Bertie Shumate: 1985-86 was an outstanding year for Yoemen

What can I say about the 1985-86 school year in athletics? 

To start off, it was possibly the greatest year ever. Football, basketball, volleyball, track, baseball, golf, tennis and cross country - every sport - not only won district or qualified for playoffs, but they all went deep in playoffs and placed well at the state level.

My story just covers football, but the coaching and student results were terrific overall. The Yoemen only played a nine-game season because of scheduling problems, but overall they finished 11-1-1, four games deep in the playoffs losing in the quarterfinals to a loaded Van Vleck team 7-0 in the only shutout of a Toby York coached team.

The Yoemen opened at home against familiar foe Taylor, the Ducks left Yoe Field with a 24-7 loss, which was the 13th in the last 14 years. They refused to schedule the Yoemen after that, only playing us for six years, when the UIL placed them in the same district between 2000 and 2010.

Next the Yoemen would win a game in Belton that was billed as a showdown between 3A and 4A teams who were leaders in Central Texas. The result was a 31-0 victory over Big Red, which would end this rivalry also, due to Belton’s growth. The two teams ended in a 10-win, 10-loss, two tie record. Belton would move to 5A and eventually 6A, but no more losses to little Yoe. Ha Ha!

Waco Connally was the next 4A victim as they fell to Yoe 28-0 at Yoe Field. Following an open date, York’s Yoemen annihilated the West Trojans 56-2 on Yoe field.

District play also started at Yoe Field with a 35-14 win over Giddings. The five-week home stand ended with a short trip to Travis and a 49-0 win over Rosebud-Lott. The next two weeks proved to be tough, as rivalry games against Hearne and Rockdale saw the Yoemen score only one more point then those teams. First was a 7-7 tie with Hearne at Yoe Field. Next an extra point proved to be the difference in a 21-20 win at Rockdale.

The regular season ended over at Caldwell with a 34-6 win over the Hornets. The playoff run started with a mud bath at Viking Stadium in Bryan. Bellville was the opponent and neither team could get any traction, as the field was completely mud. The difference was a play that York added earlier in the week called “cowboy.” Running back Harold Cash was faked to on a handoff, who then slipped thru the line and to the sidelines for a 50-plus yard pass from sophomore QB Paul Johnson. Cash caught it in stride at the five and scored. The PAT failed and Yoe advanced 6-0

The next couple wins were over the Willis Wildkats at Baylor 42-14 and then the Kirbyville Wildcats at Conroe 41-7. The season ended at week later at Katy in the quarterfinals. Van Vleck’s Leopards took down the Yoemen 7-0 with a couple goal line stands. They were led by a couple of future pro backs.

Players included All-District offensive players Kyle Kruse, Charles Bynaum, Daryl Duncan, Brent Miller, Harold Cash, Mike Broadus, Danny Matous, Seth Dockery, Rodney Harris and Paul Johnson. Defensive All-District were Matous, Dockery, Kruse, Bynaum, Lee Hunt, David Camp, Steve Hajovsky, Lester Thomas, Darren Perry, Dexter Smith, Michael Denson and Greg Moore. Others were Freddy Townsend, Craig Dohnalik, Billy Holt, Michael Bradley, Pat Swift, Leo May, John Pagach, Quinn Landmark, James Whitehead, Chris Glaser, Brian Young, Terry Townsend and Daniel Dreyer. Coaches were York, Dunn, Gregg, Sapp, Poole, Pringle, Bethell, Pittman, Slawson, and VanWinkle.

Go Yoe!