Yoemen Sports Network

Despite still being in the early stages of development, The Yards of Cameron is already starting to have its impact on the community. Over the weekend, play from the Team Showcase Baseball League (TSL) moved over to Cameron on Sunday, bringing hundreds of travelers from different parts of the state to town. The showcase tournament was originally scheduled to be completed in Temple, Hillsboro and Corsicana, but rain forced some of those games to the all-turf facility for the final day of play.

The TSL is one of a variety of different organizations that host summer baseball across the state. These types of baseball tournaments continue to grow in popularity and a central location for the mid-major markets of Waco and Bryan and major markets of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio to meet up is desirable, and Cameron is one of the more ideal locations for those tournaments to take place.

This Monday, Cameron traveled over to Temple for the final week of 7-on-7 league play. The month-long session of games came to an end with the Yoemen posting a 1-2 record. Cameron dropped the opener to Temple (31-13), defeated Copperas Cove (28-8) and fell to Belton (39-27) in the finale.

“I thought we came out slow in that first game,” said Yoe head coach Tommy Brashear. “We kind of have a habit of that. We have some older kids and we need to come out a little faster. We won the second one big and lost the first and last one. The defense finally got a stop in that third game and the offense sputtered twice two series in a row.”

Cameron finished with an overall record of 5-4 against the much larger 5A and 6A schools. That included a perfect 3-0 mark in week three when play took place in Cameron. However, wins are secondary when looking at the big picture.

Last week, we found out that the Cameron Yoemen would have the targets on their back with the preseason number one rankings in 3A division one. This week, we are going to dig a little deeper and take a look at district projections for 10-3A and other Central Texas districts, plus highlight some of the players mentioned.

10-3A

DCTF has the Yoemen pegged to capture the 10-3A crown in 2017. The Yoemen, which return a total of seven offensive and eight defensive starters, are predicted to finish above Rockdale (2), Franklin (3), McGregor (4), Troy (5), Little River Academy (6) and Jarrell (7) in the standings.

The Yoemen return more starters than any other team in the district. Rockdale, Troy and Academy each return 12, Franklin has nine, McGregor comes in with eight and Jarrell has five coming back.

Cameron (1), Rockdale (10) and Franklin (12) are all ranked in the 3A poll.

Yoe basketball competes at state

For the first time in school history, the Yoe basketball team competed in state basketball tournament this past weekend in the Dallas/Forth Worth area. Cameron did not manage to win a game, finishing 0-6, but the experienced gained should prove to be beneficial for new head coach Nicholas Burns and his attempt to build the program.

Cameron lost pool games to Kemp (43-37), Peaster (61-55), Texarkana Pleasant Grove (80-68) and Princeton (35-20). Despite the four losses, Cameron was still in the championship bracket and drew Holliday, which went 3-1 in their pool play games. The Yoemen dropped that game, 48-34, and another consolation game to Palmer, 43-36 to wrap up tournament play.

Bowie ended up knocking off Holliday in the championship game, 52-44.

Broussard departs Cameron

Before the start of 2-a-days in just over a month’s time, Cameron will have a few more opportunities to improve on their game. That starts this Thursday and Friday with the state 7-on-7 tournament in College Station.

The brackets for the tournament were released on Saturday and the Yoemen find themselves in pool K with Abilene Wylie, Celina and Needville. The pool is considered by some experts as the toughest in the field of 64 teams.

“We have a lot of good teams,” said Yoe head coach Tommy Brashear. “Celina is always good. Needville is there every year You have Abilene Wylie which is known for their football. If it’s not the toughest it’s got to be up there with them. It only makes us better. We will get after it and compete and make Cameron proud.”

Every year, fans of the gridiron patiently wait for the day that the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine is released. The highly coveted high school publication contains articles, district projections and team information, but most of the anticipation is built up for the preseason rankings - the first official poll released every year.

For fans of the Yoemen, being ranked was not in question. It’s where the four-time state champions were going to be placed. The news broke Monday evening that the folks at DCTF expect the Yoemen to add more gold to the trophy case this December with the preseason number one honor in 3A division one.

Dave Campbell’s Full Top 20:

This week, I’m going to look ahead to the Yoemen’s 2017 football schedule. As with every year, this schedule is going to provide many challenges along the way. First off, Cameron is going to be in one of, if not the toughest district in the state with 10-3A. The best way to prepare for a daunting district is to play quality opponents in your non-district schedule. The Yoemen will be challenged with four 4A programs - three of which who advanced to at least the area round of the playoffs last season.

10. Jarrell (1-9/0-6)

7-on-7 league play shifted over to Cameroon on Monday for the three round robin style games. The friendly confines of Yoe Field proved to be beneficial, as the Yoemen went a perfect 3-0 with wins over Temple (34-21), Copperas Cove (34-20) and Belton (21-14).

In week one of league play, Cameron went 1-2 with a win over Temple. Yoe head coach Tommy Brashear noted last week how his team seemed to improve as they day went on, and that seemed to carry over to week two.

“It was a very impressive showing,” said Brashear. “The difference from last week is that we came out ready to go. We came out firing on all cylinders from the get go. We got here and warmed up in time and that makes a huge difference. Nobody can get out there cold and get after it.”

Yoe places second in lineman challenge

It’s the first year that Cameron has competed in lineman challenges, but the big boys up front are making headways. Just this past week, the Yoe lineman placed second in the Holland Corn Festival Lineman Challenge. A total of five teams (Cameron, Round Rock Cedar Ridge, Rogers, Holland, Salado) participated in the event. Cameron was second, just to Salado. Pictured are Javy Torres (Coach), Brodie Sexton, Dominic Lewis, Adrian Lewis, Chris Johnson, Quentin Ewing, Caleb Hubnik, and Christian Reyes.

Summer basketball state championship brackets

This week, I want to take a look back at the 2016 schedule and give my personal rankings of the teams the Yoemen matched up against on gridiron. We all know that Cameron has a tradition of scheduling tough opponents. If you followed the Yoemen throughout the year, you know that did not change in 2016. Next week, we will preview all 10 teams on the schedule for 2017 and get a gauge on who could be a potential threat.

14-11. Jarrell (W 46-0), Academy (W 63-0), McGregor (W 44-20), Troy (W 56-2)

10. Gatesville (W 69-31)

This score was somewhat deceiving, as in the third the Hornets held a 31-27 lead. That was before Cameron exploded with 42 straight points, which included two Levi May interception returns for touchdowns in a span of less than a minute. The Hornets did not make the playoffs out of 13-4A DI, but had some competitive games along the way.

9. West (W 35-19)