Just when it looked like Llano might get a foothold in Thursday’s 3A Division I Region IV Final at Rattler Stadium in San Marcos, Edna defensive back Floyd Ragston slammed the door shut.
Ragston intercepted a tipped pass from Llano quarterback Briggs Green and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown. That score capped a dominant first half for Edna as the Cowboys took a 27-0 lead into halftime.
“That [play] was huge,” Edna head coach Jimmie Mitchell said. “And coming out in the third quarter after half and driving down and scoring, that was big as well.”
Q2: Edna 27, Llano 0 (1:26)
Floyd Ragston! 84-yd pick six. It’s Edna’s 3rd takeaway today and second TD off a turnover. @advosports @dctf pic.twitter.com/BJ2C18162U
— THE Fat Punter (@FowlerSports14) December 2, 2022
Edna quarterback Jaiden Clay scored that opening touchdown of the third quarter on a four-yard touchdown run. Clay led the Cowboys both on the ground and through the air on the night, finishing with 139 passing yards, 111 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns as the Cowboys secured a 40-21 victory over Llano.
Edna head coach Jimmie Mitchell addresses his team following their 40-21 win over Llano in the 3A Division I State quarterfinals.
With the win, Edna is headed to the state semifinals for the first time since 2014.
“It feels really great,” Clay said. “Looking in the stands and seeing a packed stadium, a bunch of fans that would drive two hours to see us play, it feels really amazing to know we’re making history at Edna.”
It wasn’t always straightforward for Edna on the night as the Cowboys turned the ball over four times. Despite those mistakes, Clay said the offense displayed its mental fortitude in bouncing back from them.
“[We] kept our composure,” Clay said. “When times got tough, all we had to do was fight through it and be the team that we really are.”
Meanwhile, Llano had several mistakes of its own as the Yellowjackets also finished with four turnovers on the night. After the game, Llano head coach Matt Green rued those mistakes and Llano’s inability to score off of either of its forced turnovers in the first half.
“We just missed some opportunities in the first half,” Green said. “We just didn’t capitalize in the first half on the turnovers that we were able to get against them and they did. It’s the worst game we’ve played all year and some of that’s Edna and some of that’s us.”
Following Llano’s second forced turnover of the first quarter, the Yellowjackets missed a 29-yard field goal as they looked to draw first blood. That miss opened the door to a barrage of Edna points.
Clay led the onslaught, completing touchdowns of 38 yards and 19 yards to Braylen Harris and Kade Rodas. Rodas also added a one-yard rushing score following a Llano fumble to give Edna a 20-0 lead midway through their second quarter.
Despite their best efforts, the Yellowjackets couldn’t stop the flood as Ragston’s pick-six and another Clay touchdown opened the Cowboy lead to 33-0 four minutes into the second half.
Llano found some life after that as Carson Kuykendall scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown and Briggs Green found Ross Prokop for a 31-yard score following back-to-back Cowboy turnovers.
Llano cuts a 33-0 Edna lead to 33-14 In about 30 seconds! @DiegoHrrrnandez @__marissantana @TXHS_Football @STFUnltd pic.twitter.com/3ZeEVtklo0
— Round 4 Robby C. (@RevengOfThe4th) December 2, 2022
Kuykendall was a bell cow all night for Llano as he finished with 157 rushing yards on 25 carries.
But with their backs against the wall midway through the fourth quarter, the Cowboy defense rose to the occasion, forcing their third fumble of the night as Llano looked to cut the Edna lead down to two scores.
Watching on the sidelines, Clay was impressed with his defense’s resiliency.
“To give up back-to-back touchdowns and come back and play lights out, it’s just amazing to know I have that defense playing with me,” Clay said.
Following that third forced fumble, Clay added his final rushing touchdown of the night before the Yellowjackets managed a late consolation touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Briggs Green to Coy Kelso.
After the game, Matt Green said he was proud of the effort his team showed in the second half.
“Second half, we fought our butts off,” Green said. “Our team showed what they’re made of.”
With the loss, Llano finishes its season with a 13-1 record and its second state quarterfinals appearance in the past three seasons. Even though this year’s run didn’t match the state semifinal run made by the Yellowjackets in 2020, Green said this group of players will be one that goes down in Llano history.
The Edna players celebrate their victory with the traveling crowd.
“In Llano, no team has gone this far except our 2020 team,” Green said. “This group has a lot of kids that were on both teams, and they have cleared the record books. They have reset everything in Llano history football-wise. It’s been a treat for me to get to coach them. I’m going to miss these seniors, but we’ve got some good juniors back and we’re going to build off of that.”
On the other side of the field, Edna improved to 13-1 on the year with the win.
The Cowboys will face either Franklin or Columbus next week for a trip to the 3A Division I State Title Game. If they are victorious in that game, it will be their first trip to state since 1965.
And with so much history on the line, Clay said his team will be ready to go next week.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Clay said. “But if we work our tails off like we did this week, we’re going to go out there and show them something.”
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