Yoemen Sports Network

Last Thursday night, the Cameron Yoemen secured their spot in the area round of the playoffs with a 35-19 win over the West Trojans.  At around that same time, Woodville had also punched their ticket to the next round with a 44-23 win over the Anahuac Panthers.  The two teams will now meet with a trip to the regional semifinals on the line. 

Woodville comes out of 11-3A, which is comprised of teams from the Southeast Texas region of the state.  The Eagles (11-1, 6-0) won their district and earned the number one seed in the playoffs by picking up wins over Warren (60-0), Kirbyville (38-6), Trinity (46-0), Buna (28-8), Kountze (66-28) and Coldspring (31-18).  11-3A completed the sweep of 12-3A in the opening round, with Woodville, Coldspring, Kirbyville and Buna all winning their bi-district games. 

My last column ended a 68-year history of Yoe football (1949-2015).  Now I would like to recap those years and rate the head coaches on their total records while at Yoe High.  The first was Paul Smith (49-50-51).  His record was (21-9-2) which would rank him ninth out of seventeen.

Leo Jackson return to Yoe High for a six-year stint and his (30-30-1) would put him at number seven.  Jim Spear would take over for two years (7-10-3) for a #15 ranking.  Billy Bates took over in 1959 and his two-year stay resulted in a (12-7-1) record, good for number 12.

John Roberts Short one year stay (4-6) would put him in last place (17th).  George Kirk would come in at number 10 (21-10-2).  He was followed for the next two years by Ken Fuqua, one of his assistants, with a (12-8-1) record and would rank number 13.

On Monday, former standout Yoemen and Oklahoma receiver was named as one of ten semifinalist for the Biletnikoff award.  The award recognizes the top receiver in college football. 

The full list of the semifinalist:

Austin Carr, Northwestern, WR

Corey Davis, Western MIchigan, WR

Amba Etta-Tawo, Syracuse, WR

Carlos Henderson, Louisiana Tech, WR

Isaiah "Zay" Jones, Eastern Carolina, WR

John Ross, Washington, WR

Taywan Taylor, Western Kentucky, WR

Trent Taylor, Louisiana Tech, WR

James Washington, Oklahoma State, WR

Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma, WR

The Cameron girls basketball program got their season underway last week.  The ladies will be playing in numerous non-district contests and tournaments over the next several weeks in preparation for the start of 20-3A league action.

Cameron played their first regular season game on the road at Gatesville on Saturday.  It was a rough go of it for the ladies in their first outing, falling 72-21.  Leading scorers were Qua Workman with eight points and Terryn Adams with five.  The JV also fell, 55-7. 

The ladies played their home opener on Tuesday from Yoe Gym against the Holland Lady Hornets.  Cameron fell behind after the first period, 16-5, but managed to stay competitive throughout the rest of the night in a 42-29 loss.

Cameron Yoe (9-2) Vs. Woodville (10-1) - Friday, Nov. 18 at Buddy Moorehead Stadium (Conroe), 7:30

Cameron overcame miscues on both sides of the ball in last week’s 35-19 win over the West Trojans.  Next up is the Woodville Eagles.  The Eagles easily won 11-3A, which has all four teams in the area round this week.  For the Yoemen to have success in this game, I will look at two key points.  Offensively, Cameron will need to have an effective passing attack early.  Woodville has not played a team this year that has a strong air game, and an early passing presence could benefit the ground attack as the game wears on.  On defense, Cameron knows what will be coming.  The Eagles are a run-heavy team out of the double wing offense.  Big plays will come on outside runs and the occasional pass over the top.  The Yoemen will need to force Woodville to drive the field and not give up those explosive plays. 

This week, the 20-3A all-district selections were released.  Lady Yoe senior Savannah Kruse was honored as a first team all-district selection.  Kruse, along with Darci Denio, Gracen Dach, Ashlee Balch, Madison Brunson, MaKenzie Wimmer, Carley Tucker and Alexis Vargas were all named to the academic team.  

District 20 3A Volleyball Honors                        

DISTRICT MVP

SR Julie Tucker OH (Jarrell)

OFFENSIVE MVP

JR Hope Hoelscher M (Rogers)

DEFENSIVE MVP

SR Darby Hughes LB (Franklin)

SETTER MVP

JR Lisa Gonzales S (Jarrell)

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

FR Grace Patschke LB (Lexington)

FIRST TEAM ALL-DISTRICT

SR Miki Cole MB (Franklin)

JR Maddie Hare S (Rogers)

JR Kenidi White OH (Academy)

SR Savannah Kruse S (Cameron)

SR Amanda Skybye OH (Lexington)

SR Meagan McCarver OH (Franklin)

JR Rachel Andel LB (Rogers)

In the playoffs, winning is the name of the game.  Looking sharp in the process is a plus, but advancing on is really the only thing that matters when the final second ticks off the clock.  On Friday night from Waco ISD Stadium, we didn't get that traditionally strong playoff performance that Cameron fans have become so accustomed to over the years, but it was enough to get it done in a 35-19 win over the West Trojans.  

Throughout a good portion of the first half Cameron (9-2) looked in sync with a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.  Things were up and down after that point as the Yoemen created four turnovers on defense, but a majority of those never turn into points.  That, in turn, allowed West to (5-6) to stay in the game when it appeared it could have been out of reach.  

After finishing the regular season at 8-2 and earning the number two seed out of district 10-3A, the Cameron Yoemen are now ready for the third part of the season - the playoffs.  Whenever you mention football and playoffs in Cameron it gets people talking, and all you have to do is look at the trophy case to see why. 

Cameron has played in four straight title games dating back to 2012.  The expectation of deep playoffs runs won’t be changing in 2016 as the quest for a fifth straight title appearance will begin tonight when the Yoemen meet West in the bi-district round of the playoffs.  

West (5-5) comes into the playoffs as the number three seed out of district 9-3A.  The Trojans struggled during non-district play with losses to Rockdale (33-21), Mart (26-13) and Carrollton Ranchview (35-7), but recovered with a 5-2 record since that point to earn their second straight trip to the postseason.

On Saturday, the Lady Yoe basketball team will open their season by traveling to Gatesville.  Cameron finished just one spot out of the playoffs last season, so a push for the postseason in 2017 should be within reach.  For Cameron to get there, they will be doing it under new leadership as Coach Corey Cunningham takes reigns of the program. 

Cunningham has a variety of coaching experience, with four years in Tahoka before heading the girls program in Brevard, NC for two seasons.