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By Art Dlugach

COMANCHE--"Bend, don’t break," was the Jackets’ rallying cry, August 27, at Comanche. Bend? Bend?! The body of a contortionist selected for the next edition of Ripley’s Believe it or Not didn’t bend as much as Llano did before pulling out a no-break 18-12 win in the season opener.

"We escaped," head coach David Yeager said, "and I like to add, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish."

The finish was the Big-gest Bend of the night as the Indians converted a fourth and inches with a 40-yard completion, Payton Middleton to Ty Weaver. Yes, a daring call, and Comanche had a minute, 41 seconds to win the game. The Llano defense turned the first down at the 18 to "ball goes over on downs" at the 25. 1-0 record; Bangs is next.

"They would drive, and we would come up with the big play or turnover," defensive coordinator Brad Harman observed on the Indian Stadium turf after the last knee. Rhett Brooks, Zach Berry, and Alex Greer forced three fumbles.

"That was a gutty defensive stand at the end," Harman correctly praised. "They were shoving it down our throats, and it would have been easy to lay down, but we didn’t."

The first half was just plain ugly. Amazingly, the teams went to the locker room tied at 6-6. Sterling Jameson recovered a pair of fumbles, and Justin Wyatt swiped a Middleton pass to stop drives; Comanche was in Llano territory more than the deer are in November, and its running back, Clayton Ballard, gained a hundred yards—in the first quarter! "He gave us fits," Harman admitted.

Greer did his job in his first varsity game. The Jackets’ junior fullback went up the gut for a 63-yard rush before being caught at the 17 by a faster Indian. "My strides are awful," Greer joked. "I’ve got to get into better condition." His fitness was fine, and he totaled 101 yards on the ground. "He does a good job, and he’s going to get better," said offensive coordinator Kelly Gilbert.

Clay Tarter got the game’s first score on a 10-yard run with just over five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Gilbert’s offense and Harman’s defense—both not quite in sync in the first half—received much higher grades after intermission.

Preston Rabb and John McKay were the leading men in the impressive show of the much-anticipated passing game in the quarters which decided the outcome.

Ryan Williams recovered Comanche’s third lost-fumble early in the third, and a drive commenced at the visitors’ 37. Rabb went to Matthew Center for 13; the 6’6" senior QB startled a bunch of folks with a 15 yard run to the foes’ 32-yard line. It was Preston to McKay for 11 yards to the 11.

Rabb lunged five yards on fourth and short. "We hadn’t shown those sneaks much in the scrimmages," Gilbert advised with a smile.

"Preston did a great job in the second half," Yeager told two reporters. "He made smart decisions. This was new to him, compared to practice, because now enemies were coming after him."

Greer followed Rabb’s sneak attack and scored the touchdown on a six-yard run with six minutes gone in the third quarter. 12-6 was the count, and, no, there wasn’t an extra point made at Comanche.

Cornerback Raven Herron was credited with excellent coverage that helped put an end to an Indian march at the Llano 35. Comanche punted on fourth and six, and the Jackets were ready to drive 85 yards in 14 plays.

"We had been nervous at first," Rabb disclosed, "but we settled down in the second half."

McKay and Greer, like it was 7-on-7 at Marble Falls in June, caught four of Rabb’s throws, and Llano was converting on third downs. "I knew I had to get them on third and long," McKay, formerly of Vista Ridge, recalled with ice attached to his left shoulder. "I’ve been in the spread all my life—I love it."

"Those two guys made huge hookups," said Yeager.

Justin Saverance punctured the Comanche line for 21 yards to the four, and Rabb fought his way into the end zone on a one-yard run. The lead was 18-6 with 10 minutes to play.

Rabb was a most impressive 14-of-17 on the night for 112 yards and no interceptions, and McKay caught six of those completions.

The Indians weren’t quite ready to sing the school song. Middleton, a lefty, fired 44 yards to Tyler Rodriguez on a fourth-and-three from the Jackets’ 49. Ballard roared in from the five, and with 7:22 to play, the lead was a precarious six. What? The Democrats’ chances in November are precarious—7:22 might as well have been a month.

The next Llano drive died, but Jordan Cavness did his part with a 47-yard punt to the Indians’ nine. 4:24 still showing on the clock.

On fourth and inches from his own 42, Middleton’s left arm was as golden as Whitey Ford’s, and Peyton would have been proud of Payton: 40 yards to Ty Weaver to the 18.

"We were actually fired up at this point," Jameson insisted. "We never lost our intensity." 101 seconds remained.

Wyatt came through with two great coverages on first and fourth downs, as Comanche went a minus-seven yards in its four tries. Sterling knocked down a ball he almost swiped on third down; a botched snap had led to the seven-yard loss on the previous play.

Harman and Yeager both talked about the need to get better, but defensive linemen Travis Lawrence, Matthew Ratliff, Jordan Johnson, and Cavness were congratulated on their play along with linebackers Davis Hill and Jameson. Cornerbacks Wyatt and Herron were noticed, "and Vance Bauer did extremely well at the corner. He had one big deflection on a long Comanche drive," Harman noted. He also cited safeties Connor Chauncy, Michael Rusche, and Brooks for their efforts.

Gilbert’s offensive line paved the way for 313 total yards and a monster 25 first downs: Kenneth Smith, Zach Berry, Williams, Ratliff, Lawrence, and Hill.

In a game like this when the Jackets seemed to be struggling to show their mettle, Bauer had a telling line: "We kept our confidence up," and Yeager asserted, "I’m proud of the win. This was a good test of the kids’ character."