Top 26 storylines for 2016: No. 12 – Cameron Yoe and Navasota enter new eras

[caption id="attachment_24885" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Artie Guerrero Photo by Artie Guerrero[/caption] Navasota and Cameron Yoe are two of the state’s most successful programs in recent years. The Rattlers have rattled off (no pun intended) two 4A Division I state titles in the past four years, and in the two season’s they didn’t bring a title home to Grimes County they were a combined 22-3. Yoe has dominated Class 3A Division I, winning three consecutive titles from 2012-2014, while also advancing to the state title game in 2010 and 2015. Both programs head into 2016 with new head coaches, as Lee Fedora resigned in the spring and Yoe head coach Rick Rhoades departed for Class 5A Gregory-Portland. It was no surprise when both programs decided to stay in house. When you’ve had the kind of success these two have had, the smart play is to keep the continuity intact and not have a complete overhaul. The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" certainly applies. Cameron Yoe hired defensive coordinator Tommy Brashear to take the reins of the program, and for the most part things have been status quo. There was some turnover as coaches went to Gregory-Portland, but there are still many key staffers returning. Yoe took some losses to graduation, but they have a strong core group returning. The biggest question mark will be replacing all-everything RB Traion Smith. The Yoemen do have one of the state’s toughest district’s in 10-3A Division I, which features Yoe’s arch rival Rockdale, 3A Division II runner-up Franklin, Jarrell (who posted an 11-1 mark in 3A Division II in 2015) and solid teams from Troy and Little River-Academy. The Yoemen got their 2016 campaign (and new era) off to a nice start with a very strong 33-10 win over Bellville. Navasota decided to hire defensive assistant Patrick Goodman, who also served as the head boys basketball coach at NHS. He may have the slightly tougher task of the two programs heading into 2016. The Rattlers are on a bit of an island in 4A Division I with few schools near them, so they will have to travel all the way to the Golden Triangle for district games. That tougher district includes Silsbee, Huffman-Hargrave and Little Cypress-Mauriceville. Throw in the fact Navasota had a larger than anticipated amount of staff turnover, along with heavy graduation losses (most notably on the offensive side of the ball), and it's no wonder things got off to a rocky start with a 38-22 loss to 3A power Franklin. It will be fascinating to watch where both programs go from here, especially after seeing how their seasons launched.

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