2016-17 De Leon Bearcats Football.

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Dist. 7.
(10-1)(6-0) Crawford.
(9-2)(4-2) De Leon.........BEAT Hamilton,Valley Mills,San Saba @ Goldthwaite...LOST to Crawford & Hico.

(7-4)(4-2) Goldthwaite....LOST to Crawford & De Leon.
..LOST 12-42 Bosqueville in Bi-District.
(6-5)(3-3) Hico..............BEAT De Leon,Hamilton & San Saba......LOST to Valley Mills in (OT), Goldthwaite & Crawford..
..LOST 14-47 Mart in Bi-District.

...Basketball time, but don't forget to support your District mates in their Playoffs....better FB season next year ??
(4-6)(2-4) Hamilton........BEAT Valley Mills & San Saba.
(5-5)(2-4) Valley Mills.....BEAT San Saba & Hico in (OT)..............LOST to Crawford,Goldthwaite,De Leon & Hamilton
(0-10)(0-6) San Saba.

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AREA..(9-2.4-2) De Leon-vs-Valley View (6-5..5-1)..Friday (11-18) @ Kangaroo Stadium in Weatherford @ 7:30 pm on kwbyradio.com-only this week..(no radio,only net).

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http://www.uiltexas.org/football/playoff-brackets/2AD1

G37
W5 Windthorst-vs-R8 Bosqueville @ Ft Worth Brewer.

G38
W6 Valley View-vs-R7 De Leon @ Kangaroo Stadium in W'Ford.



Winner G37-vs-Winner G38

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AREA..(9-2.4-2) De Leon 21-12 Valley View (6-5..5-1)..2nd Quarter..

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AREA..(9-2.4-2) De Leon 28-12 Valley View (6-5..5-1)..HALFTIME..

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AREA
(9-2.4-2) De Leon 35-12 Valley View (6-5..5-1)..3rd Quarter..

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AREA
(10-2.4-2) De Leon 37-18 Valley View (6-6..5-1)..FINAL..

https://scorestream.com/teams/de-leon-h ... amId=16019

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http://www.gainesvilleregister.com/spor ... 66f36.html


Valley View falls to De Leon, 37-18
Jesse Brackeen/Gainesville Daily Register

WEATHERFORD ꟷ "A season that opened with four consecutive Valley View losses, ended with a loss. But, sandwiched between those losses was a 2016 season that will give those familiar with Valley View hope for the immediate future, and for good reason.

On Friday, the Valley View Eagles fell to the De Leon Bearcats 37-18 at Kangaroo Stadium in Weatherford in a Class 2A (Division I) playoff game.

The Bearcats were led by a strong showing from sophomore quarterback Kevin Yeager who threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns.

In a surprise twist, the Valley View offense was captained by sophomore Cale Kassen who made his first start at quarterback. Kassen threw for 193 yards and a score.

“Everyone stepped their game up tonight,” Kassen said. “I saw a solid effort from all of our guys out there.”

Kassen’s favorite target, sophomore wide receiver Hunter Sparkman, led Valley View with 125 receiving yards and a touchdown. Sparkman said he was helped, in part, by the guidance he received from senior players. “I felt pretty good coming into this game,” Sparkman said. “I got a lot of motivation from my team. I was just trying to play my best game for the seniors, they helped me out a ton.”

One of those seniors, running back Trevor McLaughlin, ran for 83 hard-fought yards and a touchdown Friday. McLaughlin, who led the Eagles in rushing yards and touchdowns during the regular season, said he was proud of his team’s performance. “I couldn’t ask for a better effort from my team,” McLaughlin. “They played their hearts out tonight.”

With only three seniors graduating during the off-season, Valley View will return several key contributors next season. For those such as wide receiver/linebacker Zachary Mitchell, expectations will be high. Following the loss, the sophomore did not mince words. “Next year is our year,” Sparkman said."

