Llano, Ingram football play for district title
CAPTION: The Llano defense commits to making opponents earn every yard especially when they fight through double blocks like senior defensive end George Gallucci (17) and pursue like junior linebackers Cody Greenwood (26) and Jason Cherry. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Llano High School football team hosts Ingram Tom Moore in a District 13-3A Division I showdown for the district championship.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Llano Stadium.
Both teams enter this contest with identical 4-0 records.
“That is going to be awesome,” Llano head coach Matt Green said. “And I’m going to tell you, it could not be in a better place in the confines of Llano Stadium. And I’m telling you, we have to have a huge crowd. I’m going to put it on our parents that come to every game to get their family, their extended friends. We have to have Llano Stadium packed.”
The Warriors (5-4) haven’t lost in almost two months. After losing to Blanco 35-18 Sept. 19, Ingram has been on a roll beginning with a 37-33 triumph over Brady (7-2, 4-0 District 5-3A Division II) Sept. 26. Other victories have been in district play: 35-14 against Universal City Randolph Oct. 3, 44-7 against Florence Oct. 10, 40-33 against Marion Oct. 24, and 39-0 against Luling Oct. 31.
While Llano (8-1) and Ingram have each beaten Florence and Luling convincingly, the Warriors’ outcome against Marion was intriguing. The Bulldogs committed five turnovers with Ingram junior cornerback Madden Brooks catching two interceptions and junior safety Will Symm and sophomore linebacker Brodie Brandt catching one apiece.
Symm averages 11 tackles and a turnover a game, while Gabe Dlegadillo averages numerous tackles a game. Other standings include Kaden Garza and Keith Garcia.
Llano relies on its rushing attack that generates an average of 224 yards and 5.8 yards a carry per contest thanks to the offensive line of seniors Zach Driskel, James Greenwood and Cason Stephenson and juniors Dylan Smith and Nick Light and senior tight ends Brady Kelly and Konrad Zwicke..
A trio of senior running backs make the most of their carries: Jose Sillas with 102 rushes for 654 yards and 14 touchdowns, Brayton Shaw with 55 carries for 379 yards and two scores, River Thomison with 28 rushes for 233 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Cole Landers, who 15 rushes for 112 and two against Marion, made his debut last week.
As for the passing game, Llano has two quarterbacks who are more than capable: junior Luke Davis, who has completed 91 of 135 passes for 1,645 yards and 25 touchdowns and has 53 rushes for 285 yards and five scores, and senior Grayson Lilie, who has completed 33 of 46 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns and has 21 carries for 70 yards and two scores. The Jackets average 229.6 yards and 13.8 yards per completion.
Lilie made his first start of the season to help Llano beat Marion 44-27.
“(Lilie) played awesome,” Green said. “We’re so happy for him and proud of him and what a luxury to have a quarterback, who can come in and play the way he did. So it just says a lot about our football team whenever you have kids who can step into roles and be happy for their teammate even when things aren’t the way they want. You just saw a total team win.”
Ingram isn’t shy about throwing the football thanks to junior quarterback Logan Spalding, who averages about 230 yards and a couple of touchdowns per contest. Spalding hit junior Tipton Kendrick on the winning touchdown against Marion. Other targets are seniors Caden Reed and Hunter Cobb. Both are capable of recording about 100 yards receiving each. The big play catcher is sophomore Jason Woodruff, who caught a 42-yarder in the win against Florence.
Llano will counter with a defense that averages 62 tackles, a sack, two interceptions and about two fumble recoveries a contest. Junior linebacker Cody Greenwood has 62 tackles and a fumble recovery, while senior linebacker Isaiah Aguilar and junior noseguard Mario Hernandez each have 42 tackles, and senior cornerback Niko Arms has 41 tackles and two sacks. Junior defensive end Cole Kennedy also has two sacks and 22 tackles.
Green said fans will be treated to two squads that have stars who can make plays.
“It is going to be an unbelievable atmosphere,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing setup. I want (Llano) in the stands loud and rowdy just to cause problems.”
