allowed over 330 yards of offense, evenly balanced with passing and running.  There are few stars from this disaster.  Llano can play every type of defense one can draw on the blackboard, but until there are expectations, there will be no improvement.  Not until several things happen. 1)  The seniors must step up today and demand hard play every down.  Not just pretty good play, but obsessive , aggressive, every helmet on the ball carrier play.  Believe it or not, Coaches cannot usually get this out of players.  Seniors must demand it with peer pressure.  “Either play hard every play, or get off the field.”  If the seniors do not care enough about playing hard every game, then there is a lost season.  The seniors must demand that there are 11 people making the tackle every play.  Only excuse is when someone is standing in the end zone covering a receiver.  Pulling up while someone else is making the tackle is one big reason the Jackets  allowed 13 big plays Friday night.  Plays over 10 yards.  Gang tackeling will stop some of this.  Expect it of yourself.  And demand it of others. 2) The penalties also killed the Jackets.  9 for 70 yards, and they usually come at bad times.  This is nothing but keeping your head in the game.  Many of the penalties were due to sloppy thinking.  Or, not thinking.

Llano must beat Bandera.  The 2009 Bulldogs went to the playoffs, and are picked to be there again this year.  Yet, they are not a real good football team yet!  They, like Llano needs a good victory.  They are always tough at home.  They are a large 3-AAA school, with over 800 enrollment.  Running back Ryan Walker is very good.  Their defense will be tough against the Jacket running game.  Still, they need the win badly.  This game will come down to which needs the win the most, and which team wants to save their season.

Senior Matthew Ratliff recovered a Bangs fumble while playing defense.  Matt’s playing both ways is a difference maker for this team. I know he can’t do it every play, but his number of snaps on both sides of the football are very important.  The Jackets scored off of his hustle on defense.

The running game of Llano is good.  Not great yet, but senior Justin Saverance and junior Alex Greer and both tough runners, and can make the hard yards.  Greer is more made for running between the tackles, while trying to get Justin to the outside more will see more production.  The running game is still alive in this new Jacket offense.

Saw good hustle from Wes Haverlah, and Clay Tarter.  Both are juniors. Also, more good plays from Vance Bauer, a junior, and senior Michael Rusche.  There were good moments for Llano.  There just needs to be more, every play.  Someone must step up every single play.  The Jackets can beat Bandera in Bandera, but this will take a team committment by all.  This is the spot in the season that defines the 2010 football team.

My Prediction:  Llano 14  Bandera 0

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August 30, 2010

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Mike Virdell

A win is a win is a win!!!! While not a thing of beauty, beating Comanche in Comanche has never been Llano’s best suit.  The overall record against the Indians extends to 12 victories for Llano against 7 losses.

The 18 to 12 victory was close, as the Indians drove to the Jacket 18 yard line in the last two minutes to only get stopped by a sometimes good defense.  The Jackets allowed over 350 yards of offense.  Not usually going to win a lot of games giving up that many yards.  Where the Jacket defense does get noticed is giving up only 12 points. Also, blocked an extra point, prevented a field goal, forced three fumbles and recovered all three, and had an interception by sophomore Justin Wyatt to stop a drive by the Indians on the two yard line.  The defense did everything it could to play smart.  The defense played well enough to win, and now must work harder to step up and play better.  I thought junior Jordan Johnson and senior Travis Lawrence  had great games.  Senior Raven Herron had some step up plays, and showed good speed.  Over all, I thought the secondary which includes Vance Bauer,Rhett Brooks, Michael Rusche, senior Justin Saverance, and junior Conner Chauncey had good play against the Indians.  But for me, Wyatt was the nice surprise of the night.

Senior Jordan Cavness, despite very bad leg cramps, kept Llano in the game, and kept the Indians in the hole.  Five punts averaging 38 yards is spectacular.  I had only three yards in returns on Jordan’s high punts, and the last one in the fourth quarter likely won the game, as the 49 yard punt put the Indians on their own 9 yard line with 81 yards to go for the winning score.

Must give some credit to seniors Travis Lawrence, Matthew Ratliff and Davis Hill.  The Jackets had over 200 yards rushing , with newcomer Alex Greer getting his first varsity 100 yard game on 11 carries.  Saverance had 52 yards and blocked well.  I still like the running game. Lawrence dominated.  Ratliff could become elite at this pace.  Hill is known for consistancy and smart.

Senior Sterling Jameson is Coach Yeager’s do everything man.  Big play on defense, Sterling is your man.  Force the quarterback, get Sterling to do it.  And while not the rah-rah guy, he quietly goes about his business of getting the job done.  Sterling had a great game.