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http://theflashtoday.com/2016/11/18/are ... iew-37-18/



AREA CHAMPS: De Leon shuts down Valley View, 37-18
By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

De Leon celebrates its first area championship since 2013, its second since 1990.


WEATHERFORD (November 18, 2016)—"Kevin Yeager passed for three touchdowns and Chris Cox rushed for two as De Leon (10-2) rolled to a 37-18 win over Valley View (6-6) in a Region II-2A Division I area playoff at Kangaroo Stadium Friday.

The Bearcats, area champions for the first time since 2013 and only the second time since their last state final appearance in 1990, scored in under a minute twice in the first half, when they built a 28-12 lead with four scoring possessions consuming a total of just 5 minutes, 33 seconds.

The quick-strike offense slowed down in the second half, but that’s when the De Leon defense took over the spotlight with a pair of fourth down stops including a Ray Amaya interception that basically sealed the victory with just more than nine minutes remaining, followed by a safety that put the icing on the cake with four minutes and change left.

The Bearcats advance to face Windthorst, a 36-34 winner over Bosqueville. De Leon head coach David Yeager said details with Windthorst were still being finalized following each team’s win Friday night.

“I know we get to practice on Thanksgiving, and there’s nothing better,” said Yeager. “We’ll get those other details worked out, right now we’re just happy to get a win against a good football team.”

Kevin Yeager launched touchdown passes of 33 yards to Cooper Dyson for a 7-0 lead, 22 yards to Orson Sylva for a 14-6 advantage and 44 yards to Daniel Sanchez to make it 21-12. That’s when Cox took over, rushing for a 53-yard score to provide the halftime tally of 28-12, and a five-yard TD set up by a Bray Tovar interception to open up a 35-12 margin in the third.

The defense, which also had a first half interception by Daniel Sanchez, added a safety in the fourth when Matthew Sones’ second sack came in the end zone. It was set up by a 38-yard Sanchez punt that backed up Valley View to its own 12, and a false start that moved the Eagles back to the seven.

Yeager was 12-27 through the air for 207 yards and also rushed 12 times for 67 yards. Cox amassed 150 rushing yards on just 10 carries. Even with a loss of 24 yards on four team rushes – two fumbled shotgun snaps and two kneel downs to finish the game – De Leon also rushed for 207 yards, perfectly balancing its 414 yards of offense. The Bearcats scored at least 35 points in each of its six straight wins and have scored less than 30 in just one completed game all season.

“We take what the defense gives us, and tonight we did a good job of that offensively, especially when we were able to put trips to one side of the field and come back with the weak side option,” said Coach Yeager. “That’s where you saw Chris and Kevin get a lot of their yards on the ground. Our offensive line did a great job and we were balanced, which makes anyone tough to defend.”

The Bearcat defense may have been even better in limiting a Valley View to 263 yards of total offense including just 61 on the ground one week after the Eagles amassed 68 points in a bi-district win over Chico.

“Our defense was great, we kept pressure on their quarterback and made the big plays when we needed them,” said David Yeager. “They have a good offense, so I’m really proud of the kids for the way they prepared and then came out here and executed against a good football team.”

TheFlashToday.com photos by RUSSELL HUFFMAN

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2A-7 De Leon (19-2)(4-2) SCORES
8/26 at Baird (6-4) (W 42-0)
9/02 vs-Winters (2-8) (W 49-6)
9/09 at Cross Plains (7-3) (W 47-6)
9/16 vs-Santo (7-3) (W 9-0)
9/23 vs-Crawford (9-1)* (L 7-45)
9/30 at Hico (6-4)* (L 32-34)
10/07 Open
10/14 vs-Hamilton (5-5)* (W 38-13)
10/21 at Valley Mills (5-5)* (W 55-24)
10/28 vs-San Saba (0-10)* (W 41-0)
11/04 at Goldthwaite (7-3)* (W 38-35)
*DISTRICT*

