Breaking in a new head coach and starting quarterback after coming off a frustrating season would be cause for concern for any football team.
It’s a mere afterthought for Cameron, which returns Rick Rhoades who took the Yoemen to five state championship games and won three titles from 2009-2015 with a 82-17 record overall.
It’s a happy homecoming for the coach who left in 2016 and was set to retire after the 2020 season at Gregory-Portland before returning to Cameron in February.
Rhoades will look to turn around a program that returns 14 starters but missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009 after going 2-4 in District 11-3A Division I. Returning to the postseason shouldn’t be too daunting a task, for Cameron’s roster is full of talent, and the seniors, who were in seventh grade when Rhoades left the program, have the advantage of seeing how successful his teams were in the past.
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“The good thing is they’ve seen the results as well,” Rhoades said. “So they know that if they do what we ask them to do, there’s a chance that we’ll be very, very successful. Our expectations haven’t changed from when I was here before until now.”
Cameron is picked to finish second behind Lorena in 11-3A-I this season by Texas Football. Yoemen linebacker Fabian Salomon, who also plays running back, was named the district’s preseason defensive MVP by the magazine.
With Rhoades back in charge, running back and defensive back Phaibian Bynaum said the team has adapted quickly to his schemes and coaching style.
“I feel like everyone is buying into what Coach Rhoades is bringing back to Cameron,” Bynaum said. “Everybody wants to win state championships like how [they did] when he was here, so everyone is buying in what they got planned for us.”
Bynaum, who rushed for 404 yards in 2020, and Salomon will be key to getting the Yoemen’s offense started, but Cameron returns plenty of experience at wide receiver as well. Seniors Javoun Goolsby and Jaidyn Sanchez lead the receiving corps, followed by junior Pharrell Hemphill, who had over 500 total yards last year, Trayjen Wilcox and sophomore Kason Goolsby.
“I really feel like we’ve got a lot of depth at the receiver position and a lot of depth at the running back position,” Rhoades said. “The big question for us offensively is who’s going to be the quarterback and can he get the ball into the hands of the guys that we have?”
Quarterback became up for discussion when former starter Zane Zeinert transferred to Rosebud-Lott for his senior season. Four players will be vying for the starting spot with 5-foot-11 senior Ryan Muniz leading the pack. Juniors Landen Greene and Connor Jeter and sophomore Braylen Drake also are in the hunt. Greene is the only one with true varsity experience but on defense.
Rhoades said the wide array of choices is what sets this year’s squad apart from past Cameron teams, and he believes the group’s inexperience will be a hurdle the Yoemen overcome together.
“In the past, we’ve always had a really good starting quarterback,” Rhoades said. “You didn’t want to get your starter hurt, because you just didn’t have a lot of confidence in your backup. We got four guys right now that I would feel comfortable with being in a football game.”
Defensively, the Yoemen are stacked with returning leaders, including most of their starters playing both ways. Salomon led the team with 110 tackles last year, followed by Colton Barbo (98) and Armando Reyes (63). The trio also will get help from returners Dominick Rangel, Ja’Kobe Bailey, Hunter Hix and Bynaum.
Bynaum said he’s excited to see the defense step up, especially after missing the playoffs last year.
“It does light a fire. Missing the playoffs is not what anybody should want,” he said.
Rhoades said he’s excited by the chance to turn things around this season, especially with the roster he has.
“I think the expectation when they hired me was to get the program back to where it was,” Rhoades said. “And I take that on as a great challenge. We’re going to do everything we can to get this program back to where it was.”