After the first half, I was ready to move quarterback Preston Rabb to defense.  Showing toughness but first game jitters was really frustrating.  Several sacks due to not getting rid of the football sooner hurt the Jacket offense.  But halftime, Preston must have had two Hersey bars.  In the third quarter Preston was 5 of 5 passing for 48 yards, ran the football for 35 yards and two first downs and had control of his team.  The fourth quarter he was 4 of 6 passing, and stood in the pocket strong.  Preston moves his overall starting record at quarterback to 5-5, and showed great pose on the field. If he starts against Bangs like he ended the Comancche game, this season will get fun real soon.

Rabb’s receivers all looked good.  Who is John McKay?  Well, we know he is a senior, and we know he has no fear catching the football over the middle.  Rabbs’ passes to John were all in the same spot….all arms length out in front of him, and he caught all 6 with his finger tips.  Four first downs, 67 yards…what a find for Llano.  Sophomore receiver Matthew Center had a hard catch in traffic for a first down in his first start on the varsity.  Matt also played well on about 10 plays at defensive end.  Greer had three catches out of the backfield, as  did Saverance.  Junior Clay Tarter had a catch, and played a good overall game.

While only getting in a few plays, junior Cole Barrett at linebacker played hard and made several tough tackles.  Cole is someone to start watching.

First games can be great, but  usually coaches will have more questions than answers after the initial game.  So, let’s move on.  Llano did not get to beat Bangs last year due to the September lightning storm that blew into Bangs, and ended the year-long drought in Central Texas in the year 2009.  We hope the same thing happens this Friday night, except for it to happen about 10 PM.  The Jackets play their home opener Friday night, and it will be fun.

Little has to be said about the Jackets schedule.  It is tough.  Llano is playing everyone with a chance to make the playoffs, including Bangs.  There are no easy games.  So for the Jackets to be ready and best prepared for the murderous district schedule, playing harder, smarter, and better every week is a must thing to do.   Llano must be 2-0 this time next week.

I’ll put a plug-in for someone who is really spectacular.  Van Harris several years ago took over his Dad’s business, The Harris Poll.  His accuracy is uncanny.  He has every high school football game picked each week, and ranks over 1,000 Texas high schools weekly. If you want to take Van’s poll, he can be contacted at 940-498-5176.  Last week I picked Llano by 14 points.  Van had Llano by 6!!!.

I welcome your comments and thoughts here on our new blog.  See you Friday night.

My Prediction:  Llano 27   Bangs 12

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August 25, 2010

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Mike Virdell

Our new format may look strange to many of you that have followed Play To Win over the past 37 years, but I hope it will still be meaningful and relevant. Former Yellowjacket quarterbacks Jeff Kuykendall and Brian Hill will also be giving you their opinions and insights in the 2010 season. Please send us your thoughts, and on the blog as you know, they too will be part of the Yellowjacket season. Lets’ get this season started.

The Jackets play Comanche in two days. The Jackets play the 4-2A team that is picked to come in second in their district according to Texas Football magazine. The 2009 Indians were 9-3, with 6 returners from a strong defense, lead by senior tight end/linebacker Ty Weaver. The over-all record against Comanche is 11 wins and 7 losses.

The Jackets on the other hand come off an injury plagued season in which bad luck stamped the 2009 season. The 4-5 record . Still, Llano finished the past five seasons with a 36-22 record, 5th best of 3AAA schools in the Austin American Statesman readership area of 15 schools. The Jackets missed the play-offs for the first time in 2009 after playing 9 playoff games the previous four seasons…

We will be looking at seniors to lead the Jackets back to the play0ffs. Returning starting quarterback Preston Rabb will take the new offense implemented by Coach David Yeager from the slot T to a spread formation and more passing. I still see the running game as our primary source of yardage, but Rabb’s arm will be tested early. Look for Llano’s fastest Jacket, senior Justin Saverance to catch and run the football the most. Sterling Jameson could be the surprise of the senior class. Good athlete. Jordan Cavenesss should see alot of Rabb passes come his way. Matthew Ratliff will be the bulldozer on the offensive line, along with three-year starter Travis Lawrence. But the defense may be the key to this seasons success.

Ravin Herron, Kenneth Smith,, Lawerence, Michael Rusche, Cavness, Conner Chauncy, and Cody Lang, along with Travis Maddox need to take the leadership roles.  The Jackets likely will have as many as five starters from the junior and sophomore classes.

The Harris Rating poll has the Jackets at number 89 ranked in 3AAA. Last season, Llano climbed up to about #60 before falling back. Harris has Llano as a 6 point favorite, but Comanche will be at home. This margin could get closer at Friday nite gets here. The Jackets must get ready on the 90 mile trip to Comanche, for if they don’t, it will seem like 900 miles for the ride home.

My Prediction:  Llano 20  Comanche 7

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