11/11 Bi-District-vs-Riesel (6-5) (at Alvarado)........(W 48-21)
11/18 Area-vs-Valley View (6-5) (at Weatherford)...(W 37-18)

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Friday..11/25 Regional
(10-2) De Leon-vs-Windthorst (8-4) at Jacksboro at 2:00 pm

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http://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/sp ... /94217388/


Duncan: Recapping area round and looking forward
TRN Blog
Zach Duncan , Times Record News


"Where to begin, where to begin. I could start with my Sunday, which included spending hours putting on Christmas lights to please my children only to have a Clark Griswaldian moment and not have them all work when I plugged them in. Or how about my internet going out at my house and being told it would take 10 days for them to fix it. Good thing I don’t ever work from home.

So it wasn’t the best Sunday for me, which is why this blog is getting posted Monday morning after an hour-long service call that has me in a really chipper mood (Promise the sarcasm doesn't continue). And it wasn’t a great weekend for a lot of our area football teams, although there were a couple really impressive wins

First, I need to apologize to District 2-4A. Man, when I whiff, I really whiff. I guess I could have gone back and switched my predictions blog about 3-4A pulling off the sweep, changing it to 2-4A instead. I guess I totally misread the quality of that district.
.

* It’s hard to believe Windthorst was sitting at 1-4 at one point this season. Granted, some losses to really good teams, two of which (Henrietta, Munday) are still playing. It’s all about playing your best football at the right time, and that’s what the Trojans are doing. I’ve mentioned before that a 52-48 win over Anson was one of the area’s most impressive non-district victories. And now a 36-34 decision over Bosqueville might be the area’s most impressive playoff victory.

* And it’s worth mentioning it's a special time for Windthorst coach Chris Tackett, who I’m sure is savoring the final days coaching his son. But it’s also worth noting the Trojans hadn’t gotten past the area round since he took over in 2012 and eight wins are the most he's had since replacing Bill Green.

* Worth mention Hull has covered four playoff games and our area teams are 0-4 in those matchups. Watch out Trojans because he’s coming to Jacksboro on Friday.

* If I had to rank the area’s six teams in order of best to worst chance of surviving this weekend and moving on, it’d probably be:
1) Crowell;
2) Windthorst;
3) Notre Dame;
4) Munday;
5) Henrietta;
6) Knox City.
I’d be pretty impressed if more than three are still playing into December. Crowell is about the only lock of the bunch.”

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2A-7 De Leon (10-2)(4-2) SCORES
8/26 at Baird (6-4) (W 42-0)
9/02 vs-Winters (2-8) (W 49-6)
9/09 at Cross Plains (7-3) (W 47-6)
9/16 vs-Santo (7-3) (W 9-0)
9/23 vs-Crawford (9-1)* (L 7-45)
9/30 at Hico (6-4)* (L 32-34)
10/07 Open
10/14 vs-Hamilton (5-5)* (W 38-13)
10/21 at Valley Mills (5-5)* (W 55-24)
10/28 vs-San Saba (0-10)* (W 41-0)
11/04 at Goldthwaite (7-3)* (W 38-35)
*DISTRICT*

11/11 Bi-District-vs-Riesel (6-5) (at Alvarado).........(W 48-21)
11/18 Area-vs-Valley View (6-6) (at Weatherford)...(W 37-18)
11/25 Regional-vs-Windthorst (8-4) (at Jacksboro)

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Bearcat77 wrote:AREA
(10-2.4-2) De Leon 37-18 Valley View (6-6..5-1)..FINAL..

https://scorestream.com/teams/de-leon-h ... eamId=1601

http://www.reporternews.com/story/sport ... /94212160/

Big Country Player of the Week:BIG COUNTRY TOP 10
Evan Ren , Abilene Reporter-News

3. Matthew Sones , Chris Cox, Kevin Yeager, Sr./So./So., De Leon—"This trio led the way in the Bearcats 38-17 area-round win over Valley View, beginning with Sones, who virtually lived in the Valley View backfield all night with 12 tackles, seven for loss and eight quarterback hurries.

