Rain, Rain, Go Away: Yoemen use dry second-half conditions to roll over Gatesville

At the 9:14 mark of the first quarter fo Friday’s road tilt at Gatesville, the Yoemen, which at the time trailed 7-0,  were headed back to the locker room for what was the second rain delay of the contest.

To that point, the Hornets were controlling the time of possession and the weather conditions seemed to be playing in their favor.  However, as many Yoe fans could see from their cell phone radars while standing near the Gatesville concession stand during the delay, more favorable conditions were on the horizon.

45 minutes later both teams returned to the field with clearer skies and it was the Yoe offense that heated up, scoring 34 second half points en route to a 41-21 win.

“It felt good to get the win,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear.  “It feels like we might have been a little snake bit early on again with the rain delays and all of that.  It was that second rain delay that helped us. We were able to get our focus back and regroup.”

In the first half, Cameron never got going with what was a wet ball in the shotgun formations.  

“It was a big advantage for them with the type of game they were wanting to play,” said Brashear on the wet conditions.  “They want to ground and pound and run that clock. I think we had three plays in the first quarter and it was going the way they wanted it to.”

In what was more limited amount of plays, the Yoe offense was still balanced, coming in with 141 yards on the ground and another 146 yards through the air.  

Cameron’s Nico Vargas scored two touchdowns on the night, including a 3-yard run in the second quarter to tie the score at 7 and another 7-yard scamper at the 3:27 mark of the third to put his team up for the first time, 21-14.  

“We came back out after the delay and did what we had to do,” said Vargas.  “I would not be able to score without the o-line and those guys blocking for me.  I appreciate them every time I score. We work hard in practice.”

Cameron has a new run-heavy package they have installed for 2018.  It includes bringing in bigger bodies when in the red zone. That includes quarterback Anthony Layne, which managed to score twice in this contest with his legs.  

“The is our Bubba package or our heavy set,” said Layne, which had back-to-back touchdown runs of 7 yards and 13 yards to put Cameron up 34-14 midway through the fourth quarter.  “We are going to primarily run it and but we can throw it, too.”

Redzone efficiency has been a problem for the Yoemen at times in previous seasons with the spread offense, and this was good sign to be able to convert on all attempts.  That has all been possible from what appears to be improved offensive line play, where there are experienced players that continue to improve.

“This new offensive line coach (Coach Zienert) came in with a little different attitude and changed up some different plays,” said senior offensive lineman Caleb Hubnik.  “There are four seniors on the o-line and we want to make it one to remember for decades to come.”

Defensively, it was a struggle for Cameron during the rain-soaked first half, as the Hornets were picking up chunks of yardage on the ground while controlling the clock.  That changed in the second half, where the Yoemen only allowed one score with backups in late.

“They added a little new wrinkle that we had not seen and we had to get that adjusted,” said Brashear.  “That is something we got a little better at after the rain delay. We got in there and drew it up for them and made some adjustments.”

Kobe Young, who led the Yoemen with 75 yards receiving, also had a big interception which led to Cameron going up 41-14 as Kirk Lara connected with Kadrian Hammond for a 15-yard score.  

Scoring

1st Quarter

No Scoring

2nd Quarter

Gatesville: Tyler Lewis 17-yard touchdown run - Mason Johnson kick - 7-0 Gatesville - 9:26

Cameron: Nico Vargas 3-yard run - Ulices Cardona Kick - 7-7 - 7:17

Gatesville: Zach Mueller 1-yard run - Johnson kick - 14-7 - 0:56

3rd Quarter

Cameron: Kobe Young 10-yard pass from Braden Brashear - Cardona kick - 14-14 - 7:15

Cameron: Nico Vargas 7-yard run - Cardona kick - 21-14 Yoe - 3:27

4th Quarter

Cameron: Anthony Layne 7-yard run - Cardona kick - 28-14 Yoe - 10:17

Cameron: Layne 13-yard run - kick failed - 34-14 Yoe - 6:52

Cameron: Kirk Lara 15-yard pass to Kadrian Hammond - 41-14 Yoe - 2:57

Gatesville: Tyler Lewis 21-yard pass from Preston Preciado - Johnson kick - 41-21 Yoe - 1:25

Stats

Cameron Yoe

First Downs: 15

Rushing: 28-141 yards

Passing Yards: 146

Passes: 8-20-0

Punts: 2-31.5

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 0-0

Penalties: 10-90

Passing: Braden Brashear: 6-16, 125 yards; Anthony Layne, 1-2, 6 yards; Kirk Lara, 1-2, 15 yards

Receiving: Kobe Young, 3-75; Kadrian Hammond, 3-48; Thomas Melton, 1-18; James Debose, 1-9

Rushing: Davion Bynaum, 13-75; Anthony Layne, 4-33; Nico Vargas, 4-28

Gatesville

First Downs: 13

Rushing: 40-188

Passing Yards: 44

Passes: 5-12-1

Punts: 3-31.3

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 0-0

Penalties: 2-15

Passing: Preston Preciado, 3-5, 34 yards

Receiving: Tyler Lewis, 3-36

Rushing: Zach Mueller, 18-80; Tyler Lewis, 9-63

10-3A Scores

Cameron Yoe 41, Gatesville 21

Rockdale 29, Lexington 27

Hempstead 25, Academy 17

Lago Vista 49, Comfort 41

Riesel 44, Jarrell 35

Austin Crockett 49, Manor New Tech 8

Troy 35, Robinson 28