Yoemen Sports Network

West (5-5) Vs. Cameron Yoe (8-2) - Thursday, Waco ISD (7:00)

I had the opportunity to travel to West last Friday night to watch the Trojans play their final regular season game versus Eustace.  It was hard to evaluate West on that performance as Eustace had won only one district game.  The Trojans appear to have a stingy defense with the main strength of the team coming in the defensive front.  What I believe made the West 2015 team (11-2) more dangerous was the offensive weapons that were present.  That team lost in the third round of the playoffs to Teague, 36-23.  The Trojans can still put up points, but this year they rely more on the run.  Throughout the entire playoffs I will be paying close attention to the Yoe defensive front as I believe it will ultimately decide how far this team can go this season.  The Yoemen will need to take away the run early and put the Trojans into tougher passing situations.  

It’s once again that time for the Yoemen to begin their playoff run.  Cameron has played in four straight state championships games and will be looking to make it five in a row in 2016.  Below is who I predict the Yoemen would play in each round of the playoffs.  That will begin with the area round and end with the state championship.  If multiple teams are listed, the first team is the one I feel will be the more likely matchup. 

AREA: WOODVILLE
Woodville is going to be the heavy favorite in their bi-district game with Anahuac.  Woodville won their district, besting Coldspring, Kirbyville and Buna.  Anahuac lost big to Hitchcock, La Marque and Hempstead to finish fourth.  Anahuac did defeat East Chambers (49-28) to clinch the final playoff spot.  Woodville features a ground-heavy double wing offense.  A game with Woodville would be in Palestine or the Houston area. 

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS: TEAGUE/FRANKLIN

Entering their final week of the regular season, the Cameron Yoemen knew that one of two things were going to happen.  The playoffs were already a lock for Cameron, but the positioning was still up in the air as the Yoemen could finish as either the second or third playoff seed. 

With Rockdale’s win over Franklin and Cameron’s win over Troy, everything was settled. 

“We know we are the number two seed,” said Yoemen head coach Tommy Brashear.  “We are all disappointed that we did not get that district championship.  We have to move on and I feel like we done that since the Rockdale game.  I feel good about how our kids have worked and I feel like we are getting better each week.  We have to take that same attitude and that same mindset and take it one game at a time into the playoffs.”

After capturing their third straight state championship, the Yoemen, with eight offensive and eight defensive starters back, were a unanimous favorite to make four in a row.  Texas Football picked them number one, but with a long sixteen game season, anything could go wrong.

The Yoemen would get revenge for three of their four losses from 2014, and were so close to avenging the fourth.  They started by blasting Waco Connally (63-14) and Lexington (67-12).  Then they travelled to China Spring to try to avenge a (23-14) loss to the Cougars a year ago.  China Spring returned almost everyone and would go on to finish (12-2) with both losses coming to state 4A division one champion La Vega in district and regional.  The Yoemen fell behind, but did not quit, taking a lead with just over a minute left.  The Cougars, however, showed they were championship quality as they scored a late TD to win (43-41).  Waco officials made their presence known also. 

This past Wednesday, the C.H. Yoe High School Band competed in the UIL regional marching contest from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  All the hard work during the summer months leading up to this point payed off as the band took home the superior straight one rating. 

“The kids did absolutely great,” said band director Craig George.  “From a marching standpoint, they did extremely well, and from a playing standpoint, they did really, really well.  Everything from their body posture to their confidence was great.  I was extremely pleased with the group, especially where they have come from the last two months.  I am really proud the way our younger kids have progressed.”

The regional marching contest features many different bands from one section of the state.  Each band is graded individually on how well they march and play. 

Cameron Yoemen - Off Week

The Yoemen took care of business on the road last week at Troy, 56-20.  It was somewhat of a struggle early on, but the game was put away in the second half.  Having your off week at the end of the season allows for two things.  For one, every team at this point in the season has their bumps and bruises, and this will give everyone an extra week to recuperate.  Additionally, Cameron already knows that they will be playing West in the bi-district round of the playoffs, so there are now two weeks to prepare for that game.  In the playoffs, consistently strong performances will be key for Cameron as you cannot have a bad or down week in region III.  If the Yoemen execute offensively, they will score points.  The defense will need to force teams to drive the field and limit big plays.  This Yoemen team has aspirations of getting back to state, and that is most certainly within reach as the talent and ability is there. 

In Cameron's final regular season game, the ultimate goal was to win and secure at worst the number three seed in the playoffs out of district 10-3A.  

All of that was accomplished and more as the Yoemen used 36 points in the second half to pull away from the Troy Trojans, 56-20.  

The game had it's ups and downs, but the Yoemen managed to grind through all of it, putting up over 500 yards of total offense on the night.  

"That is the thing about our kids," said Yoemen head coach Tommy Brashear.  "Something bad might happen, but I felt like our kids hung through the adversity tonight and played hard.  I thought they played hard all night long.  We had a lot of different kids in there and they did a great job.  I was very proud of the way we responded to adversity."

Cameron Yoe (7-2/4-1) Vs. Troy (4-4/2-2)

After the loss to Rockdale, it was very important for the Yoemen to respond.  The 63-0 win over Academy this past week went about as well as you could have expected, as the Yoemen were dominant in every phase of the game.  This week’s contest versus Troy is even more important.  Cameron has a bye the last week of the regular season, so this is the final tune-up for the playoffs.  Since 2010, the Yoemen have been very dominant in this last district game, with wins over Troy in 2010 (48-14), Troy in 2011 (38-7), Florence in 2012 (56-0), Florence in 2013 (77-0), Academy in 2014 (47-7) and Academy in 2015 (49-14).  Cameron has traditionally given Troy problems and will have a big advantage in the speed category.  At the end of the day, another strong, well executed performance is what all Yoe fans should look for this week. 

Josh’s Pick: Cameron Yoe by 28+.

If you look back over the past six football seasons, you will notice a very consistent theme - Cameron has always closed out the regular season on a high note. 

Since 2010, the Yoemen have a scoring advantage of 315 to 42 in these final games.  On Friday night in Troy, Coach Tommy Brashear and the Yoemen will look to continue a trend that has proven to be a good omen before the start of the playoffs. 

“I think you definitely want to finish the regular season on a high note,” said Brashear.  “For us, the win is the most important thing, but you want to go into that last game looking sharp like I felt like we did the other night versus Academy.  That's what we want to look like in this game with Troy.”

Troy is once again the mix for a playoff spot.  The Trojans sit at 4-4 on the season and are 2-2 in 10-3A play.

On Tuesday, the Lady Yoe volleyball team closed out the season by hosting the Franklin Lady Lions from Yoe Gym.   Cameron had an up and down season, which included most of district action.  Entering play on Tuesday evening, Cameron sat at 2-11 in 20-3A, with the sole two wins coming over Hearne, which was winless at 0-13. 

In addition to volleyball, the Cameron Junior High girls program hosted their Dig Pink bake sale.  All proceeds from Dig Pink go directly to breast cancer research.

In the match, Franklin overwhelmed Cameron much of the night in a 25-16, 25-12 and 25-19 loss.  Franklin has been the most consistent team in district action all year, going 12-1 up to this point while sitting all alone at the top of the district.