What a difference 60 years can make
2019, can you believe it? I can’t. It just boggles my mind. Another thing that is strange to me is how much high school football has changed from 1952 through 2012. That is 60 years friends. Just thought I would compare a five-year span 1952-1956 with the same period 60 years later 2012-2016 on offense, mainly scoring. In 1952 the Yoemen under Coach Paul Smith were coming off one of their finest seasons ever. Nineteen fiftyone saw them post a 10-2 record, losing to LaVega 13-7 in the regional finals. Coach Smith would leave to take over at Galena Park, while the Yoemen would bring back Coach Leo Jackson to led them for a second term. In 1952 Jackson’s team would have a 4-6 season, 2-2 in district. In the 10-game season, they would score 112 points to 155 for their opponents. They would tally 38 points against Caldwell in the second game of the season, but only 27 total in the six other games before finishing with 47 total in the final three. In comparison, 60 years later in 2012, Rick Rhoades Yoemen scored 383 points in their first 10 games on their way to a 15-0 championship. They scored another 187 in their five playoff games. Next came 1953 and a 6-4 season that saw a threeway tie for the district title between Rosebud, Belton and Yoe. Rosebud would represent and lose to Gonzales in bi-district. The Yoemen would score 218 points to 158 in their 10 games. In 2013 the Yoemen would go 9-1 in ten games on their way to a second straight state title. That year the offense scored 471 points in 10 games to their opponents 220. In 1954 Jackson’s Yoemen brought home a district title scoring only 121 points. Their record overall was 5-6 as they lost to Killeen in bidistrict 27-7 after also losing to the Kangaroos 20-7 in non-district. The defense gave up 159 points overall. As for the 2014 state champions, they scored 415 in their first eleven games to their opponents 229 but they were only 7-4 after bi-district, but still won the championship. The year 1955 may have been the worst ever for scoring. They were 3-6-1 overall scoring only 89 total points while being shutout 5 times. Still their opponents only scored 158. The hard luck 2015 Yoemen lost only one game in the state finals to Brock. They had 491 points in ten games giving up 149. In 1956 the Yoemen had a break even 5-5 year but did outscore their opponents 134-125 in their 10 games. Meanwhile the 2016 Yoe team had a new man at the helm in Tommy Brashear. The offense didn’t slow up any as the 11-3 team went four rounds to score 590 points. They had 450 points in an 8-2 start. The defense gave up 289 points thanks to China Spring (63) and Rockdale (80). So there is your comparison. The early years in 51 total games averaged only 13 points a game while 60 years later we had a 43-point per game average. So the times they are a changing, thanks to the spread offense. I don’t think it will change that much in the next 60, but I won’t be around to worry about it. Go Yoe!