Llano football to play Yoakum in state semis

CAPTION: Junior quarterback Luke Davis is on his way to scoring a 36-yard touchdown. Photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Llano High School football is facing Yoakum in a Class 3A Division I semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at The Pfield, 1440 W. Pecan St. in Pflugerville.

The winner will meet the winner of the Peaster and Grandview contest for the Class 3A Division I championship at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Yoakum (12-2, 3-1 District 12-3A Division I runner-up) eliminated defending state champion and district rival Columbus 20-14 thanks to the play of who Llano head coach Matt Green calls the Bulldogs’ three-headed monster: seniors Jace Morales and X’Zavier Barnett and freshman Germarquis Robinson.

Yoakum struck first late in the opening stanza when Morales faked the handoff to Robinson and sprinted 38 yards to the Cardinals’ two-yard line. Barnett finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run for the 7-0 advantage with 3 minutes and 41 seconds remaining.

The next score mirrored the first. In the second period, Barnett faked the handoff to Robinson and scampered 24 yards to set up first and goal on the Columbus three-yard line. Barnett completed the drive with a five-yard run for a 13-0 lead.

In the third quarter, Morales went 32 yards to the Columbus 16-yard line. Robinson finished the drive on a 16-yard touchdown run for a 20-7 lead.

Columbus had fourth and goal on the Yoakum eight-yard line, but the Bulldog defense forced a turnover on downs with 2:13 in the third quarter.

Cardinal penalties removed points from the scoreboard and Columbus also suffered a couple of turnovers.

Morales had 19 rushes for 192 yards, while Barnett had 11 carries for 80 yards and two scores and Robinson had 14 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Yoakum, which attempted three passes, all went incomplete.

“(Morales) can run so well,” Green said. “They mix him in with Robinson. He’s dynamic. So they have two unbelievable runners. They’re as good as (Edna senior athlete Keegan Hicks).”

Barnett, who is signed as an athlete with Southern Methodist University Dec. 3, is tough to tackle because of his strength and size – he’s listed at 6 feet and 1 inch and 190 pounds.

“They will take him and put him at quarterback, and he’ll just run,” Green said. “Their offensive line is comparable to Edna’s. They’ll switch quarterback between Barnett and Morales, and Robinson plays running back all the time.”

Llano will counter with juniors Cody Greenwood, who has 97 tackles, and junior Jason Cherry, who has 81 tackles, senior Niko Arms, who has 78 tackles, junior Cole Kennedy, who is the sacks leader with six, and seniors Isaiah Aguilar and Gavin Hays and junior Evan Gomez, who each have three fumble recoveries.

That’s why it’s obvious what the Jackets must do.

“Clearly we have to tackle,” the coach said. “You can’t just say ‘stop the run.’ We’re going to have enough guys up there to stop the run. We have to tackle. And as these backs get faster and more talented, that’s a challenge. And there is always an adjustment period in every game where you’ve been simulating their defense. All we can practice against is our scout team. As proud of our scout teams as I am — and I mean, I’m genuinely proud of our scout teams; they do an amazing job — we don’t have the ability to replicate (Yoakum’s) speed. So as you get into that game, you have to adjust to their speed. And the sooner we adjust, the better for us. 

“Obviously we’d love to generate some turnovers,” he added. “And we’ve been really good at doing that, so I hope that we are able to generate some turnovers as well. We have to adjust to the speed of the game, and we have to tackle. If we can do that, we’ll have success on the defensive side.” 

Barnett also is a defensive end and leads a “big” defensive front.

“They’re aggressive, they play fast, they want to attack the run,” Green said. “And I really compare (Edna and Yoakum) a lot. That’s how I see it. Even schematically they’re similar; they’re not identical.”

That means the Bulldogs will switch up their front seven to give the quarterback a different look in the hopes of causing confusion.

“I think it’s really more about we have to go out and execute and get them blocked,” the coach said. “I think their inside linebacker (senior Colby Jendrzey) is a good player, and we definitely want to get him blocked. They have good players there and we’re going to have to go out and play.” 

Llano will counter with junior quarterback Luke Davis, who has completed 135 of 209 passes for 2,304 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and has 78 carries for 407 yards and seven scores. Junior receiver Cash Lynch has 69 receptions for 1,251 yards and 13 touchdowns, senior receivers Graham Prokop has 38 catches for 656 yards and nine scores and Austin Humphries has 26 receptions for 399 yards and four scores.

The Jackets use a slew of running backs that include seniors Jose Sillas, who has 122 rushes for 749 yards and 16 touchdowns, Brayton Shaw, who has 81 carries for 526 yards and two touchdowns, and River Thomison, who has 53 rushes for 370 yards and three scores, and freshman Cole Landers, who has 79 carries for 637 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Part of it, again, is figuring out where to attack them because you can watch them on film, you have good ideas about what you think, but a lot of times as you get to the game and you actually see some of their players — you see some of your matchups with your own eyes — that can change some things,” the coach said. “We have to find areas to attack them. I feel like we have to pass protect. Edna was really good. It wasn’t like we were playing poorly. Edna was really good, and so we’ve really been working hard this week in practice in pass protection. And we have to be able to run the football. We have done that in every game, and that always opens everything else up in the passing game for us, and we have to eliminate the turnovers.”