Yoe comes up short in Gatesville SQT

The goal of state qualifying tournaments is to actually qualify for the state tournament.  The Yoemen fell short of that goal on Saturday, winning their first two pools matches before falling to Brownwood in match number three to finish with a 2-1 record.   

Cameron picked up wins over Little River Academy (33-18) in the opener before edging out Mineral Wells (25-20) in their second game.  Meanwhile, Brownwood had also topped both of those opponents, so whomever won that match would move on to the semifinals.

Cameron was overwhelmed early and often, falling behind 34-7 at the break.  Some ground was made up in the second half, but it was too much to overcome in the end in a 39-25 loss.  

“Their kids play, smart, hard and physical and they made plays,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear on Brownwood, which will be advancing to their 19th straight state tournament.  

“We have to learn from our mistakes and get better,” added Brashear.  “If we go from here and put each other down, then we will take a step back.  We did that a little in the first half by pointing the finger at each other and stuff like that, and you can’t do that.  You won’t be successful doing that. Hopefully we learn that from these tournaments.”

This marks the second year in a row that Cameron has fallen to Brownwood in the Gatesville SQT.  The Lions advanced on to the semifinals where they defeated Lampasas, 33-19.

Academy (W 33-18)

Yoe quarterback Anthony Layne connected with Kobe Young (two) and Zi’Zirrius Holt in the first half to give Cameron a 19-6 lead at the break.  Cameron led 13-6 late in the half before Layne connected with Young as the buzzer sounded to extend the lead to two possessions.

Braden Brashear took over the quarterback role in the second half, and added on two more scores to Thomas Melton and Kadrian Hammond to put Cameron up 33-6.  

Mineral Wells (W 25-20)

The Rams got the opening score of the game to go up 7-0 before Layne connected with Deonte Williams over the top for a 45-yard score.  Young hauled in the extra point to tie the match up at 7-7. Mineral Wells eventually went up 13-7 before Layne found Young and Melton to put Cameron up at the half, 19-13.  

The Rams scored first in the second half after holding the Yoemen scoreless on back-to-back possessions.  Trailing by one, Brashear found Nico Vargas for a 40-yard score to but Cameron up for good, 25-20. From that point on, Cameron’s defense held on four different occasions, including a stand at the 1-yard line.  

Brownwood (L 39-25)

Cameron was down only 7-6 early in the match after a Layne to James DeBose touchdown cut the lead down to one.  Brownwood then went on a tear, scoring on their next four possessions to gain total control at 34-7.

Young and Melton caught touchdown passess from Brashear in the second half to make the score respectable.  

Burnet SQT

This Saturday, Cameron is playing in their final regularly scheduled state qualifying tournament in Brownwood.  The Yoemen currently have no other qualifying tournaments on the schedule, so this could be the last chance to qualify for the state tournament.

The Burnet SQT - with 24 teams - will be the largest state qualifying tournament Cameron has every participated in.  SQTs generally have either two or four pools of four teams, but this SQT will have eight pools of three teams.

The Pools

Pool A: Burnet, Caldwell, Jarrell

Pool B: McGregor, S.A. Christian, Gatesville

Pool C: Brownwood, Fredericksburg, Brady

Pool D: Waco Connally, Bandera, Academy

Pool E: Johnson City, China Spring, Marion

Pool F: Boerne, La Grange, Lago Vista

Pool G: Midlothian Heritage, Cameron Yoe, Llano

Pool H: Stephenville, Lampasas, George West

Cameron will play Midlothian Heritage at 9:00 am followed by Llano at 11:00 am.  Heritage has already qualified for the state tournament and cannot advance past pool play, so the winner of the Llano and Cameron match will advance on to the quarterfinals, to play the winner of pool H.  Cameron would then have to win the semifinal match (coming out of pool E or pool F) to clinch a spot at state.