Yoemen Sports Network

Lexington

When the Yoemen have been at their best and winning games, they have been doing it with a strong presence down low.

Against Lexington, Yoe head coach Ed Glendening felt that production was lacking, as the Yoemen had just 17 points in the paint in a 48-43 loss to the Eagles.

“We just made too many mistakes in the paint,” said Glendening, who added that he was not sure why his team was all of a sudden tentative. “We are in the paint with layups and attacks and we're just turning the ball over and we’re nervous to shoot the ball.”

The loss drops Cameron to 14-6 overall and 1-2 in 20-3A play. Lexington (2-1) defeated Rogers (36-28) on Tuesday to move to one game over .500 in district. The newly establish win streak could not have been done without Jordan Kerr’s production, as the sophomore guard finished with 25 of Lexington’s 48 points on the night.

This past Saturday, hundreds of lifters from across the area filed Yoe Gym for the annual Yoemen Powerlifting Classic.

The event - which saw lifters compete in the squat, bench press, and deadlift - started at 9:00 a.m. and wrapped up during the 3:00 o’clock hour.

“I think this meet went really well,” said first-year head coach and Yoe High graduate Eric Balch. “It was the first meet of the year and the coaching staff and the town of Cameron did a great job of helping put this on.”

Cameron had a strong showing on the day with eight lifters finishing within the top five of their respective weight classes.

Senior Dortavis Lewis won the 275 weight class, finishing with a total of 1,285 pounds. Freshmen newcomer Nico Vargas grabbed second in the 198 weight class with 1,075 pounds.

William Wallace, a member of the C.H. Yoe High School Band, has been selected to the ATSSB All-State Band for the second straight year. He was chosen for this honor in competitive auditions held this year across the state at region and area levels.

In total, 9,000 students ultimate goal is the all-state band, but only 295 will end up being selected.

“It’s a really big deal to make the all-state band,” said Yoe High band director Craig George. “Out of all the schools in our region that I saw on the area list, the majority of schools don’t have a kid that makes it. To have a student of William’s caliber make it two years in a row to represent the school is just phenomenal.”

Hundres of lifters from across Central Texas filled Yoe Gym on Saturday for the 2017 Yoemen Powerlifting Classic.  Below are the results for the Lady Yoe & Yoemen that participated in the meet.  A full story will be published in Thursday's edition of The Cameron Herald.  

Girls

114 Weight Class

4. Selene Vargas, 430 lbs. 

132 Weight Class

4. Faith Kistler, 490 lbs. 

259 Weigt Class

5. Daejanay Bell, 630 lbs. 

Boys

132 Weight Class

3. Joe Rangel, 675 lbs. 

165 Weight Class

5. Zach Andress, 930 lbs. 

181 Weight Class

3. Kevin Advic, 930 lbs. 

Going into Tuesday's 20-3A showdown with the Franklin, the Lady Yoe knew they were facing an uphill battle.

Cameron was without NaQuiria Gibbons and Marly Spink - two players that are normally in the starting rotation. That meant that others had to step up and carry the load against a Franklin team that was undefeated in district action.

Franklin (4-0) took full advantage early on, using the full court press to generate 16 turnovers in the first en route to an overwhelming 75-26 victory.

"That was big to the success," said Franklin coach Gary Watkins on the press defense. "My girls like to play that way. It energizes them to play with a full court press like that."

Meagan McCarver is a three-year starter for Franklin and showed why she was all-state a season ago. The guard not only knocked down shots, but also generated a portion of the turnovers in opening period.

Hearne

With the depth and competition you see in 20-3A basketball, every game could have major playoff implications. Though it was just the district opener for both Hearne and Cameron last Friday night, it appeared as if it were February and a playoff spot was on the line.

After a frantic first half ended in a 35-35 tie, the Yoemen went on a 22-6 run in the third in what was the turning point in a 70-64 victory.

LaRondre Booze’s nine points and Kevondre Wesley’s seven points inside in the period proved to be a critical stretch in the Yoemen’s (14-4/1-0) win.

Cameron held the lead lead after one (21-18), but turnovers and transition points for Hearne knotted the game at the half. In the lockerroom, persistence was the message from Yoe head coach Ed Glendening.

Josh Pratt - Herald Sports

After going through all of the all-district numbers from 2016, I have managed to narrow down the list to 20 teams that I feel deserve a spot in the preseason rankings. These rankings are based on last year’s success, what you have returning, plus the tradition that the program has.

My preseason top 20

1. Yoakum - 13 all-district players return from 2016.

2. Cameron Yoe - 15 all-district players return from 2016.

3. Hallettsville - 11 all-district players return from 2016.

4. Mineola - 8 all-district players return from 2016.

5. Teague - 7 all-district players return from 2016.

6. Rockdale - 12 all-district players return from 2016.

7. Malakoff - 9 all-district players return from 2016.

8. Wall - 12 all-district players return from 2016.

9. Brock - 10 all-district players return from 2016.

This past week, 22 teams from across Central Texas and two from Australia traveled to Cameron to compete in the 19th annual Chamber of Commerce Christmas Classic basketball tournament.

Play began at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning and ended on Wednesday night after the culmination of 98 games over the two days.

Cameron teams had high and low moments as each managed to break even at 2-2 in the final non-district action of the year.

Yoemen

Cameron went 1-1 on day one the tournament, easily coasting by Bartlett (58-18) before falling to 5A Marble Falls (54-45) in the nightcap.

The Yoemen fell behind 6-0 to Bartlett in the first, but went on a 58-12 run to close out the game. A larger reason for the dominant stretch was the full-court press, which the Yoemen put on to begin the second. Cameron forced 35 turnovers while only committing 13.

Every two years, the Diamond Valley Eagles basketball organization of Australia plans a tour to the United States. Their first stop of 2016 was to Cameron to compete in the annual Christmas Classic basketball tournament.

It not only proved to be a great experience for the kids from Australia, but also for many in Cameron - including myself - who don’t often get to meet people from different cultures and walks of life.

In their few days in Cameron, I found out who the Diamond Valley Eagles are, met some of the players and coaches, got an understanding on what they hope to accomplish in their time in America, and a cause that is carried with the teams.

Who are the Diamond Valley Eagles?

To begin, let me say I overlooked another overtime loss, which makes us (0-5).  It was in 2004 and it came to the Hutto Hippos (38-35).  They were led by a young quarterback Jeremy Kerley (now an NFL star for the New York Jets).  We could not contain him on Yoe Field that night. 

Now let me start a series that covers some excellent assistant football coaches, who coach other varsity sports.  At the top of the list is Ken Poole.  Poole was head basketball coach for the Yoemen for 13 years (1974-1986).  His record was (211-131) with six district championships, four bi-district winners, three area championships and two regional tourney finalist.