Yoemen fall short in Gatesville SQT

For the Yoemen, it had to seem like deja vu after competing in pool play in Saturday’s state qualifying tournament in Copperas Cove. Just a week ago, Cameron had fallen just short of advancing out of pool play in the Robinson SQT, finishing with a 2-1 record and a stinging last-second loss to China Spring.

In Cove, Cameron was in pool C with Academy, Brownwood and Moody. Both the Yoemen and Brownwood have a rich tradition in 7 on 7, and there was a good chance that matchup would decide who advanced on to the semifinals.

With the Yoemen up 39-38, Brownwood had approximately 3 minutes left to score. The Lions, which only failed to score on one of their offensive possessions, put in the final touchdown of the game, giving the Lions the lead for good in a 45-39 win. The Yoemen had one last possession with under a minute remaining, but only managed to get off two plays. This was Brownwood’s second close victory over Cameron in recent history. In the 2010 final of the state tournament, Brownwood edged out the Yoemen on the last play of the game.

“It was a good match between two good teams,” said Yoe football coach Tommy Brashear. “We started a little slow on the defensive side in the first half, but picked it up and did a lot better in the second half on defense.”

Cameron throttled Moody in the opener, 71-13 before holding off Academy in the finale, 34-31 to finish the day at 2-1 for the second straight week.

Offensively, Cameron averaged 48 points per contest, and there were signs of improvement on that side of the ball.

“I saw some things this week I was proud of,” said Brashear. “We caught the ball better and we did not see nearly as many drops as last week. I also thought the timing was better between the quarterback and the receivers. There is still room for improvement, but we are getting better on that side of the ball.”

The Zack Andress to Iverson Westbrook connection once again came up big. The pair combined for four straight touchdowns in the loss to the Lions, erasing a 32-20 halftime deficit by bringing the Yoemen back with the one-point lead in the final moments.

Defensively, it was somewhat of a struggle in that match. The Lions scored on every one of their offensive possessions in the first half and the defense only generated one stop in the final 20 minutes.

“I didn't think the defensive communicated as well as a whole this week,” said Brashear. “At times they did, but as a whole, they didn't. I talked to them about those things and also about not getting on each other. We want them to encourage each other and pick each other up.”

Cameron’s defense did have bright moments, in particular with the throttling win over Moody. Bryce Brashear, Bryce Welsh, Ka’Zirrus Holt, and a James Debose to Alex Aguillon lateral accounted for four interception returns for scores.

Cameron built a two-touchdown lead over Academy before putting in subs to help gain experience.

Brownwood did lose to Gatesville in the semifinals, 35-32. Stephenville also qualified for state from the other side of the bracket.

Lineman Challenge

The evolution of 7 on 7 has left a few folks out of the picture - the lineman. Now, 7 on 7 hosts are starting something new up which gives the boys up front a chance to compete during the summer months. The Yoemen were given that opportunity on Saturday in their first every lineman challenge in Gatesville.

The Yoemen finished in third place overall, and Brashear said it was a good experience for the kids.

“There are five guys that are on the team and they lift 205 pounds as many times as they can. They caught punts, and they caught all of those. We tied for second there. That is the first one we had enough kids to go to, and they said they want to go to another one. Hopefully we can go to Holland.”