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Sept.
9, 1998
BANDERA COMING FOR HOME OPENER
After opening on the road this past weekend, Fredericksburg varsity football players will
play their first home game of the 1998 season here Friday, Sept. 11, against Bandera.
Kickoff time is 7:30p.m. for the "Parents’
Night" contest that will pit a 1-0 Billie varsity against a Bulldog team that will be
looking for its first win.
"It’s a little scary, because Bandera got beat
last weekend by Dripping Springs (39-12) largely because it had something like eight
turnovers," said FHS head coach Jerald Klett.
The Bulldogs, he said, are better than that score indicates.
'They had three interceptions returned for touchdowns and
consequently were kept in the hole all night," Klett said. "Despite their
problems, Bandera came back and drove the ball twice. They are really a pretty solid
team."
Bandera is coming off a 7-3 season that produced a
third-place finish (4-2) in 26-AAA action. Ten lettermen are back including four offensive
starters and six defensive returnees.
Despite his tough start, Bandera senior quarterback Brent
Morris (who at 5-9, 150 doubles as a linebacker) can run and throw well, said the FHS
coach who added that Bulldog senior tailback David Cantu (5-8, 150) has "good
speed".
Other mainstays on offense include senior tight end James
Cammack (5-10, 165), junior tackle-guard Jerod Fields (6-6, 250) and senior tackle-guard
Jason Gregory (6-1, 240).
When the Bulldogs have the ball, they like to go with a
wing-T and use a lot of bootlegs and play-action plays.
"On defense they will line up and get after you,"
said Klett who added with regard to head coach Mike Williamson (84-18-1 in five seasons at
Bandera) that the Bulldogs "are a well-coached team."
Top defensive hopefuls include senior end Jonathan Bossom
(6-0, 195), senior linebacker Evan Dews (5-10, 170), junior linebacker Josh Fazio (5-10,
195), senior safety Justin Knight (6-4, 190) and senior safety Joey Leal (5-11, 160).
"They will give you a lot of looks on defense, which
has the potential of giving an offensive line fits," said Klett who also credited
Bandera's receivers and its kicking game.
For the Billies, senior defensive end Sergio De La Garza
should be back from a hamstring pull as should senior defensive back Justin Jenschke whose
shoulder injury is on the mend.
However, junior linebacker Chris Weirich is doubtful Friday
after sustaining a knee strain last week against Llano.
Also banged up in Fredericksburg's 33-0 win over Llano but
still expected to play here against Bandera are senior back Jim Grobe (broken hand) and
senior defensive lineman Kyle Treibs (broken finger).
It’s been nine years since the Billies have played
Bandera, with Fredericksburg winning the most-recent encounter in 1989 by 23-0.
"This year’s Bandera team has the talent,"
Klett said. "We’d better take them seriously here Friday or it could be a
disaster deluxe."
BILLIES JUMP ON 'JACKET TURNOVERS
When
opportunity knocked Friday night in Llano, Fredericksburg varsity football players showed
they knew what to do.
Claiming their first season opening victory in five years,
the Billies took advantage of a rash of Yellowjacket turnovers and converted them into a
33-0 season-opening victory.
The win -- the biggest for FHS against Llano since a Billie
varsity blanked its neighbors to the north by 35-0 in 1983 -- saw the FHS defense allow
the Jackets across the midfield stripe only three times in 12 possessions.
I thought the kids played well, especially the defense
which did a good job containing their quarterback," said FHS head coach Jerald Klett.
"You’ve got to be real disciplined to do that with the kind of midline offense
that Llano runs."
The news for Llano was bad from the start as the Billies
stripped the ball on the game's first play from scrimmage. Ten plays and 38 yards later,
Fredericksburg had its first score when junior running back Manuel
Gonzales went across from the one.
With 7:32 on the clock, junior place kicker Charles Klein
booted the PAT to put FHS in front for good, 7-0.
But it only got worse for the. Yellowjackets
On the hosts' next play from scrimmage, FHS junior
defensive back Jamie Reeh picked off a Zach Vassar pass at the Jacket 46 and returned it
for a touchdown.
Another Klein kick put the Billies up, 14-0, with 6:26
still left in the first quarter.
More of the same followed early in the second period after
the Fredericksburg defense hemmed in Llano at the hosts' five.
Taking over at the Jacket 28 following a Llano punt and
interference penalty, the Billies took only five plays before sending Gonzales into the
end zone from the two.
A muffed snap exchange blanked the ensuing PAT try with
10:05 remaining in the half, but, as it turned out, the Billies were far enough ahead by
then, 20-0.
After intermission, Fredericksburg scored once in each
second-half quarter, with the first coming on a 17-yard scamper by senior ball carrier
Freddy Cantu. Klein's toe capped the three-play 40-yard drive and made it 27-0 as the
clock read 7:07 in the third.
Fredericksburg's final score came after Llano's fifth
turnover of the night when senior Danny Marquardt grabbed another Jacket pass and returned
it 27 yards to the home team's 20.
Four plays later, running back Todd Persyn skipped
untouched into the end zone from the one. The ensuing PAT kick was blocked, but by then 38
points was more then enough.
As for the Jackets, their deepest thrust into FHS territory
occurred late in the third period when the hosts mounted their only sustained drive of the
game. However, that effort, which began back at the Llano 35, was terminated at the FHS
20.
"That was a big series for our defense," said
Klett who also complimented the Fredericksburg offense for its improved performance in the
second half.
He also complimented the Llano team.
"Llano has a good football team, and they will do good
throughout the season," he said. "Friday night certainly could have been a
different story had we not had all those turnovers."
Llano miscues served to help Fredericksburg's field
position throughout the game as the Billies made it across midfield on seven of 11
possessions.
Gonzales was Fredericksburg's leading ground-gainer with 87
yards on 2l carries. Close behind, Cantu rolled up 65 yards on only six carries, not to
mention running into the end zone from 39 yards out in the first period, only to have the
score wiped out by a holding penalty.
Billie junior quarterback T.J. Theis and senior receiver
Luis Lopez hooked up to account for all 16 of Fredericksburg's passing yardage.
In the defensive department, Jamie Reeh had a team-high of
seven tackles and four assists along with his TD interception runback. Other FHS defensive
standouts included Chris Weirich (5-1) Kyle Treibs (4-5), Ben Bailey (4-3), Lance Eilers
(4-2) and Barrett Durst (4-1).
Friday's win marked the eighth time FHS and Llano had
played since the 35-0 Billie win in 1983. Since then, the Jackets had dominated the
series, 4-2.
In addition, before Friday, Fredericksburg had not won a
season-opener since slipping by Smithson Valley, 26-20, in 1993.
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