Llano rally comes up short

September 26, 2012, 9:00 am by Jim Goodson

Photo by Tom Suarez Mason Ladd makes a tackle against a Boerne running back Friday night in Boerne. Llano will host Fredericksburg for homecoming this week.

LCJ Correspondent

BOERNE – Friday’s game between Llano and Boerne was high school football at its best.

Boerne won 35-27 and improved to 2-2, same as the Yellow Jackets. But each team overcame tough obstacles and each team showed a lot of class and character.

The home team Greyhounds missed their coach and quarterback for two vital practice days because of the death of head coach Mike Dormady’s uncle. BHS quarterback Quinten Dormady is the coach’s son and he, too, grieved,

So the Greyhounds sought to win one for their coach and raced to a quick 21-0 lead before Llano had two first downs.

"We were flat in that first half and they were fired up,” Llano head coach Craig Slaughter said. "This was our third road game in a row and it showed. But I don’t want to take anything away from them. They got after us and we made lots of mistakes.”

Down 21-0 at the half, Slaughter made a tactical move that changed everything, inserting standup defensive end Allen Lucas into the offense, giving the Yellow Jackets two solid backs. Lucas had to play defensive end because starter Isaac Hutto twisted his knee on the game’s third play.

"We made some changes on defense so Allen could go back to offense,” Slaughter said. "And we quit making mistakes.”

At halftime Llano had four first downs and 89 offensive yards. In the second half the Yellow Jackets amassed 373 yards, 21 first downs and 27 points.

They also flawlessly marched 95 yards in 17 plays to make it 21-7 when Rhett Brooks scored from three yards out. There was 11:20 left in the game. Llano earned five first downs on the drive. One measure of its determination: only once did LHS reach a third down play.

Then Llano pulled off a successful onsides kick recovered by linebacker Cooper Hill. After quarterback Layton Rabb hit back Storey Tatsch for 18 yards, Brooks showed extreme determination on a twisting, turning 26-yard touchdown run. It was 21-14 with 9:51 left – and the game was on.

But Boerne responded – in only three plays. The only runner Boerne used scored from 15 yards out to put Boerne back up by two scores, 28-14. Bryce Collins rushed 26 times for 241 yards and two touchdowns. No other runner was needed.

Rabb was cool under pressure on the next drive, completing an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Wil Siegenthaler on a fourth-and-two play that, had it failed, would have given BHS the ball at midfield with 6:40 left and a two touchdown lead.

But it didn’t fail. Siegenthaler caught the ball at THE 50 and quickly stepped out of bounds to conserve time. Rabb hit wide receiver Sawyer Stiles for 12 yards and Lucas ran for 12 yards before Rabb made what was – at the time – the play of the game. The heady, senior touchdown machine (nine in four games) wouldn’t be stopped as he bounced off numerous Greyhounds on an 18-yard screen pass. His touchdown pulled LHS to within 28-21 with 6:16 left.

Boerne’s solution was simple: get the ball to Collins. He rushed for 23 yards on six carries and caught two passes for 17 yards. On fourth-and-nine with 1:31 left, Dormady under heavy pressure from Llano defensive tackle Gilberto Arredondo,.then launched a desperate rainbow pass toward the goal line, where wide receiver Paul Burns was wide open. He caught the ball, backed into the end zone and Boerne led 35-21 with 1:31 left.

Of course, Rabb passed Llano back down the field and scored on an eight-yard run with 23 ticks left. But a missed extra point made it 35-27 and when the onside kick failed, Boerne had claimed a Class 3A high school game that had everything.

District 8-3A

Team                              Season               PF            PA

Gatesville                        4-0                     133            52

Liberty Hill                     3-1                     215            96

Llano                               2-2                     136           111

Burnet                             2-2                      114          127

Lampasas                        2-2                        74           90

Brownwood                    1-3                        77          111

Sept. 14 results

Llano 39, Bandera 26

Marble Falls 51, Burnet 34

Lorena 30, Lampasas 12

Gatesville 24, Waco Connally 8

Liberty Hill 49, Smithville 13

Brownwood 49, Snyder 14

Sept. 21 results

Boerne 35, Llano 21

Burnet 37, Canyon Lake 31

Lampasas 22, Fredericksburg 19

Gatesville 35, Taylor 14

Liberty Hill 76, Rockdale 35

Abilene Wylie 38, Brownwood 14

This week (Sept. 28)

Fredericksburg at Llano, 7:30 p.m.

Burnet at Taylor, 7:30 p.m.

Lampasas at China Spring, 7:30 p.m.

Waco La Vega at Gatesville, 7:30 p.m.

Wimberley at Liberty Hill, 7:30 p.m.

Sweetwater at Brownwood, 7:30 p.m.