Cox rushed nine times for 157 yards and two scores, while Yeager handed in his typical top-flight performance of 217 passing yards for three scores, 61 yards rushing and 13 tackles."

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http://www.reporternews.com/story/sport ... /94212160/

Big Country Player of the Week: OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
Evan Ren, Abilene Reporter-News

Orson Sylva, WR/DB, Jr., De Leon "(Had six catches for 98 yards and one TD vs. Valley View);"

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http://www.reporternews.com/story/sport ... /94212160/

Big Country Player of the Week: OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
Evan Ren, Abilene Reporter-News
Ray Amaya, LB, Sr., De Leon "(Had six tackles, one QB pressure and two interceptions vs. Valley View);"

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http://www.reporternews.com/story/sport ... /94240310/



Big Country Notebook: And then there were 12
Evan Ren , Abilene Reporter-News


"Double-digit casualties.

The playoffs were unkind to the Big Country last week, flat-lining 10 area teams and leaving 12 others to shoot for their respective regional finals.

If you toss in locals Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie, there are still 15 squads from this area with a chance to reach the state championship games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington from Dec. 14-17.

Here’s a quick look at who’s been left standing and what may occur in future rounds."


CLASS 2A DIVISION I

Last week’s casualties: Hawley (8-4),

Survivors: Anson (9-3), De Leon (10-2)

"I like the chances of both Anson and De Leon to advance to the Region I and Region II finals, respectively. But here’s the problem: To reach the state championship either Crawford (11-1) or Mart (12-0) will need to be vanquished.

Fortunately for the Big Country, those two powerhouses face each other this week, so half of that job will take care of itself.

If De Leon defeats a very good Windthorst team (8-4), Crawford or Mart will be the next hurdle in the Bearcats’ path. If Anson tops Forsan this week (a difficult task) it will most likely face Post in the regional final.

Beyond that, the Tigers would likely face the same hurdle — Crawford or Mart — in an effort to get to state.

It just gets tougher and tougher.

Welcome to the playoffs."

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Friday..11/25 Regional
(10-2) De Leon-vs-Windthorst (8-4) at Jacksboro at 2:00 pm.

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http://www.theoldcoach.org/

Class 2A Regional Pairings and Picks
The Old Coach


The Old Coach's Texas High School Class 2A Regional Playoff Picks

REGION II
Windthorst (8-4) vs. De Leon (10-2), 2 p.m. Friday, Jacksboro HS
Crawford (11-1) vs. Mart (12-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Waco ISD Stadium




PICKS
De Leon by 7 over Windthorst
Mart by 2 over Crawford

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http://www.maxpreps.com/news/dh9QTSSr80 ... ound-3.htm


2016 Texas high school football playoff score projections - Round 3
A look ahead to possible Round 4 games in the Texas playoffs.

Video: Top 10 Games of the Week
See some of the top games in the nation this week.

A look at score projections for the Texas high school football playoffs.

Texas football playoff score projections
2A Division I
Friday - De Leon-vs-Windthorst at Jacksboro
Projection: De Leon 31-27

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Friday..11/25 Regional
(10-2) De Leon-vs-Windthorst (8-4) at Jacksboro at 2:00 pm

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Windthorst 00-10 De Leon


1st Quarter ~3 minutes to go...(J. Baird)

http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football- ... Ov0isg.htm

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Windthorst 7-10 De Leon..2nd Quarter

http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football- ... Ov0isg.htm

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Windthorst 7-17 De Leon..2nd Quarter

http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football- ... Ov0isg.htm

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Windthorst 7-17 De Leon..HALFTIME..

http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football- ... Ov0isg.htm

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Windthorst Trojans LOST 14-30 De Leon Bearcats..FINAL..


https://scorestream.com/teams/de-leon-h ... amId=16019

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http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football- ... Ov0isg.htm


