If you had asked Llano head coach Matt Green last August whether his football team would win a district title, he would have been a bit skeptical.
After all, 2021 was supposed to be a quasi-rebuilding year for the Yellowjackets following their historic 3A state semifinal run in 2020. Llano only returned six starters from that team and was relying on a number of JV players to step up.
“I think if you had polled us early in the season, we would have said that [a district championship] was going to be a very difficult ask for us to achieve,” Green said. “But we continued to get better every week.”
And with that improvement, Llano surpassed expectations. The Yellowjackets knocked off Lago Vista 13-10 to earn their second-straight district title and also won a playoff game for the third year running with a 53-26 victory over Marion in the first round, finishing the season 8-3.
What a fantastic night for our Jackets! We wrapped up the 13-3A District Championship and we got to celebrate on Senior night at home. To my Senior, Maddox, I am so happy for you and let’s go as far as we can! pic.twitter.com/YzMHkLjLYM
— Matt Green (@CoachMatt_Green) October 30, 2021
This year, expectations are much higher with 18 starters returning for the Yellowjackets. And with all the talent Llano has back this year, Green has been careful about making sure his players don’t fall victim to the hype.
“They have a chance to be one of the best teams if not the best team in Llano history if they live up to expectations,” Green said. “However, they can also be a team that doesn’t live up to expectations, and they could fall on their face. So, we’ve really talked to our kids about putting the work in and not getting big-headed.”
Llano (pop. 3,325) is located 75 miles northwest of Austin. After the recent success which has seen the Yellowjackets make the playoffs the past seven years, including that 13-1 record-breaking season in 2020, Green said the community has increasingly rallied around the football program.
Looking forward to this season, Llano will have plenty of firepower out at the skill positions on offense to excite its fans. At receiver, the Yellowjackets return four key seniors in Sam Sueltenfuss (643 receiving yards), Ross Prokop (424 receiving yards), Jack Dillard (207 receiving yards), and Coy Kelso (176 receiving yards).
“All four of those guys had good years last year,” Green said. “But this year, we expect them to have potentially breakout seasons and really be dominant.”
Nice to be back catching a football! pic.twitter.com/vf3ZOQFV9M
— Coy Kelso (@KelsoCoy) May 20, 2022
The Yellowjackets also return running backs Carson Kuykendall (987 rushing yards) and Miguel Hernandez (674 rushing yards). Green said both provide a good mix off strength and speed out of the backfield. The offensive line will be stout as well with four of its five starters back from a year ago. And with other quality backup linemen from last season returning, Green has no concerns on filling the fifth spot.
That leaves the biggest question mark heading into the year for Llano: the quarterback position.
Currently, it’s a two man race for the job with Briggs Green, who started at safety in 2021, and last year’s JV quarterback Bryce Mize battling for the starting role. Green said he expects both players to contribute to the team no matter who wins the job.
“We’re certainly looking forward to having both those guys develop,” Green said. “And hopefully, we’ll figure it out and get one of those guys in there that can play and then find another position for the other one to play.”
But as loaded as his team’s offense is, Green thinks the Yellowjacket defense will be even stronger.
It all starts in the heart of field with Hayden Manahan (130 tackles), Ricky de la Torre (52 tackles), and last year’s district Newcomer of the Year Fitz Kennedy (76 tackles) all returning at linebacker for Llano this year.
Up front, senior Jaxson Rhea will bring experience on the defensive line as a three-year starter, while, alongside him, Green is expecting a “bigger and stronger” Jordan Coronado to star at nose guard.
The secondary is loaded with talent as well. Senior cornerback Caden Bauman led the Yellowjackets with five interceptions a year ago, while Briggs Green and Isaiah Bush, who Green described as a playmaker, are both back at safety. Green also expects junior Braeden Hatfield to slot in somewhere in the secondary after he moved to the area from Lake Travis.
Llano will be relying on its experience as it embarks in a district with plenty of new faces. Only Blanco and Luling remain from Llano’s district a year ago as a couple of San Antonio area schools join the fray.
Blanco, who Green thinks will be a dangerous team as it returns the majority of its starters, Luling, Marion, and Universal City Randolph all made the playoffs a year ago, while San Antonio Cole was a .500 squad last year and Ingram Moore should be improved this year after playing several freshmen with a new coach last season, according to Green.
All in all, Green said the Yellowjackets will certainly be tested in district play.
“I think that it is a tougher district from top to bottom; I just think there’s a lot of parity,” Green said. “But I do think at the top you have some teams that return a lot of experience and anytime you return a lot of starters with a successful year, that makes a for a really good team the following year.”
— Matt Green (@CoachMatt_Green) February 4, 2022
When Llano takes the field this fall, it will be playing in memory of girls basketball coach Todd Lange, who died in early May following a battle with brain cancer. And as the Yellowjackets return from some hard times this offseason, Green said he believes the team and community will be closer than ever before.
“I do think it will pull our team even tighter together than they already have been,” Green said. “I look for our team to be very unified and on a mission this fall in 2022.”
2022 Llano Schedule
(Bold designates District 13-3A Division I matchup)
8/26 at Jarrell
9/2 vs. Burnet
9/9 at Austin Crockett
9/16 vs. Coleman
9/23 at San Antonio Cole
9/30 vs. Luling
10/7 at Universal City Randolph
10/14 vs. Marion
10/21 at Blanco
11/4 vs. Ingram Moore
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