Yoe's offensive woes continue in 21-14 loss to China Spring

It took nearly the whole half, but the Cameron Yoemen finally got on the board with 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter of Friday's road tilt at China Spring. That is when Yoe quarterback Zack Andress found Iverson Westbrook open for an 8-yard pass, knotting things up at 7. That score did not end up igniting much momentum, as the Yoemen did not gain another first down until towards the end of the third quarter and did not cross the goal line again until the final moments of a 21-14 loss.

"It was a defensive struggle,” said Yoe head football coach Tommy Brashear. “I think people expected a lot of points in this game. I was expecting more than 14 points on our side, but we did not execute offensively. The good thing about it is, the mistakes we are making are fixable. They are things we can correct and fix. We have to take some urgency to it to get it fixed”

The big surge from China Spring (2-1) came right after the teams returned to the field to start the third. Cougar quarterback Caden Johnson took one of a rare few deep shots on the night, but it payed off as his receiver – Steven Russo – was several yards behind the Yoe secondary to haul in the 70-yard touchdown score.

After a Yoe (1-2) three and out, Johnson and the offense went back to work, with the quarterback finishing off the drive with a 14-yard run. Those two scores, which came in a 1:26 time frame, were the difference in a game that saw a total of eight punts between the two teams on the night.

China Spring'g only other score of the game came at the 4:22 mark of the second as Brayden Mathis caught his only pass of the evening on the 3-yard score to break the ice at 7-0. Cameron did a good job of bending but not breaking most of the night, giving up 397 total yards but only the three scores.

“The defense played well all night,” said Brashear. “We put them in bad situations with field position and turnovers. I was extremely proud of their effort and how they played. They gave us some opportunities and we didn't cash in on them. They made more plays than we did and that was the difference in the ball game.”

Cameron's first score was setup by excellent field position after a negative four yard punt rolled dead at the Cougar 14-yard line. On fourth down, Andress connected with Westbrook. Westbrook was the spark for Cameron throughout the game, coming in with multiple quality returns on special teams and 119 yards receiving on 9 catches. The big one came with 35 seconds left on a 57-yard reception to set up what would be a failed onside kick attempt.

“Westbrook had a good game,” said Brashear. “I was proud of his effort. He played more defense for us tonight and a lot of areas on offense at outside and inside receiver to go along with running-back.”

Andress finished 14-37 passing with 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. That stats were only part of the story, as multiple dropped passes forced many drives to end early.

“I thought we had some things in the passing game that we liked, but we had two interceptions and I think Andress was trying to force throws,” said Brashear. “He is a competitor and wants to win, but we have to take what they give you. I don't know how many drops we had, but it seemed like a lot, and our guys are better than that. They can't let one drop effect the rest of their game.”

Cameron now has one game remaining in non-district at Bay City before opening 10-3A play. Brashear

noted how it will be important to learn from these losses, but not let them linger.

“It's not the end of the world, and the kids have to realize that, too,” said Brashear on the two early losses. “We are all frustrated with the close game last week and then this one that we feel we had a chance to win. We are going to get better. We are playing some good opponents.”

STATS

Cameron Yoe

First Downs: 16

Rushing: 33-146

Passing: 14-37-2, 188 yards

Punts: 3-104

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 4-2

Penalties: 7-60

Individual

Rushing; Zack Andress, 15-92, D.J. Fripp, 4-21, Patrick England, 4-21, Iverson Westbrook, 4-10

Passing: Zack Andress, 14-37-2, 188 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Iverson Westbrook, 9-119 yards; Kadrian Hammond, 2-29, Ka'Kirrius Holt, 2-26

China Spring

First Downs: 22

Rushing: 51-212

Passing: 14-25-1, 185

Punts: 5-35

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 2-0

Penalties: 6-30

Individual

Rushing: Tyrick James, 22-110; Cayden Johnson, 23-74

Passing: Cayden Johson, 14-25-1, 185 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Steven Russo, 6-110; Tyrick James, 3-47; K.J. Peoples, 3-25