Yoemen Sports Network

Sometimes losing can be contagious.  That is unfortunately what had been plaguing the Cameron Yoemen the last five weeks.  After easily defeating Bellville in their season opener, Cameron had dropped five straight, including back-to-back district contests to McGregor and Franklin to begin 10-3A play at 0-2.  

There would be no better time to break the school’s longest losing streak since 2003 than on Friday night at Jarrell.  The Cougars entered the contest winless at 0-6 and had scored only 35 points all year.  At the end of the night, that total remained the same as the Yoemen dominated in all phases of a 55-0 shutout victory.  

District Cross Country Results

The 20-3A district cross meets took place this past week in Cameron. The Lady Yoe varsity finished in fourth place as a team with 93 points. Franklin (1st, 22 points), Academy (2nd, 62 points), Lexington (3rd, 77 points) and Rockdale (5th, 111 points) were the field of competitors.

Daisy Osorio was the top finisher for the ladies, coming in 13th with a time of 17:39.4. Daniela Bustamante (15th, 17:56.7), Eliza Garcia (18th, 18:08.0), Patience Adcock (28th, 20:42.0) and Anna Bowman (36th, 28:15.1) competed in the field of 42 runners.

Cameron did have one boy compete in varsity competition as Robbie Pfeil placed 37th with a time of 22:41.2.

In the JV divisions, Rosa Valles (5th, 18:22.8) and Courtney Muniz (11th) competed for the girls, while Joseph Munoz (3rd, 20:52.0) and Antonio Jiminez (22nd, 27:21.6) ran for the boys.

Now that we are halfway through this 2017 regular season, I am ready to release my midseason top 20 rankings. As always, there are teams that have played like expected, some who have overachieved, and others who have disappointed.

3A rankings with last week’s results

1. Yoakum - W 28-10 over Edna

2. Wall - W 42-14 over Iowa Park

3. Hallettsville - W 48-21 over Palacios

4. Malakoff - W 49-14 over Groesbeck

5. Grandview - OFF

6. Brock - OFF

7. Kemp - OFF

9. Goliad - OFF

10. Jefferson - OFF

11. Rockdale - W 49-14 over Academy

12. Shallowater - L 42-20 to Estacado

13. Edna - L 28-10 to Yoakum

14. Woodville - W 49-21 over Kirbyville

15. Franklin - W 38-34 over Cameron Yoe

16. Comanche - OFF

17. Hughes Springs - OFF

18. West - W 57-19 over Elkhart

19. Jim Ned - OFF

20. Pottsboro - OFF

Cameron Yoe (1-5) Vs. Jarrell (0-6)

Seeing Jarrell at 0-6 is really not a surprise. The surprise comes from the fact that the record for these two teams is a combined 1-11 as Cameron has now lost five games in a row, including back-to-back games in 10-3A. Miscues played a big role in the latest loss to Franklin last Friday night. That included multiple turnovers on offense and missed tackles and numerous explosive plays given up on defense. The special teams also struggled by going 0-4 on field goal and extra point attempts, while the return team was stopped inside the 10 on two occasions. I will say that I am continually impressed with the play of Iverson Westbrook on offense and Nico Vargas on defense. They are aggressive players that are making plays for their team. This will be a good confidence building week for Cameron. Jarrell is just simply having one of the worst seasons you could imagine.

Losing to McGregor to open district play was concerning, but most felt that the Yoemen could still rebound and control their own destiny in the 10-3A race. That all disappeared when Cameron fell to Franklin in the final seconds of last week’s homecoming game to drop to 0-2. With regards to the playoffs, this now forces the Yoemen into a must-win situation tomorrow night on the road at Jarrell.

The Cougars - which sit at 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the district - have struggled even more than the Yoemen, and the schedule has also been somewhat light up to this point.

Jarrell’s 2017 results: Johnson City (L 37-0), Florence (L 29-15), Thorndale (L 31-0), Lexington (L 69-6), Academy (L 20-14) and Troy (60-0). The Cougars have been already been outscored by over 200 points in their six games.

The 2017 season for the Lady Yoe has been all about constantly learning and improving on play as the season has progressed. This past week, it’s safe to say that was accomplished as Cameron took down Franklin in an exciting five sets from Yoe Gym, 25-20, 17-25, 24-26, 25-15, 15-9.

This victory does not come as surprise as the ladies nearly took the match when it was on Franklin’s home court the first time these two met.

“We were on the better end of the game this time,” said Cameron coach Kamol Nohe. “We were more prepared because we knew how they were going to play. We carried out our game plan and took advantage of their errors. Our kids our playing together as a team and that is important.”

The turning point in the match came in the fourth set when Cameron was down 2-1. In that set, the ladies trailed 7-8 before Darci Denio got to the service line and stayed there until it was a 20-9 advantage for the girls in maroon and grey.

Momentum swings are very common in football.  On Friday night the Cameron Yoemen held much of the momentum throughout the first half against the Franklin Lions, taking a 28-14 lead into the halftime break.  The tides shifted dramatically after the teams returned from the locker room with the Lions scoring 17 unanswered points, which was followed by a 29-yard touchdown pass with 6.7 seconds left to shock the Yoemen on homecoming, 38-34.  

Cameron (1-5/0-2) had broken Franklin's 17-point run late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Zack Andress capped off a 96-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Zi'Zirrius Holt to put the home team back up, 34-31 with 1:03 remaining.  

That was before Franklin (4-2/2-0) went 64 yards in under a minute to take the game.  With only 13 seconds remaining and faced with a 4th and 9, the call was a pass over the top to Jared Pedraza, who had a step on defenders.  

Lady Yoe drops matches to Lexington and Rogers

The Cameron Lady Yoe are in the midst of a rough patch in their season.  Continuing into 20-3A play last Friday, Cameron had lost three consecutive district matches without taking a set.  The ladies appear to still be in a bit of a funk, with losses to Lexington (0-3) on Friday and district leading Rogers on Tuesday (0-3) to extend the streak to 15 straight sets.  The ladies still have 6 more district matches to start something up and build momentum.

“We still have some games and we can compete and fight for a spot,” said Cameron coach Kamol Nohe.  “We just have to get the kids focused and ready to play.”

Cameron will host Franklin on Friday (4:30) before traveling to Hearne on Tuesday (5:00).  

Lexington (L 15-25, 17-25, 20-25)

Franklin (3-2/1-0) Vs. Cameron Yoe (1-4/0-1)

Losing streaks are not fun for any team to encounter. For a tradition rich program like Cameron Yoe, it’s that much tougher. Cameron has lost their past four ball games, with the most recent being the 10-3A district opener to McGregor. The last time Cameron lost four straight was way back in 2003. That season ended with a program worst 1-9 record.

Cameron will look to get back to their winning ways this Friday night as they host tradition rich Franklin from Yoe Field for homecoming. This is not only a huge game because of the names on the front of the jerseys, but will also have big playoff implications on the line, particularly for the Yoemen.