It was the Yoemen defense that overpowered an untested offense in the 44th Battle of the Bell victory on Friday at Tiger Stadium where Yoe beat RHS 31-3.
“We weren’t prepared,” said Jeff Miller, RHS football coach. “And that’s on me one hundred percent.
“On defense, we played well enough. We just didn’t do what we needed to do on offense.”
Cameron head coach Tommy Brashear was quick to praise his team’s defense as the key to a Yoemen victory
“We knew our defense was getting better and that this was a strong test for them,” Brashear said. “(Cam’Ron) Valdez was not easy to tackle but our kids were swarming the ball and did all the things we had to do to prevent the big plays.”
The Tigers were out-gained on offense with Cameron outrushing them 403-297. The Tigers were also successful on only one of three attempted fourth-down-conversions.
After a 32-yard game-opening return by Valdez to put RHS just short of the 50-yard line, the Tigers ended up punting four plays later.
Cameron’s first series resulted in a touchdown when senior running back James DeBose scored from the three after accounting for all 68 yards on Yoe’s opening drive.
On the next series, Jace Robinson hit Kesean Raven for a 32-yard gain. Rock-dale was only able to get one more yard before punting again.
Rockdale got the ball back at its own 20-yard line. Due to a 10-yard chop block penalty, RHS was set back and had to punt from the end zone and Cameron got possession at the Rock-dale 23. The Yoemen were able to convert a fourth-and three into a first down which led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Braden Brashear to Kobe Young.
With the score 14-0 late in the second, Cameron threatened to score again with the ball at the Rockdale 26 when Brashear threw a pass intercepted by Robinson at the seven-yard line.
Valdez ran for 50 yards on the next play and gained another yard on the next down to get the blue crew to the Yoe 42. Robinson passed to Raven for 12 yards.
With the clock winding down, the Tigers misfired on a 47-yard field goal and Yoe led 14-0 at the break.
The Yoemen scored on their first possession in the third quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Axel Martinez to put them up 17-0.
Rockdale struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities after being forced to punt from the Yoe 24-yard line. Two plays later, Robinson got his second interception of the game to get RHS back in ideal scoring position at the Cameron 24. Kobe Mitchell, taking snaps for the Tigers, he was able to get another first down thanks to an eight-yard pass to Raven.
Valdez got right to the goal line to put Rockdale one yard from making it a one possession game.
Cameron stopped Valdez just short of the goal line again, Mitchell lost four yards and a false start penalty left the Tigers at the 10-yard line.
Ross Loth kicked a 27-yard field goal to make the game 17-3.
The Yoemen sealed the game in the final quarter on TD runs of 16 and 28 yards by DeBose. His second touchdown followed an interception Cameron’s Kobe Young.
The Yoemen held on to the game and the Bell,31-3.
“Coming out of halftime we really felt like we could get some points,” Miller said. “In games like this, it takes a shift in momentum.”
Valdez led the Tigers with 125 rushing on 25 carries and Robinson was 11 of 25 with three interceptions and 117 total yards in Rockdale’s Bell loss to Cameron
Raven was the top receiver with four catches for 79 yards.
THIS WEEK–Following the loss, the Tigers have made it a priority to start fresh.
“Some of the stuff we’ve done following the Cameron game is just getting back to the basics,” Miller said. “We’ve been moving people around and trying new things to see what works and making sure guys are healthy.
“But the most important thing is that we have to get back into playing hard.”
Rockdale looks to get back on track against Jarrell, 1-3 squad that lost their first three district contests with Lago Vista, Troy and Cameron but got their first district win Friday after beating Academy 37-35.
“Jarrell has improved,” Miller said. “They’re going to put up some points so we have to play some good pass-defense and we have to stop the run.”
With the Cougars only one game back from Rock-dale and facing winless Manor New Tech the following week, this is a must win for Rockdale.
“We’re not in the playoffs as of now and this is chance for (Jarrell) to get in the playoffs,” Miller said. “We have to treat like it’s the playoffs because it’s a win and you’re in type of deal.
The Cougars only have four defensive starters from their 2018 season but have all but one back on offense.
Quarterback Heron Rodriguez is a dual-threat who passed for 1,157 yards and rushed for 568 last year. Wide receiver Joseph Sham-burger is also a top target for the Cougars after having 20 catches for 464 yards.
For fans interested in making the trip to Williamson County on Friday, the address of Cougar Stadium is 1100 FM 487 Jarrell, Texas 76537.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
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