Yoemen Sports Network

With a 41-0 victory over Academy this past week, the Cameron Yoemen extended their perfect record over Academy to 8-0. In the regular season finale from Yoe Field on Friday night, the plan is for Cameron to remain perfect against another Bell County district rival - the Troy Trojans.

Though the winner of this game is not guaranteed a playoff spot, the chances are victor will be moving on to the postseason.

“There is a whole lot riding on this game,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear. “The winner of this game is sitting pretty for the playoffs. As a team, our playoffs started last week with Academy because we have to win out to get in. If we lose, we are done. That is the same scenario here.” 

Troy currently sits at 3-5 on the season an 2-2 in 10-3A. Wins in district have come over Jarrell (60-0) and Little River Academy (16-0) while defeats have come at the hands of Rockdale (49-10) and Franklin (41-10).

Troy (3-5/2-2) Vs. Cameron Yoe (3-6/2-3)

With this being the final regular season game for the Yoemen, there is simply one thing I will be looking for - total domination. Cameron must win this game by 7 points to get into the playoffs, but if this team is looking to go places once getting there, they really need to look very sharp in this final tune up. On offense, the line needs to open up holes for the running game and give Andress time to throw. A running back will have to step up and put up a quality performance, and multiple receivers need to make their impact felt. On defense, the line must disrupt things up front and linebackers must come up with big tackles against what is more of a run-heavy offense. This team has the talent to make all of this happen, and there is no better time to start firing on all cylinders than on senior night.

Josh’s Pick: Cameron Yoe by 28+

Any well-known programs are known for their consistency.  When referring to the C.H. Yoe High School Band, there is no better word to describe what is brought to the field each and every performance.  

On Saturday from the area D marching contest from Hewitt Midway, the band added to their long tradition of excellence by punching their fourth straight trip to the state marching contest in San Antonio.  

“It’s a long day and it’s asking a lot from the students, but seeing them put up two greats shows is very exciting,” said band director Craig George following the big announcement.  

The band first performed in the preliminary round of 24 bands at 11:30 a.m.  After that performance, the band traveled back to Cameron to freshen up, eat and work out a few points in the show before heading back up to Hewitt.  

Before the band heads up to San Antonio on Tuesday, The Cameron Herald got a chance to sit down with six different musicians. Those members are Krystian Murray (Drum Major); Rebecca Kostroun (Clarinet); Olivia Duffy (Color Guard); Jeremy Glaser (Mellophone); Trevor Fincher (Baritone); Nikolas Keratsopoulos (Snare Drum).

These students explained how exciting it was to advance out of area and on to state, how much work has been put in to get to this point, why the band has once again rose to this level, and the expectations once the buses arrive at the Alamodome on Tuesday.

Talk about the feeling you had when you first heard the band was going back to state?

Murray: It was a really good feeling that everything you have been doing is paying off, but at the same time you know there are things to do.

Kostroun: It was one of the best feelings to know you were announced fist and the hard work had payed off.

Whether it was the first big cold front of the year or Academy’s defense, Cameron’s offense had only crossed the goal line once in the first half of Friday’s road 10-3A tilt.  

Things started to heat up when the Yoemen came out of the locker room for the second half as 27 unanswered points went up on the board to keep the playoff hopes alive in a 41-0 shutout victory.  

“In the first half we were a little sloppy,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear.  Not to take anything away from Academy because they have a good defense that is stout up front.  They did a good job stopping the run all the night and we knew that was going to be difficult.  

Before this marching season began, the goal for the C.H. Yoe High School band was to get back to the state marching contest in San Antonio. The band is now just one step away from making that happen after capturing a division one rating at this past week’s regional marching contest at Groesbeck.

“The important thing is that we were able to get a one today,” said Yoe band director Craig George. “The kids played well enough to advance. We will keep practicing and fine tuning and get better for next weekend and the area contest at Midway.”

The area contest will be moving over from Belton to Hewitt Midway this year. The band is scheduled to march at the same time they did at regionals this past week - 11:30 a.m.

Since dropping to 3A (then 2A) back in 2010, must-win situations for Cameron in district play have been far and few between. There has never been a must-win situation versus the Academy Bumblebees. Those are the surprising circumstances that the Yoemen (2-6/1-3) find themselves in this Friday night when they hit the road to take on the Bees (3-4/1-2).

Cameron has struggled throughout most of this 2017 season, and the Bees have been in the same boat much of the way. Academy's lone district win was a tight one over winless Jarrell, 20-14. Loses in 10-3A have come at the hands of Rockdale (49-14) and Troy (16-0).

Non-district results include wins over Rogers (7-6) and Goldthwaite (21-15) and loses to Whitney (36-17) and Comanche (34-6). Academy did finish 4-6 in 2016 and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Regardless of where a team finishes a season, there is no better feeling than going out with a win. That was not to be for the Lady Yoe on Tuesday night in the 2017 finale versus Lexington, but Cameron may have very well played their most complete match of the year in the 3-2 loss.  

“We had a game plan coming in,” said Cameron coach Kamol Nohe. “We knew what they could do with certain players hitting it a certain way, so we had to be in the right place to get the ball up and attack from there. There were a few plays that could have gone our way and it was tough. It’s great for us to finish the year like this.”

The playoff bound Lady Eagles needed to win the match to ensure their playoff spot was a lock, and that made Cameron’s 2-1 set lead that much more impressive.

Cameron Yoe (2-6/1-3) Vs. Academy (3-4/1-2)

40 years.  Entering this week’s Battle of Bell contest, that was how long it had been since Rockdale had won back-to-back games in the series between the two rivals.  That streak came to a screeching halt on Friday night from Yoe Field as the Rockdale offense could not be stopped in the second half, reeling off 51 points en route to a 63-34 win.

In 1976, Ed Cauley’s Yoemen had played the eventual state champs to a very tight and respectable 14-6 final.  A quarterback on that 1976 team was Kerry Locklin.  His son, Torry, which is a senior at Rockdale this season after moving in from New Mexico, may have one-upped dad in this particular game.  Locklin carried the ball 27 times for 255 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.  

Most of that production came in the second half, which is when the Tigers started to settle down and start producing.