De Leon Bearcats 30-14 Windthorst Trojans...4th Quarter


m. chavarria
End of 4th Quarter
De Leon Bearcats 30 - 14 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 5:52p


R. Gerth
4th Quarter Under a minute to go
De Leon Bearcats 30 - 14 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 4:26p


R. Donnell
2nd Quarter ~1 minute to go
De Leon Bearcats 20 - 27 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 4:08p


J. Baird
2nd Quarter Under a minute to go
De Leon Bearcats 17 - 7 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 2:45p



J. Baird
2nd Quarter ~10 minutes to go
De Leon Bearcats 10 - 7 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 2:26p




J. Baird
1st Quarter ~3 minutes to go
De Leon Bearcats 10-0 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 2:17p



MaxPreps Game Started
De Leon Bearcats 0 - 0 Windthorst Trojans
Posted @ 2p

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Quarterfinals...Crawford Pirates-vs-De Leon Bearcats.(REMATCH).

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http://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/sp ... /94409400/


Yeager fuels De Leon past Trojans
Jonathan Hull , Times Record News

JACKSBORO-De Leon sophomore quarterback Kevin Yeager knew he and the Bearcats had to take their play to another level Friday against Windthorst.

Yeager's next level performance proved to be more than the Trojans could handle as he powered De Leon to a 30-14 victory in Region II-2A Division I semfinal game at Tiger Stadium. The Bearcats (11-2) play either Mart or Crawford for the Region II-2A title. Windthorst finishes the year 8-5.

Yeager provided an all-around show at Tiger Stadium, passing for 153 yards and three touchdowns while adding a game-high 83 rushing yards. And just for good measure he picked off two passes on defense.

"I don't know if he was perfect, but if he wasn't he was close to it," Windthorst coach Chris Tackett said of Yeager. "We just couldn't get him."

Yeager routinely got the Bearcats down the field, including on their first two possessions of the game that ended with a 27-yard field goal by Daniel Sanchez and a 7-yard pass from Yeager to Calvin Martin for a 10-0 lead with 3:23 left in the first quarter.

Windthorst responded with a 12-play drive capped by a 3-yard run by Nathan Bales, cutting the deficit to 10-7 with 10:29 left in the first half.

The Trojans had an opportunity to pull even or move ahead of the Bearcats after a missed 39-yard field goal by Sanchez, but ended punting into a stiff wind that set De Leon up at the 50 with 2:55 remaining in the second quarter.

That was far too much time for Yeager, who found Sanchez on a tunnel screen on third-and-8 for a 21-yard touchdown and a 17-7 advantage with 51 seconds left in the half.

After the initial drive of the third quarter ended with De Leon's Bryce Whiteley picking off Windthorst quarterback Hunter Wolf set the Bearcats up at the Trojans' 3, it appeared the deficit was going to increase to 17. However, an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Bearcats back to the 20 and they settled for a 38-yard Sanchez field goal for a 20-7 lead with 9:56 left in the third.

Windthorst still couldn't put a drive together and Yeager made them pay, hitting Orson Sylva in stride for a 36-yard touchdown and a 27-7 advantage with 6:24 left in the third.

"I knew coming into the game we had to take it to a different mindset," said Yeager, whose father, David, is the Bearcats' head coach. "Being three rounds deep, any team you play is going to be a good team. We knew we had to step it up and do our job."

A 7-yard pass from Wolf to Kyle Scheffe with 10:29 remaining in the game pulled Windthorst within 27-14, but the Trojans wouldn't get closer than that.

And appropriately, Yeager helped seal the game by ending a promising Windthorst drive with an interception at he Bearcats' 12 with 2:55 left to play.

"From the experience from last year, this is 100 percent better," said Yeager, who is in his second season as the Bearcats' starting quarterback. "We know we can keep this thing going. We just have to bring our game to another level next week."

If Yeager has another level, Mart or Crawford better beware.

