Llano football beats Goliad
CAPTION: Llano head coach Matt Green accepts the gold football trophy from Llano Independent School District Superintendent Mac Edwards after the Yellow Jackets beat Goliad. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of stadium lighting issues, officials have moved the Llano-Edna state quarterfinals contest to Dub Farris Athletic Complex, 8400 N. Loop 1604 West in San Antonio.
The Llano High School football team crushed Goliad 31-7 Nov. 28 to win a Class 3A Division I Region IV semifinal. It’s the fourth consecutive year the Yellow Jackets have eliminated the Tigers from the postseason.
The Yellow Jackets (12-1, 5-0 District 13-3A Division I champions) will meet Edna (10-3, 6-1 District 15-3A co-champion) at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at Dub Farris Athletic Complex, 8400 N. Loop 1604 West in San Antonio, in the Class 3A Division I state quarterfinals..
The score against the Tigers (10-3, 6-1 District 15-3A Division I co-champion) was lopsided and head coach Matt Green credited many units for that.
Top of the list was the defense.
“We won this game because of the defense. Defense was outstanding,” he told the players in the postgame huddle. “Offensively, we scored a lot of points. We grinded. It wasn’t easy, but you battled. You found a way.”
Llano won the coin toss and elected to defer. On third and 3 on the Goliad 36-yard line, the Tigers fumbled, which was recovered by senior cornerback Niko Arms to set up the Jackets at the Goliad 38-yard line.
Llano had first and goal from the Tigers’ five-yard line and meticulously moved to the one on fourth down. But the Tigers bottled up the running lane and forced a turnover on downs.
Goliad took over at its own one-yard line. On second down, the Tigers fumbled in the end zone that was recovered by senior defensive back J.D. Friday. Senior kicker Francisco Parravano added the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 6 minutes and 8 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
After the Jackets forced the Tigers to punt, Llano marched 63 yards in six plays on a drive that ended when senior receiver Graham Prokop caught a 43-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Luke Davis. The two-point run was wiped out because of a holding penalty, which meant Parravano trotted out to attempt the extra point from 29 yards out. It was good for the 14-0 advantage with 1:30 left in the opening stanza.
Goliad looked to respond on the next drive by covering 32 yards in 10 plays to reach the Llano 23-yard line. But the Tigers faced fourth and 19 and elected to attempt a 40-yard field goal that was short.
Llano looked to capitalize. Instead the Tigers forced the Jackets to punt on fourth and 4.
On second and 10 from the Goliad nine-yard line, senior athlete Lamont Franklin scampered 91 yards for the touchdown to trim the deficit to 14-7 at the intermission.
Llano added to its points on its second possession of the second half after the Jackets recovered another fumble on the Goliad 31-yard line.
Five plays later, freshman running back Cole Landers caught a toss on the option and scampered 12 yards to the end zone and a 21-7 lead with 6:38 left in the third quarter.
After the two teams exchanged possessions, the Tigers looked to cut into the deficit. But senior defensive back Grayson Lilie had other intentions as he caught an interception in Llano territory and ran it back the opposite way for a touchdown to make it 28-7 with 11:46 remaining in the contest.
The next Goliad drive ended in another fumble to give the Jackets another possession. Parravano ended the drive by connecting on a 24-yard field goal for the 31-7 final.
The Jackets had 349 yards of total offense with 188 yards coming from their ground attack thanks to 38 carries.
“I thought our offense was very efficient, especially given the cold blustery windy conditions,” Green said. “I thought we played really well.”
Landers led with nine rushes for 90 yards and a score followed by senior running back Jose Sillas with seven carries for 34 yards, senior running back Brayton Shaw with 10 rushes for 32 yards, and senior River Thomison with two carries for five yards.
“Those other running backs coming in really help because they allow these guys to come to the sideline,” Green said. “We rotate and they get water, and they get to catch their breath. And so they don’t find themselves running exhausted. They get to come in there fresh, and it’s a really nice rotation we have right now.”
Junior quarterback Luke Davis completed 13 of 23 passes for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and had seven rushes for 20 yards. Senior quarterback Lilie completed 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards and had two carries for seven yards.
“(Davis has) so much experience playing in the playoffs and I could feel that a little bit,” Green said. “He played really well and he practiced well all week. Grayson, though, has practiced well and played well. Grayson’s gonna play quarterback, and he can really run the ball and throw it. But we needed him on defense every snap and tackling and coming downhill. He did a tremendous job.”
Prokop caught six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, junior receiver Cash Lynch had four receptions for 40 yards, and senior receiver Austin Humphries had three catches for 37 yards. Senior tight ends Brady Kelly had a four-yard catch and Konrad Zwicke had a two-yard reception.
Green pointed out a chilly headwind made it difficult to throw throughout the game.
“It was hard to throw the ball much over 15 yards because it played havoc in the air,” he said. “Both teams kind of struggled to score going into this wind. We were able to throw the ball in and move it a little bit, and that really hurt them. When we had the wind at our backs, obviously it opened the entire playbook up, and I thought we did a pretty good job of managing the game. This is just a game where you’re not going to go up and down the field in the third round of the playoffs and we played some smart football.”
The Tigers had around 195 yards of total offense with 91 coming from Frankin’s touchdown run.
“We kind of locked down on him, but he’s a very dynamic player,” the coach said. “This kid is really good. He’s not kind of good. He’s really good. He got loose once, and I think we knew that’s gonna happen when you play somebody of that caliber. But if that’s the only thing he did, man, it was a great night.”
The Jackets had one interception and three fumble recoveries. Friday had the fumble recovery in the end zone, while Gomez had two fumble recoveries. Lilie had the interception for the touchdown, while senior defensive back Humphries had two pass deflections and caused a fumble.
“Our defense was stellar,” the coach said. “They really gave up one play. They generated several turnovers and two scores. So it was just a great night for our defense. We’re very, very proud of that defense in the way they played.”
