School & Sports

LAMPASAS—The 82-47 loss in Taylor, February 6, hurt, as it should have, but it was not as damaging as the setback to the Badgers 72 hours before. A bad start offset a big night of three-point shooting by the Jacket boys, and Lampasas held on for a crucial 53-50 win. What followed a miserable first quarter, in which Llano fell behind 14-3, were nine threes by the visitors, five from Joey Albor.

Last week in The Llano News, you read what a lot of people—and probably yourself—thought of Seattle's Pete Carroll calling for a pass instead of a run on second-and-goal from the one while the Seahawks trailed New England, 28-24, with 26 seconds to go. The pass was intercepted. The following list includes unfortunate gaffes in sports history which preceded Carroll.

SAN SABA—I don't want to pull a Brian Williams here; I was NOT in San Saba for the Powerlifting Meet, but head coach Clint Easley told me he would help me out if I went to Brady, February 12. I said okay. The much-better lead includes: the Jackets won the boys' team competition; Colton Center returned to the squad for all three demands; Trevor Penny won his third consecutive meet; Dalton Dewveall claimed his second title; and freshman Felicia Perez got her first. "It's always good when you ge ...

Just about the rudest kind of season came to an end in Salado, Tuesday, February 10—after press time—for the Llano Ladies' basketball team. The squad needed a victory to prevent going winless in 25-4A play. The ninth defeat occurred three nights before when a talented Taylor team dominated the middle quarters to win, 61-35. "We are what we are,"

The Llano High School Band and Llano Junior High School Band recently entered students to compete in the Region Band Auditions. The high school auditions were held on December 6th in Tolar with 14 students selected to perform with the All-Region Band. These students rehearsed and performed with the ATSSB Region 7 Honor Band at Tarleton State University on January 16th and 17th.

This would have been one of those breakthrough wins, a signature moment, the most memorable triumph of the regular season. "Would have been," of course, tells you it did not happen. How close were the Llano boys to beating Taylor, which left with a 17-3 record, January 20? Closer than Dez Bryant was to making that catch against Green Bay.

SALADO—Must-win games can come along at various points of the season. They are not the private property of the final hours of the campaign. The Llano basketball boys had one, January 23, in the third contest of district play, and they escaped Salado with a 54-52 win. The Jackets (9-14 overall) are 1-2 in 25-4A competition; the Eagles drop to 0-3. "Our offense was really solid,"

This one got away. The Lady Jackets hit no field goals in the final quarter and were 6-for-14 from the line. Salado had four twos and was 9-for-13 with its free throws. The Eagles, therefore, had shaken off a 13-point deficit in the second quarter and erased a 43-37 Llano lead after three periods, to win the game, 54-49. The outcome meant the Jackets (0-5 in district) are the only winless team in 25-4A play at the halfway point of the campaign.

Second semester is now underway and it is definitely way more hectic than the fall. In the fall you have cross country, volleyball, and football. Basketball starts in the middle of the first semester. Well this semester we have golf, basketball, track, baseball, softball, powerlifting, and tennis. We also have so many kids that compete in multiple sports at the same time.

When you think of school cafeterias you think "feed the kids." That is how naïve I was when I walked in the cafeteria many years ago. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program that provides lunches to more than 3 million Texas children in school and residential child care institutions. The NSLP serves nutritious, low-cost or free lunches to students in public and non-profit private schools in Texas.