WINDTHORST LEADERS: The Trojans struggled to show consistency on offense, finishing with just 227 total yards, including just 57 rushing. Koy Pennartz led Windthorst with 45 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Wolf was 17 of 32 for 170 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Brady Tacket caught seven passes for 58 yards.

"They threw some things at us we didn't see from them before," coach Tackett said. "We just couldn't ever get anything going. We had a good run. Every now and then you run into someone that's on a little bit better of a roll than you are."


De Leon 30-14 Windthorst

FIRST QUARTER
DL — FG, Nathan Sanchez 27, 7:40.
DL — Calvin Martin 7 pass from Kevin Yeager (Sanchez kick), 3:23

SECOND QUARTER
WIN — Nathan Bales 3 run (Broady Flach kick), 10:29
DL — Sanchez 21 pass from Yeager (Sanchez kick), :51

THIRD QUARTER
DL — FG, Sanchez 38, 9:56
DL — Orson Sylva 36 pass from Yeager (Sanchez kick), 6:24

FOURTH QUARTER
WIN — Kyle Scheffe 7 pass from Hunter Wolf (Flach kick), 10:29
DL — FG, Sanchez 38, 4:42



INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING —
De Leon, Kevin Yeager 19-83, Chris Cox 13-27, Orson Sylva 7-22, Ray Amaya 1-9, Calvin Martin 2-3, Team 2-(-22).
Windthorst, Koy Pennartz 16-45, Brady Tackett 8-38, Nathan Bales 2-(-2), Hunter Wolf 6-(-24).

PASSING —
De Leon, Yeager 10-16-1—153.
Windthorst, Wolf 17-32-2—170, Tackett 0-1-1—0.

RECEIVING —
De Leon, Daniel Sanchez 5-72, Sylva 2-47, Martin 2-16, Cooper Dyson 1-16.
Windthorst, Tackett 7-58, Landon Brown 4-41, Kyle Scheffe 3-35, Pennartz 1-19, Bales 1-10, Rafael Llamas 1-7.

RECORDS — De Leon 11-2; Windthorst 8-5.

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http://www.reporternews.com/story/sport ... /94513434/

Big Country Q&A: De Leon coach Yeager speaks with ARN
Evan Ren



"Only twice since 1990 have the De Leon Bearcats (11-2) posted double-digit wins. And not since 1990 has De Leon suited up for a 14th game.

That makes Friday’s Region II-2A Division I championship game between De Leon (11-2) and Crawford (12-1) a rare occurrence, indeed.

The Reporter-News spoke with fifth-year coach David Yeager about the Bearcats’ meteoric rise, the reaction around the De Leon community and a difficult rematch with a Crawford team to which the Bearcats lost 45-7 on Sept. 23 — all in this week’s Big Country Q&A.



Q: Coach, your program has seen its ups and downs, but this year you’re on a deep playoff run and I’m thinking it has to be great for your community. There has to be a buzz around town with your team still alive this late. Can you tell us about it?

A: “Oh, there’s no doubt about it, Evan. Winning breeds enthusiasm that is just unbelievable here. Our fans and community have been really supportive all year and as we play deeper into the playoffs, we’re traveling really well. I think we’ve outdrawn our opponents’ fans. We had about an hour and 45-minute drive up to Jacksboro (to play Windthorst) on Friday and our stands were packed. I heard it seated 1,500 on the visitor’s side and I think we had every seat filled with people standing around the fence. So there’s no doubt there’s a buzz in our community and it’s exciting. When you’ve got a winning football program, it’s like a snowball going downhill — it just keeps building and our kids feed off that.”



Q: Coach, I thought you guys would improve this year and challenge for a playoff spot. But if you had told me you’d be playing in December, I would have been very skeptical. Are you surprised by the level of success you’ve had? Did you see this coming?

