Llano falls, 14-6, in the rain

September 28, 2012, 10:30 pm by Mark Goodson

By Mark Goodson

LCJ Sports Editor 

LLANO – The Llano Yellow Jackets had four turnovers and a slow start in their homecoming game with Fredericksburg Billies Friday night.

Llano battled back from a two-touchdown deficit and had a chance to pull the game out in the final seconds before losing, 14-6.

Llano, 2-3, will have next week off and then will open District 8-3A action on Oct. 12 with Liberty Hill visiting Llano.

On Friday, heavy rains hit in the final four minutes of the second quarter and made the game a mudbath in the second half.

Fredericksburg built a 14-0 lead behind a strong game from its hard-running quarterback.

Fredericksburg had scoring drives of nine plays for 80 yard and seven for 77 yards. Fredericksburg’s quarterback had key long runs on both drives. He set the tone early with runs of 38 and 23 yards on his first two carries. His third rushing attempt was good for six yards and turned a third-and-five play into a first and goal at the seven. He ran for three yards two plays later for the game’s first score with 5:05 left on the clock in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Fredericksburg covered 77 yards quickly. Two big runs sparked the drive, one by their running back and one by the quarterback. The biggest play for the Billies was on third-and-21 from the Llano 41. The Billies quarterback ran tough, breaking at least five tackles to pick p the first down at the 15.

After the crowd dispersed because of the heavy rains that drenched the stadium just 45 minutes into the game, the Yellow Jackets regrouped at halftime and battled back.

Llano’s best weapon was running back Rhett Brooks, who finished with 14 carries for 86 yards.

Quarterback Layton Rabb completed three of 14 passes for 49 yards in the sloppy conditions.

On the game’s final possession, Llano drove to the Fredericksburg 23 before the clock ran out. One of the big plays on the drive was a screen pass to Brooks.

For the second straight week, Llano stormed back in the fourth quarter. Last week, they scored 27 points in the fourth quarter against Boerne, but lost the game.

Llano has played four teams from District 27-3A and stands 1-3 in those games. All three loses were close to Wimberley, Boerne and Fredericksburg.

For more, see Wednesday's Journal.