Yoemen aim to close regular season on a high note

If you look back over the past six football seasons, you will notice a very consistent theme - Cameron has always closed out the regular season on a high note. 

Since 2010, the Yoemen have a scoring advantage of 315 to 42 in these final games.  On Friday night in Troy, Coach Tommy Brashear and the Yoemen will look to continue a trend that has proven to be a good omen before the start of the playoffs. 

“I think you definitely want to finish the regular season on a high note,” said Brashear.  “For us, the win is the most important thing, but you want to go into that last game looking sharp like I felt like we did the other night versus Academy.  That's what we want to look like in this game with Troy.”

Troy is once again the mix for a playoff spot.  The Trojans sit at 4-4 on the season and are 2-2 in 10-3A play.

In non-district, Troy won back-to-back games over Salado (15-3) and Marlin (34-7) before falling to Robinson (56-14) and China Spring (70-14).  In district, Troy has fallen to Franklin (42-14) and Rockdale (49-35) and has wins over Jarrell (38-9) and Little River Academy (31-20). 

“Troy's about a .500 ball club, but they play extremely hard,” said Brashear.  “They have played a pretty tough schedule.  They played China Spring like us and lost in a similar way like we did.  They are very physical and big up front.  They prevent the big play on defense.”

Overall, Troy has traditionally struggled with the Yoemen.  Cameron is 7-0 since the 2010 season with dominating wins in 2010 (48-14), 2011 (38-7), 2012 (42-6), 2013 (41-0, 47-14), 2014 (42-3) and 2015 (51-3). 

Offense

The Troy offense has evolved, so to speak, over the years.  The Trojans had operated out of the slot-t for some time before transitioning over to the more traditional I-formation the past few seasons.  That is still included in the playbook, but this year’s team has some different wrinkles that they can throw at you.

“They have changed their offense up a little bit,” said Brashear.  “They run the same basic plays, but they get in a lot of different formations.  I would probably compare them to Gatesville in that sense with a lot of different formations.  They are trying to get good blocking angles and open some things up in the passing game.”

At times this season Troy has lined up in the gun, which generally means more passing attempts.  “They're passing the ball more than they have in the past, but are still a run-heavy team,” said Brashear.  “They want to run the ball and that is their bread and butter.  They want to run the ball and control the clock and I expect that is what they'll try to do against us.”

Defense

While the offensive production seems to be holding steady from last year, the defensive average has jumped from 18 points a game in 2015 to 32 points a game in 2016.

“Defensively, they base out of the 3-4 like us, but when you watch them on film, they give you a lot of different looks,” stated Brashear.  “They will give you a 3-3 front, 3-4 front and a 4-3 front.  I've also seen a 4-2 front, so they will mix it up a lot on the defensive side of the ball.”

Troy did have over half (six) of their defensive starters returning this season, including DE Jaiden Beck, who was the district’s defensive newcomer of the year last season.

Cameron has used the big play through the air to their advantage most of the season, and that is something Troy may try to take away this week. 

“Coverage wise, we are usually going to see a cover four trying to prevent the big play,” said Brashear.  “For us, we have to keep it simple.  They are very good on defense, especially on the defensive front.”

Tiebreaker Scenarios

For Cameron, one of a few things are going to happen.  The Yoemen, with a win, will finish as the second or third playoff seed.  Even with a loss, the Yoemen can finish no worse than number three.

With a Cameron win and a Rockdale win over Franklin, Rockdale would be one, Cameron would be two and Franklin would be three. 

With a Cameron win and Franklin win over Rockdale, things get cloudier.  Cameron currently sits at negative 11 in points (negative 14 to Rockdale and positive four with Franklin).  In that scenario, Cameron will finish third.  Franklin would have to beat Rockdale by five or more to secure first.  The McGregor and Troy game next week will more than likely decide fourth place.

10-3A

In other district action, McGregor (1-3) will travel to Little River Academy (1-3) while Franklin (3-1) will travel to Rockdale (3-1). 

Kickoff for Friday’s game at Troy is set for 7:30 p.m.