A: “Well, going into a season you always have high expectations and you want to be better than you were the year before. You hope your kids improve and that you can take some steps forward. You set some goals and one of our goals was to get back into the playoffs in a tough district. Our second goal was to win a playoff game and our third goal was to keep it going. Looking back, as we started climbing this mountain, taking steps up those hills and seeing how the kids were responding to our coaching, we started seeing leadership rise in our offense, defense and kicking game. And then we started thinking, ‘If we keep getting better at A, B and C, then this team has a chance to be special.' We’ve always felt that if you want to be great you have to win a game that nobody expects you to win on the road, and our kids did that when they beat a very good Goldthwaite team in Week 11. I think that was a bit of a turning point for us and our kids really started believing after that. We just keep raising the bar a little higher and we’re excited to still be here playing football.”



Q: Coach, your program has had its share of success, but you’ve also had some rebuilding seasons. You’ve gone through those peaks and valleys without the wheels coming off and to me, that’s indicative of the players respecting you and believing in you. Am I wrong?

A: “Well, at a small school with 160 kids, sometimes you’ll have some really good football players and sometimes you’re just in a down cycle. I think as a coaching staff, what we’ve tried to do in five years here is to take what we have on the shelf and make the best meal available. If you have beans and weenies, you try to turn it into steak and potatoes every year. But what we try to do is build relationships with the kids and love on them no matter what, win or lose. We tell them every day that they are more valuable to us as young men than as football players. We want to win football games, but more importantly, we want to develop good character. We want to develop good fathers and husbands down the road. We want to go out and play football and represent our community well. Sometimes that results in wins, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you go into a gunfight with a 270; sometimes you go in with a slingshot and a BB gun. You just try your best to win with what you have and I think we’ve gotten the most out of our kids.”



Q: You’re a guy who isn’t afraid to adjust your scheme to fit personnel. You started in a slot-T offense when you first came to De Leon and have branched into more of a spread look because of your son’s ability to throw the ball. Is there a chance of you ever going back to the slot-T or have you become sold on the spread?

A: “I’ve always enjoyed the spread but was never smart enough to run it. So I hired a young guy, Reggie Patrick, from Magnolia and just let him run it. I’ve just gotten out of the way and he’s done a phenomenal job. But I still love the slot-T and you never say never. What you have to do as a coach is adapt to your personnel. I never want to fit a square peg into a round hole. But you’re never too old to learn. I’ve been doing this stuff for 30 years and I’ve learned a lot and want to keep growing as a coach. You want to stay open-minded and do whatever it takes to win a football game.”



Q: You have Crawford next. That’s a district opponent and when you faced them before you weren’t at 100 percent and the game got away from you. I’m sure your kids have a greater sense of belief now, but what’s your approach to this and how much are you going to dwell on that prior game?

A: “We really haven’t dwelled on it very much. We weren’t at full strength in the first game. We actually played very good defense in the first half, but we just got worn down because we couldn’t field an offense that could keep their offense off the field. We’re going into this game at full strength so we’re excited about the opportunity and challenge to play a very well-coached, great football team from Crawford. They just don’t make mistakes. They’re efficient, they execute well and their kids are so fundamentally sound at every phase of the game it’s unbelievable. When I look at them, I don’t see any weaknesses, so we’ll have to play our best game of the year and elevate our level of play. We’ll have to be the best-coached team we can be this week to have a chance to beat them and our kids believe they can. If we can keep it close into the fourth quarter we can find a way to win, but Crawford isn’t going to beat themselves. They’re too fundamentally sound. So it’s definitely a big challenge and we’ll be preaching David vs. Goliath this week and we’ll be David.”



Q: With you and Crawford meeting for a regional title, what does that tell us about the strength of that district you’re in?

A: “I’ll tell you, it’s a water moccasin of a district. Every team in our district is a good football team in a good program with good coaches and players. Obviously, to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best and Crawford is definitely the best in our district. Their record indicated that and we’re excited about the opportunity to give them a challenge.”