Yoe football is in the air, 7 on 7 begins

For the first time since December, members of the fighting Cameron Yoemen took place in organized activity with the start of the 7 on 7 season.

It’s always an exciting time for members of the community, the players, and even the coaching staff, which has been itching to get back on the gridiron since December.

“It feels good,” said head coach football Tommy Brashear. “The excitement is starting, at least for me. I think the kids feel the same way. It is fun to come out here and work out the kinks and get back your rhythm and timing with your quarterbacks and receivers.”

The Yoemen started league action last Thursday in Cameron and played once again on Monday from Yoe Field. Competing teams include Cameron, Caldwell, Hearne, Marlin and Thrall. So far, Cameron is a perfect 7-0 through two weeks of play.

In addition to 7 on 7, Yoe athletes have been busy this offseason with boot camp and weight lifting.

“It's very important,” said Brashear on the offseason activities. “I felt we had a good off-season. They have gotten a lot stronger overall, and I have been very pleased from top to bottom. From our freshmen on up, we have seen a lot of increases in strength and in speed. We know that is not only going to help us in 7 on 7, but also into the season.”

The first state 7 on 7 qualifying tournament will be held this weekend in Robinson. Cameron will be in pool B with the likes of China Spring, New Diana ad Palestine. Pool A has Robinson, Grace Community, Academy and Navasota. Pool C contains Lorena, West, Connally and Hillsboro and Pool D will host Gatesville, Whitney, Community and Waco Reicher.

In a four pool setup, you must win your pool to advance to the semifinals. A win in that game clinches a spot in the state tournament in June.

Winning is an added benefit, but Brashear and his staff are not so much concerned with wins and losses.

“Making it to the state 7 on 7 tournament is not our ultimate goal,” said Brashear. “Our kids may say something different because they love going to that. It is a great feeling to go. They give the kids the shoes, shorts and they love it. It's really neat and hopefully we can get there, but it's not our ultimate goal.”

Instead, everything from now until August is about getting better for when the games really start to matter.

“Our ultimate goal is to get better at what we do,” stated Brashear. “Some teams do a bunch of different stuff while they're out here, but we run what we run. We run our offense and coverage's we run in games. We want to get a better understanding overall of our offense and defense. Andress is back, but he has some new receivers he has to get used to and they have to get used to him.”

Cameron will host league action for two more weeks on May 15 and May 22. Cameron is also scheduled to compete in the Gatesville SQT on May 20 and is on the waitlist for the Giddings (June 9) and Brownwood (June 23).

The Yoemen will also be back in the 5A/6A league with Copperas Cove Belton, and Temple in June. Play will begin in Cove on June 5. Cameron will host that league on June 19.

Cameron’s first game in Robinson on Saturday will take place at 9:00 a.m.