Who would have thought a few weeks ago we’d be referring to Craig Slaughter and Stephen Campbell as “former” Llano High coaches?
The Slaughter story is somewhere in our neighborhood, and at this residence we knock on the door of the future of young (34) Mr. Campbell. The Jackets’ head baseball coach for four years is heading to Class-5A Frisco High (north of Dallas but not as far as Denton) to become an assistant.
“It’s an exciting challenge,” said Campbell.
And then there were two. When Craig Slaughter came to Llano in 2012 from Sweetwater, he brought with him three assistant coaches: Clint Easley, Bobby Williams, and Jarrett Vickers. Vickers left a year ago to become a head coach in Claude, which is near Amarillo.
Easley (defensive coordinator) and Williams (offensive line coach)—with 11 years invested in the Bank of Slaughter (Clyde, Sweetwater, and Llano)—won’t be going to Wall, so what is their future?
“I have no desire to leave,” Wi ...
I’m not sure when I first noticed that Craig Slaughter was one of the most energetic and enthusiastic coaches I’d had ever known. Must have been early-on, before his first year as Head Coach and Athletic Director in Llano in 2012. When it happened I was hooked. Anyone who was that passionate about his job had to be dedicated, had to care about the success of his players as well as his own.
The basics of Coach Slaughter’s resignation are on Page One.
One of the first hurdles — a pun before the sixth word — Avery Tudyk had to eclipse was which school she would attend this fall. It appeared it was going to be Sterling College in Kansas. One of the first hints I had that Sterling was in trouble in this race was on the day I was told Avery was scheduled to announce she was heading to Kansas.
The problem was I was the only one to show up for the signing, a good sign Sterling Silver was the message of the day: that school claimed second place ...
Growing up in the 1950s, I knew zero about cars — I’ve doubled my knowledge since then — but I knew this: winning the national Soap Box Derby was, for a youngster, the equivalent of an adult taking the Oscar or the Heavyweight boxing title. That boy may not have gained the fame of those older folks, but he was in a prestigious winner’s circle.
50 years ago, Ken Cline, a Llano resident for about a decade, raced faster than a nation full of competitors to become the Derby champion, and on ...
He knows what he’s getting into, and he’s ready. That’s Chris Armstrong, the new Head Coach of the Llano High basketball boys. Armstrong has been at McCamey High the last three years, taking them to the playoffs the last two.
“I’m excited, most excited I’ve been in years,” he told me by phone last week.
Truth be told: they played like a bunch of girls. And, you know what? It was a heck of a game with running, passing, and going all-out to grab that flag. We’ll call it Powder Punishment. One definition of “puff” is “soft and light.” You try to run through Bridget Hammes and see if she’s a softy.
“I had to do something for the team,” said Hammes, whose defensive efforts helped the Seniors send the Juniors into a one-year stupor with a 20-18 victory.
I digress—what a shock—to ...
BURNET—The Llano High quarterback controversy had a somewhat official life of a couple of weeks. It’s over for now. Ben Walling, the starter in 2015 and ’16, has decided not to play this season. Cade Fly, the junior varsity QB last year, has the job unless someone else—a young man unbeknownst to me—comes along.
Head Coach Craig Slaughter said Ben came into his office a few days ago and told him of his decision.
Katherine is the back nine of an 18-hole match. That’s Llano High senior, Katherine McDonough. She’ll play golf for Angelo State. Her brother, Tyler, Class of 2015, is a sophomore playing on the links at Texas A&M-Commerce. Name another Jacket brother-sister combo who were collegiate golfers at the same time.
AUSTIN—Finishing third or fourth in a State Track & Field Meet is superb. So—what Ray Dixon did, May 12, to ascend to both rungs of the ladder—must be the twins of superb.
“A dogfight beyond belief,” Ray said, following the shot put at Mike Myers Stadium. On his fifth throw out of six, he hurled the iron ball 52 feet, 10-and-three-quarter inches, and climbed from fourth one notch to win a Class-4A bronze medal.
“He loves to work and get better at it,” declared throwers’ coac ...
