Yoemen Sports Network

In Cameron, it’s never too early to start preparing for a new football season. It’s a new year and 7-on-7 action will get going in about 4 months. Today, I want to look at what the Yoemen will have returning, what was lost, and what should be the strengths or weaknesses.

Offense

Quarterback - question mark

Just like a good portion of offenses, the quarterback position is the most important for this football team, and there will be uncertainty with regards to who is the signal caller heading into next season. The Yoemen are losing two-year starter Zack Andress to graduation. This past season, Andress thew for 2,452 yards, ran for 484 more, and accounted for 36 touchdowns.

Winning on the road in district play is never an easy task. It’s also that much more difficult when you’re playing quality competition like Franklin, with whom the Yoemen were matched up with on Tuesday in 20-3A basketball action.

Cameron has been up and down in terms of their consistency in games, and in this one, it was another slow start, with only 20 points in the first two quarters and a 10-point halftime deficit. That advantage was trimmed down throughout the final two quarters, but the hill was just too much to climb this time in a 64-58 loss.

Cameron had a change of game plan in the second half, and it worked, but it didn’t translate into a win this time.

Cameron has traditionally had a rough go of it when they play Franklin, particularly on the road. Things really did not change much on Tuesday night, as the Lady Lions, who entered the game at 20-3 and the number 20 team in the state, cruised to a 67-27 win over the Lady Yoe.

Cameron’s (13-11/1-3) Corey Cunningham was pleased with the team’s effort early despite the lopsided score.

“Early in the game we were equally conditioned if you will,” said Cunningham. “We were staying right with them, and at the end of the first quarter it was a nine point difference. But, we were not closing well and we gave up some three-pointers. I thought it was a much closer quarter than the nine-point difference.”

10-3A All-District Football Honorees

The 10-3A all-district football list were recently announced, and the Yoemen were once again well-represented.

Leading the group of 24 members was senior receiver Iverson Westbrook, which was honored as the district’s offensive MVP. Westbrook led the Yoemen in receptions (64), yards (965) and touchdowns (15) this season.

Cameron’s 1st Team Selections

Zack Andress, Sr, QB; Ki’Zirrius Holt, Jr, Wr; Adrian Lewis, Sr, OL; Frank Ibarra, Jr, OL; Brodie Sexton, Sr, DL; Nico Vargas, So, LB; Levi May, Sr, DB; D.J. Daniels, Sr, DB

Cameron’s 2nd Team Selections

Bryce Welsh, Sr, return specialist/DB; D.J. Fripp, Sr, RB; Kadrian Hammond, Jr, WR; Caleb Hubnik, Jr, OL; Christian Reyes, Sr, OL; Quentin Ewing, Sr, DL; Patrick England, So, LB; Bryce Brashear, Sr, DB

Cameron’s Honorable Mention Selections

Hundreds upon hundreds made the trip to Cameron this past Thursday and Friday for the Cameron Chamber Christmas Classic Basketball Tournament. The tournament was not only a success for the community, but also for both Cameron teams, as the Lady Yoe managed to pick up a third place finish while the boys finished in second overall.

Complete Pool Play Results

Girls

Pool A: Cameron 49, Florence 26; Lanier 58, Florence 18; Cameron 47 Lanier 45

Pool B: West 42, Iola 35; Austin Crockett 68, Iola 20; Austin Crockett 59 West 52

Pool C: McGregor 60, Holland 43; Holland 52, Austin Travis 13; McGregor 69, Austin Travis 35

Pool D: Snook 58, Rosebud-Lott 23; Rosebud-Lott 55, Buffalo 54; Snook 52, Buffalo 37

Number 1 Seeds: Cameron (2-0), Austin Crockett (2-0), McGregor (2-0), Snook (2-0)

Boys

Pool A: Snook 66, Bryan JV 45; Snook 72, McGregor 57; Bryan JV 72, McGregor 71

If you were looking for compelling storylines, then you need not look further than this past week’s Texas High School Football state championships from AT&T Stadium in Arlington. From the first female to score points, to some of the most unbelievable finishes you could ever imagine, this year’s state games simply had a little bit of everything for fans of the game. Below is a recap some of those top moments.

Rockdale wins 2nd state championship in school history

It did not look good in the early going, but Rockdale erased what was a 21-point deficit to win their second title in school history, 45-29. The Tigers simply played about as bad as you could have expected in the opening quarter and change, as the defense gave up the big play while the offense could not get going and turned the ball over. That all translated to a 21-0 deficit early in the second quarter.

The 2017 football season has come to an end, and now it’s time for me to release the final 3A DI rankings of the season. First, let’s take a look back at how I had things in the preseason:

Preseason Poll

1. Yoakum, 2. Cameron Yoe, 3. Hallettsville, 4. Teague, 5. Rockdale, 6. Malakoff, 7. Wall, 8. Brock, 9. Grandview, 10. Mineola, 11. Jefferson, 12. Franklin, 13. Edna, 14. Whitesboro, 15. Goliad, 16. Pottsboro, 17. Woodville, 18. Farmersville, 19. Coldspring, T20. Howe, T20. Sunnyvale, T20. Sunnyvale, T20. Littlefield, T20. Muleshoe.

Final Poll

Chamber Basketball tourney begins today

One of the most highly anticipated sporting events in Cameron begins today and runs through Friday. A total of 12 boys and 12 girls teams from all across the state will be traveling to Cameron for two full days of basketball in the Chamber Christmas Classic.

The Teams

Girls

Pool A: Cameron, Florence, Austin Lanier

Pool B: Austin Crockett, Iola, West

Pool C: Holland, McGregor, Austin Travis

Pool D: Buffalo, Rosebud-Lott, Snook

The girls division features a variety of teams from across the area, a few from the Austin area, and even defending state finalist Buffalo. Cameron will play their pool games at 11:30 (Florence) and 5:30 (Lanier).

Boys

Pool A: Cameron, Snook, McGregor

Pool B: Giddings, Taylor, Marble Falls

Pool C: Academy, Smithville, Holland

Pool D: Rockdale, Shoemaker JV, Whitney

For a majority of Tuesday’s 20-3A opener, things did not look good for the home team. Cameron had only scored four points in the first quarter and trailed by 5 at the half. The Yoemen never wavered, cutting the Hearne lead to just 1 after three before exploding for 25 points in the fourth to seal the victory, 61-57.

Youth came through in a big way for Coach Burns’ squad on this night. While veterans LaRondre Booze and Keanu McCarter were held to quite nights with just 1 bucket a piece, sophomores Kobe Young and Calvin Stewart were there to pick up the slack, combining for 30 of Cameron’s 61 points on the evening.

“We knew we were going to be young and we were going to have to depend on some youth,” said Yoe coach Nicholas Burns. “We have quite a few guys that did not even play varsity ball last year and now they have been thrust into the spotlight. Calvin, Kobe and Nico all stepped up.”

Hearne has not won a 20-3A district ball game in some time. They did pretty much everything in their power to try and change that on Tuesday in a clash with Cameron from Yoe Gym. Hearne led the Lady Yoe 20-18 at the half and only trailed by 2 at the end of three before Cameron awoke and put the foot on the accelerator in the fourth for a 41-31 win.

“Hearne had just lost their best player last week and they came in here and played like they wanted it,” said Lady Yoe coach Corey Cunningham following the game. “We weren’t quite ready for their physicality and it caught us off guard. It was back and forth the first three quarters and then in the fourth we started converting some of those turnovers into points.”