Yoemen cruise by Troy to clinch playoff berth

Heading into Friday’s regular season finale, the Cameron Yoemen had two goals.  1. Get a win for the seniors.  2.  Win by 11 or more points to ensure a spot in the playoffs.  You can put a check mark by both of those as Cameron totaled 400 yards of offense and never let Troy cross the goal line in a 35-0 shutout victory.    

“I'm excited for these seniors,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear following the win.  “There was a lot of pressure on them this year and they were feeling it, especially during the losing streak that we had.  Just to see the emotion in them and see how happy they are that we made the playoffs.”

The win was the last for the seniors on Yoe Field, but not the last game on the season as a Cameron can now finish no worse than fourth place in the 10-3A standings.  

“We feel we are a good team and once we get into the playoffs anything can happen,” Brashear said.  “We can still get better because we are not as good as we could be.”

There were some strenuous moments early for both sides as neither offense could get going and the game remained deadlocked at 0-0 after one quarter.  

The biggest momentum plays in the the entire game came from the special teams unit.  Iverson Westbrook kept Troy off the scoreboard in the first by blocking a 39-yard field goal attempt.  

Towards the end of the first half, Troy was put into a punting situation from deep in their own territory.  The ball could not be handled by the Trojans punter, and Jale Walzel was there to fall on it at the 3-yard line.  A few plays later Zack Andress connected with Kadrian Hammond to put Cameron up 14-0 at the half.

The Andress to Hammond connection had just given the Yoemen their first lead lead of the game moments early on a 10-yard reception.  

“We feel like we have some weapons in our receiving core,” said Brashear.  “Hammond is coming around.  He was injured there for a little bit, but he is back and doing a good job.  They were doing things to take away Iverson, and when they do that you have to be able to go elsewhere.  We are able to do that tonight.”

Westbrook finished with a typical Westbrook type of night night, totaling 4 catches for 82 yards and another 27 yards rushing.  Andress found Westbrook for 33 yards at the lone score of the third quarter to put Cameron up 21-0.  

Ki’Zirrius Holt then got in on the action, catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from Andress.  Holt was the third receiver to score on the evening.  

“I feel that other defenses don't give the other receivers respect, and I see that we have some good receivers,” said Westbrook on the receiving core.  “We have to do better at catching the football, but as a whole we showed what we can do.”

Davion Bynaum - potentially the fastest player in the district - put the finishing touches on the win, breaking through a small hole before going the rest of the way untouched for the 83-yard score.

In-between all of that action, the Yoe defense continued to hold, never allowing the Troy offense to get into any type of rhythm.  The run-heavy I-formation totaled only 110 yards on 44 carries.  

“The defense did a great job getting a shutout,” said Brashear.  “We didn't have a letdown tonight.”

Cameron now has two weeks to prepare for their bi-district opponent.  From now until that point, this team will be looking to uncork what many believe is some untapped potential.

“If we all come together as a team, we can have one of the best offenses in 3A,” said Hammond.  “We have to focus.  We still have a lot of games ahead of us.  We have to put all of the negatives behind us.”

Teague for the 4th Straight Year?

Though it is not totally set in stone yet, it appears that all signs are pointing to yet another playoff matchup with the Teague Lions.  Cameron and Teague have played each other in the postseason every year since 2014, and unless Troy were to upset McGregor next week, that matchup is going to happen again.

Teague pulled off a big upset over Malakoff on Friday, 35-14.  Teague needed to win that game by 17 or more points to ensure the number one seed in the district.  The West Trojans are now the second seed in 9-3A while Malakoff drops all the way to third with their first loss of the season.  

Teague (7-2) will close the regular season at Palestine Westwood (1-8) on Friday.

Scoring

1st Quarter

No Scoring

2nd Quarter

Cameron: Zack Andress 10-yard pass to Kadrian Hammond - Lewis kick - 7-0 Yoe - 1:27

Cameron: Andress 3-yard pass to Hammond - Lewis kick- 14-0 Yoe - 0:04

3rd Quarter

Cameron: Andress 33-yard pass to Iverson Westbrook - Lewis kick - 21-0 Yoe - 11:17

4th Quarter

Cameron: Andress 25-yard pass to Ki’Zirrius Holt - Lewis kick - 28-0 Yoe - 11:51

Cameron: Davion Bynaum 83- yard run - Ulices Cardona kick - 35-0 Yoe - 1:03

Stats

Cameron Yoe

First Downs: 19

Rushing: 24-254

Passing: 12-21-1, 168 yards

Punts: 3-41

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 2-0

Penalties: 6-84

Rushing: Davion Bynaum, 2-88; Zack Andress, 10-76; D.J Fripp, 6-39; Iverson Westbrook, 2-27

Passing: Zack Andress, 12-21-1, 168 yards

Receiving: Iverson Westbrook, 4-82; Ki’Zirrius Holt, 3-55; Kadrian Hammond, 2-13

Troy

First Downs: 13

Rushing: 44-110

Passing: 6-13-0, 120 yards

Punts: 5-39.7

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 1-1

Penalties: 5-50

Rushing: Zach Hrbacek, 15-63; Zach Rodriguez, 16-40

Passing: Chance Mosley, 6-13-0, 120 yards

Receiving: Riley Cooper, 2-61; Sam Jones, 3-50