LITTLE RIVER—You wouldn’t think that in a small, but elegant, rural town, with August not ready to hand its sword to September, that unofficially winning a football scrimmage would result in a tasteful but boisterous reaction to the outcome.
But that’s what happened, August 18, at Little River Academy, as Llano High dominated the Bumblebees and Florence Buffaloes, and Jacket players and coaches were pretty proud of their performance.
It took the Lady Jackets a couple of matches to find themselves in the Gatesville tournament, but they rebounded in time to grab a doubleheader on August 19 and make their record a much more respectable 6-9.
“We left at 5:30 AM,” head coach John Black said in discussing the getaway hour on that Saturday.
Sports Illustrated certainly likes Oklahoma State. Why shouldn’t their readers from around the country feel the same way?
These Cowboys are always closer to greatness than Trigger and Silver were. They have an outstanding quarterback—maybe the best in the nation. Maybe the second best in Oklahoma. No one, though, has a much better receiver than James Washington, and Sports Illustrated?
This is an era where younger and younger kids are being recruited by college athletic teams. It’s not all bad, and it’s quite understandable: if you wait for the senior to become a USA Today All-American, you may be late by a semester or two.
Why that prologue is necessary is because Llano High’s Kimble Schuessler, who officially became a 10th grader, August 16, has committed to go to Texas A&M for an education and to play baseball.
I know one thing we learned from the Llano High football intrasquad game, August 12: if you want to hear positive thoughts about the Jackets, go talk to the coaches.
“Always pleased when I see our kids play with aggressiveness,” said head coach Matt Green. “Great effort, {too}. This game is built on aggressiveness and intensity.”
All three teams: varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen took turns finding their position on the Stadium gridiron, ran a bunch of plays, slugged it out, a ...
You won’t be able to call this Llano High volleyball team inexperienced too much longer. As of Tuesday, August 15, they had played 11 varsity games in nine days. Backto-backs? Ha. How about three in one day—twice.
The tour began at home, August 7, with a loss to Gateway (The Llano News, August 9) and resumed with a doubleheader less than 24 hours later.
“There were high and low spots,” said head coach John Black, concerning a 3-1 win over Sonora, August 8.
“We have to push har ...
Kliff Kingsbury may not be on the hot seat, but it is indeed a warm one. He enters his fifth year as Texas Tech head coach, and the team continues to give up a near-crazy amount of points while not really threatening the top-tier teams for a leadership role in the Big 12.
“I think that everybody but the four that make the {Final Four} playoff are basically on the hot seat in college football,"
It just doesn’t seem right—or natural—that one of the most exciting volleyball matches of the year would occur on Opening Night, nine days BEFORE school begins. But that was the case, August 7, when Gateway Prep came to Llano and captured the contest in five games. The result did tarnish the feeling somewhat that this was a super duel, but you should get to know these Lady Jackets—a total of two have varsity experience, but someone has forgotten to tell them that.
The head coach has gained a year of experience, as she moves past the pay window of rookie dues, and some of the runners are adding a season which extends hundreds of miles in workouts and meets. Cross Country 2017 is underway at Llano High.
“I’ve been thinking about the season the entire summer,” even longer,” said Lauren Timms, the 2009 Jacket graduate.
